Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Scenes From the MySpace Backlash

Media and politicians are piling criticism on the fast-growing teen social-networking site, which has been linked to sexual predation. But scapegoating and overreaction may be an equal, if not greater, danger.

First off, this article is written extremely well, and offers several sides of the story. I would also like to comment that our public schools really need to stop playing parent, and just teach our kids.

As a parent I am getting really offended that our public school system is slowly becoming a place where they tell kids what they can and cannot do socially. If they want to have an ethics class, or something like that great, but DO NOT take free speech and throw it out the window.

I would agree that some speech is bad, and could hurt someone. This type of action is what parents are for. Simply send an e-mail to the parents, or get a 1-on-1 parent teach conference going. In the case where a parent has no interest in thier child in school then this needs to get adressed other ways.

In NO WAY should a public school play parent. Once we believe this is a good thing, all is lost. Public schools have absolutely no way of determining what is a good thing per student. Since all students have different home lives, then how can the school custom-tailer a parental program for them?

If our public school system wants to engage in ethical and moral discussions, then create a classroom environment for it. Invite parents to discuss thier ideas also. I bet you get such a wide range of discussion that it helps the kids more than anyone knows.

My plea to our school systems, is to also stop treating our kids like criminals. A school is more likely to call the cops, than simply handle an issue administratively. Don't even get me started on Zero-Tolerance policies.

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