Rou

Schools have been trying to reach their little arms out more and more in recent years. Part of this is no doubt in response to a lack of parental responsibility. Regardless of the reason, the result is the same: schools are beginning to overstep their bounds.

For example, many schools have rules restricting access to social sites like MySpace and such. No problem. It's not school work and I can understand it. However, that isn't enough for our little educational dictatorships. Several districts have begun using policies that hold student accountable for ANYTHING they post online, regardless of when it was posted. For example, if you tease a schoolmate online, you can be given a detention just as if you did it in school. One school suspended a student and gave the kid community service (I won't even go there) because he posted inappropriate comments about another student. None of these comments were made during school. It was done after hours from home.

If online issues are brought to the school's attention, the school is not responsible for punishment. When they're not in school, the school has to ignore it. It's the parents. It's ALWAYS the parents responsibility. At best, the school should notify the parents and make sure they're aware. Then they're done with it.

The school claims they're trying to impress responsibility for their online activities to the kids. But that's not their job. They also calim they're trying to prevent online discussions from spilling over into the schools. Once again, talk to the parents if it's brought to the schools attention. If it spills into school, THEN you can do something about it.

I swear, even since I was in school, it's gotten worse and worse. Schools are trying to act as a third parent for children. Not their job. Education, not parenting.