Information Age Education

Schools That Break Free, Go Forward

September 19th, 2009

I lost my DSL connection for a couple of days, and to tell you the truth, it was all I could do be patient and wait for it to be restored. But in those two days, I felt like I had lost my connection to the entire world. That’s how important the Internet is to us. It has pervaded every aspect of our lives and it’s definitely going to be around for eons to come, in progressively advanced avatars, of course.
So when schools prevent their students from using the World Wide Web for educational purposes, they are in fact limiting the children’s abilities to grow according to the world we live in today. But sadly, that is the case with most institutions today. Students are not allowed to access the Internet, even if it is for research or to gain knowledge. Of course, we know the reason for this ban; the net is one place that is not safe for kids – we have predators and pedophiles lurking in its dark corners; there’s porn that kids get caught up in, online video games and social networking sites that are as addictive as alcohol and drugs, and of course, the harmless pastime of chatting with friends which is a waste of school and learning time.
But surprisingly, a few schools in the USA are breaking free from these shackles and allowing their kids to use the net in really cool ways – YouTube videos that are educational, chats with peers in other countries and award-winning authors, research using Google, their own blogs, and other tools are being harnessed by schools in the district of Trussville, Alabama. The 4,000 odd students are allowed access to the Internet, without the kind of restrictions that are normally imposed at other schools.
The educational authorities have the right idea in mind – with the Internet being an all-pervasive tool, rather than keeping children away from it, it is better to teach them how to use it in the right ways. It’s just like sex education – if children are not aware of the consequences, they could get into a whole lot of trouble. So education and awareness is the key to preventing unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Similarly, with the Internet, school is the best place to teach kids how to use this tool in an ethical, productive and safe manner.
Let’s face it – most adults spend their time on the Net in frivolous pursuits. So is it any wonder that the kids tend to follow suit? When schools break free from rigid rules that don’t allow progress, they’re helping their students go forward in the right way. In short, they are teaching their kids lessons for life rather than lessons for exams.

By-line:
This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of online engineering degrees . Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address: adrienne.carlson1@gmail.com