What Point Are They Really Making?

Here's the full article.

I was reading through some old posts from Sheryl's blog. She wrote about the story of a school gone crazy.

But I have taken a few minutes to reflect on this issue. First, let me say I wrote about this type of absurdity in January 2008.

Second, let me say I take more than a little pride in the fact that my sense of humor is warped, and I believe that sometimes one must go to extremes to make a point before others "get it."

Could it be that this school in the UK (Cann Hall Primary School in Clacton, Essex) is trying to show it's online readers how crazy their online policy is, and that they are having faces covered up to get parents/grandparents upset that they cannot see their "little babies?"

Sorry, I got a little carried away; hoping that schools would actually be intelligent enough to try such a tactic.

But in a twist...the comments on Sheryl's post and the original post indicate that "normal" people find this smiley face alteration to be outrageous, ludacris, ridiculous, silly, and, and, and -- what's the word -- STUPID.

So, whether Cann Hall wanted to demonstrate how education's approach to "protecting the chilllldren" from the online bogeyman is not practical, they are doing it none-the-less.

More needs to be made of this issue and story.

Update on my January 31 post -- No ballerinas were harmed even though potential predators had a nearly 3-month time frame in which to target them.

Thank You David Pogue

How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children? - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

The answer; not nearly as dangerous as adults think it is.  Personally, I have thought for years that the reason adults blow the "Predator Behind Every Keystroke" out of proportion is because adults still find it necessary to CONTROL kids instead of TEACH them. 

That which we do not understand, we fear.  If the fear is unwarranted, we lie.  If the lie is told often enough, we believe.  That which we believe to be true, leads to the desire to protect the 'truth.'  In order to protect, we must develop an environment of control.  Such is the cycle of li(f)e.

For crying out loud...we are TEACHERS...ones who teach!  Quit being controllers.  A goal of an education should be to allow students the freedom to pursue their happiness and dreams.  If you want to keep people from pursuing their dreams, instilling fear is one way to do it.  Then again, perhaps the issues edubloggers discuss so frequently is based on the idea that education is more about controlling what students learn (standards & testing & therefore student placement) rather than teaching student what they need and want to know.  Again, I say, KIDS WILL LEARN WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW. 

Schools can either assist in the ethical and appropriate use of the technology that is ingrained into the lives of the 2st century student, or schools can dismiss, ignore, and/or declare it evil (by filtering, we say it is evil), thereby forcing young people to learn it on their own.  Then we must accept that the odds a student will use online opportunities ethically and appropriately is but a crap-shoot.

Is it any wonder younger generations have laughed at the generations who preceded them?  I laugh so I don't cry.

Blogged with Flock