There are many different ways to handle kids using MySpace while at school. One way is to just get rid of it. Block student access to the site and then you do not have to worry about it. That is exactly what a few schools in the Eastern Michigan area are doing. One reason for this is because teachers and administrators are afraid that teens will give too much information away.
Officials with many schools have concerns over whether students might give too much personal information to strangers on the Internet, partly spurred by a Thumb-area teen who briefly went missing by going to the Middle East to meet up with a man she met on MySpace
Some schools are not going to extreme of a measure but instead are educating the students on proper internet protocol.
That means assemblies and visits by Novi police officers, sharing the dangers of telling too much about yourself online.
I personally have no problem with banning MySpace use while at school. But, I think that schools need to ban it for the right reasons. Banning MySpace because you think that students are putting too much information on the internet is not going to solve the problem. What’s preventing them from going home and placing that information? If that is the problem with MySpace, then schools need to follow in the footsteps of what other schools are doing and educate the students on the proper use of MySpace and other Internet sites. Personally, I think that MySpace has no business being used while at school. Unless used for a class assignment with adult supervision (teachers and parents consent) there is absolutely no reason to allow access to MySpace while at school. If the students want to use MySpace while at home then they may certainly go right ahead and do it. While they are at school though, they are there to learn. The schools resources should be used for educational purposes, not in supplying the students with access for online socializing. Even if a school bans MySpace, it is always a good idea to inform the students about what should and should not be placed on the internet. You can never be too safe.
Schools Pull the Plug on MySpace
March 28, 2007
by Kristofer Karol
Internet access at school is a real concern for parents. I am a parent of a 14 year old and a 10 year old. Both of them use the computer at home quite extensively and I monitor it closely. While at school, my 14 year old has access to the internet at almost every point in the day. This concerns me because the monitoring is not very close. With the incidence of problems at sites like MySpace and others, I think that more and more filters need to be installed at schools because it is nearly impossible for one teacher to have his/her eyes on all of the many students.
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