Doug Johnson

Did You Hear the One About…?
Head for the Edge, Sept/Oct 2002

“Users are expected to use Internet access through the district system to further educational and personal goals consistent with the mission of the school district and school policies.” from the Mankato Area Public School Board Policy 524- INTERNET ACCEPTABLE USE

Ok, I’ll admit it. I like the fact that email is a terrific source of jokes. I receive them, read them, and pass them on. Sometimes it’s on school time and on my school email account. And I have a tough time feeling very guilty about it, even though it might be difficult to reconcile this use of the Internet with our school’s AUP. What does my reading “The Top Ten Signs You’ve Joined a Cheap HMO” have to do with “the mission of the school district?”

It’s part of my job to help ensure good technology use by both staff and students in our district. But I more often than not turn a blind eye to personal use unless it is egregiously inappropriate. We do strictly enforce the use or distribution of pornography or any image that coworkers might regard as creating a hostile work environment. We don’t tolerate harassment or entrepreneurship conducted using school networks by anyone.

I recognize that teachers email their kids in college, explore possible vacation destinations, or place an online order to Land’s End now and again. I recognize that these folks are professionals and that lessons will be planned and homework graded whether at school during a prep time or at the kitchen table after supper. It’s the nature of professionals. And professionals need to be accorded professional respect.

We’ve even set up two distinct district-wide mailing lists. The first list to which everyone must be subscribed is for official school business. But the second mailing list is used for the sorts of things you might find on the bulletin board in a teachers’ lounge: personal items for sale, announcements of upcoming arts events, news items of possible interest, and suggestions of websites that might be of non-educational interest to teachers and staff. Subscription to this list is voluntary.

So why not take the hard line approach to enforcing a school AUP? It has everything to do with climate. I can’t help but think that unless it affects job performance, personal Internet use makes the school a more enjoyable place to work. Teachers have enough stress in their lives. A little humor lessens the stress, makes for a happier teacher, and this is a good thing. After all, would you want your child with an unhappy teacher?

As library media specialists and technologists, I think we need to lighten up a little in regard to what students are doing with the Internet in our libraries and classrooms as well. The Internet has vast resources that are not directly related to the curriculum but are of high interest to students at all grade levels. Information about sports, fashion, movies, games, celebrities, and music in bright and exciting formats abounds.

The use of the Internet for class work of course must be given priority, but computer terminals should never sit empty. And there are some good reasons to allow students personal use of the Internet:

• It gives kids a chance to practice skills. After all that’s why we have “recreational” reading materials in our libraries. Do we really subscribe to Hot Rod or Seventeen because they’re used for research? If we want kids who can do an effective Internet search, read fluently, and love to learn, does it make much difference if they are learning by finding and reading webpages on the Civil War or Civil War games?
• It gives weight to the penalty of having Internet access taken away. The penalty for misuse of the Internet is often a suspension of Internet use privileges. As a student, if I were restricted to only school work uses of the Internet and had my Internet rights revoked, I’d pretty much say, “So what?” and wonder what I had to do to get my textbooks taken away as well. But if I am accustomed to using the Internet each morning before school to check on how my favorite sports team was faring, the loss of Internet access as a consequence of misbehavior would be far more serious.
• It makes the library media center a place kids want to be. Many of our students love the library for the simple reason that it is often the only place that allows them to read books of personal interest, work on projects that are meaningful, and explore interests that fall outside the curriculum in an atmosphere of relative freedom. Kids need a place like that and we should provide it – even at the Internet terminals.

We can’t throw out the rules. We do need to enforce board adopted policies. We cannot tolerate Internet use in schools that involves harassment, encourages malingering, or supports a personal business. But we can and should recognize that schools are comprised of human beings. And we need to do everything we can to make school a human-friendly place for both staff and students.

Oh, and the number one sign you’ve joined a cheap HMO? - The tongue depressors taste faintly of Fudgesicles.