By Emmy Gorman
Let’s face it. We’re teenagers in the 21st century. We grew up with cell phones and fancy gadgets, and we enjoy the sweet freedom we get with our technology at school. But at times, can it be too much freedom?
So far, the only things the school has done to control technology use is blocked Instagram from the school WiFi, placed the phone pockets in every classroom (which are not used in most), and hosted an assembly about limiting technology use in the home.
Let’s face it. We’re teenagers in the 21st century. We grew up with cell phones and fancy gadgets, and we enjoy the sweet freedom we get with our technology at school. But at times, can it be too much freedom?
So far, the only things the school has done to control technology use is blocked Instagram from the school WiFi, placed the phone pockets in every classroom (which are not used in most), and hosted an assembly about limiting technology use in the home.
The MMHS student handbook says, “MMHS prohibits the use of cell phones in all classrooms without teacher permission. Unless instructed otherwise by the classroom teacher, Student cell phones must remain turned off during classroom instruction and/or assessment and must be placed in a designated sleeve area within the classroom. Students are permitted to use their cell phone in the cafeteria during morning arrival and lunch as well as in the hallways during passing periods. (Inappropriate cell phone use is a level one offense).”
But is this policy being followed?
These policies don’t only apply to our beloved cell phones. It also applies to our school-issued Chromebooks.
The Chromebook/internet use policy states: The prohibited activities for which a student may lose his/her technology privilege are not limited to the list below:
1. Sending or displaying offensive messages or pictures.
2. Using obscene language.
3. Giving personal information, such as complete name, phone number, address or identifying photo, without permission from teacher and parent or guardian.
4. Harassing, insulting or attacking others.
5. Damaging or modifying computers, computer systems or computer networks.
6. Violating copyright laws.
7. Using others’ passwords.
8. Trespassing in others’ folders, work or files.
9. Intentionally wasting limited resources.
10. Employing the network for commercial purposes, financial gain, or fraud.
11. Accessing Social Networking sites for non-school related content.
12. Use of Email, Chat rooms or Instant Messaging for non-school content.
13. Creation of Staff or Student websites or blogs without consent.
Most students can admit to breaking one of these rules at least once, most notably the social networking rule. I know people are able to access lesser-known social media platforms on their Chromebooks, such as Pinterest. However, students are out of luck checking their Instagram feed, as both Instagram and Twitter are blocked on school Chromebooks, with no way that I am aware of for anyone to bypass it.
YouTube controls on Chromebooks are pretty iffy as well. At school, some videos are blocked if they fall into certain categories, with some being “Comedy” and “Gaming.” But just one step outside of school property, and one can watch as many funny videos as they please. However, YouTube controls the categories on it’s website, not the school. So, some videos that could fall into “Comedy” fall into “Entertainment” or “People and Blogs,” two unblocked categories. But, if there is anything inappropriate on any video, regardless of category, it is completely blocked, in and out of school.
In my opinion, the policies would be improved if both Chromebook use and cell phone use had the same disciplinary structure. Some policies work extremely well for one device but are either not enforced or they are modified for the other device, making it very confusing for both students and teachers, as the policies are different depending on the situation. Some of the technology use policies have exceptions, such as the personal information rule and the creation of student websites rule. It’s not morally right to create a website in someone’s else’s name, and it’s downright unsafe to give out personal information. So, why would there be exceptions to those rules?
Also, since the policies are open to interpretation, they would improve greatly if they were uniformly enforced across the school. Some other school policies, such as how to secure the door during an ALICE drill, is the same for every classroom. I was a bit confused on the first day of school when almost none of my teachers utilized the phone pockets, while almost all of my seventh grade teachers did.
Is MMHS, or schools in general, living up to the policies? As people become more and more reliant on technology, are these policies enforced, or are they obsolete?