Comments on: Republican’s Push for “Safer” Internet

By: My Comments | Brad's Pedablog

My Comments | Brad's Pedablog — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:25:08 +0000

[...] Republican’s Push for “Safer” Internet – on 12 Apr 2008 at 6:25 pm [...]

By: mypedablogy

mypedablogy — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 02:25:09 +0000

Hey do any of you kids wanna go into a private chat? Just kidding . . . Yeeesh . . . Too soon? I think the whole idea of online predation is a government plot to scare people into allowing online monitoring. Well, that might be an overstatement. No doubt there are some real sicko’s out there. Nobody’s questioning that. But the issue of safety, and exactly how unsafe are our kids actually are online is completely overblown. If I was a parent (and thank god I’m not), I’d be one hell of a lot more worried about my kid hanging out at the mall, or over at his shady friend’s house, or god knows what outside the home. I was surfing the web when I was sixteen, and I can’t recall a single time my computer ever offered me pot. That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say about some of my high school friends.

If they are consciously fear mongering, and know that the dangers of social networking sites are overblown, I find myself asking the question, what do these people stand to gain by adding to the fear culture? Where is all this resistance to social networking stemming from? Does anyone have any theories on this subject?

By: genricha

genricha — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:38:41 +0000

Your post was quiet interesting, Jack. It made me begin to think about how I will allow my future students (and kids) to search the internet. I do think that children, especially when they’re younger, should be monitored when using the internet. They don’t have the common sense skills that an older student typically would and there’s no sense in being punished because one of your third graders clicked on a ‘naughty’ site while you were having coffee and not paying attention. But from reading your post I see now that students have almost no freedom whatsoever when it comes to the internet.
This is my first time using a blogging program and I can already see its benefits for utilizing it in the classroom. I would want my students to be able to freely discuss their opinions on papers or books that we read while having the opportunity to talk about other appropriate items they have on their minds. I firmly agree with your view on how more serious I am writing a blog because it is out there for anyone to look at and I think that students would feel the same way. Students would enjoy the opportunity to do something different like a blog and I think take on the responsibility that comes with writing one. We should put more trust into them, and try not to let the ‘bad’ few ruin it for the rest.

By: KenS

KenS — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:06:35 +0000

The problem with a lot of proposed laws is that they are worded horribly. So, instead of everyone behind it, you have various groups opposing, due to the freedoms the bill would squash. Sooner or later, everyone will realize this issue just a technology driven version of telling kids not to talk to strangers and not letting them go to the playgrounds alone that was so huge in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Parents now just have to get used to the 21st century playground, and the technology it incurs. Educate yourself. Discuss with your kids. Protect them with monitoring software (we recommend ours: PC Pandora) — and your own brain!

By: Pip Heafr

Pip Heafr — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:39:31 +0000

The ironic part about my comments is that I am responding on a blog and will post this link on my social networking site. We need to teach kids how to be safe on the internet not fear mongering tatics. That is why legislators should increase money not laws for organizations like isafe.

http://www.isafe.org teaches students, parents, and seniors how to avoid becoming victimized online.

If only the legislators would hear us!