Blog banning

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I taught writing for a year at an excellent independent Catholic school several years ago. A private school is within its rights to make conditions of enrollment, which parents and students are free either to accept or refuse (and thus not attend). That said, I think the school's decision injudicious. Of course the school doesn't see it as censorship - who ever sees their own actions as censorship? Furthermore, it's bad for discipline to make rules that cannot possibly be enforced - all the student need do is to take down his photograph and blog from home under an assumed name, and he's undetectable for all practical purposes. I would not have counseled the administration to make this rule.

Many years ago, when the Pony Express was the sole source of news, an eighth grade boy shoplifted a nickel-dime item from a local drug store in a major city. The druggist told his friend that if he did not return the item immediately, that he (the druggist) would call Mother Vivian, SSJ, the Catholic grammar school principal, in the morning. The druggist did not threaten to call the police nor the boy's parents, but the most feared adult in the neighborhood-Mother Vivian.

Several decades later, my daughter was a sophomore in an all girls Catholic high school. She discovered a website dedicated to lambasting her teachers and some classmates on the Internet. In fact, some of the comments about one specific teacher were frankly obscene and had to do with her sexual activities. My daughter asked me what to do about it as it upset her so much. She knew that she might be identified for reporting it by the girls who were posting this scurrilous trash. After our discussion, I left the matter to her conscience. The next day, she reported the website and the girls were expelled. I was proud that my daughter listned to her conscience and did the courageous thing.

I can say that throughout her high school years, she spent hours on the IM especially Yahoo where numerous discussions were held simultaneously.

I don't think that I would ban the blogging by students for the same reasons as another poster here--simply because it is unenforceable--and bad laws lead to worse situations. But I would have formally require parents to sign some kind of agreement with the school to secure their cooperation in trying to better monitor what their children are doing. I can understand the school's concerns, just that it invites more problems than it solves.

Oh, this is just absurd. Quite frankly, this is the stupidest thing I have heard in a long time. I would stop teaching at this school, stop attending, stop sending my child, etc. Any school that has leadership that make these kinds of decisions is a school that has a host of other problems. Believe me, this is a symptom of a much greater problem.

I understand the school's concern, but this is something that should be monitored and enforced by the parents. It is not the school's responsibility to parent the child.

I attended Catholic schools for 12 years and I believe that they can warn parents and students about the dangers involved, but how on earth can they enforce such a policy?

I'm a 1982 graduate of a Catholic High School.

More relevant to this discusion, I have a son (7th grade) who attends a Catholic Prep School (6th through 12th grade). My wife just discovered his profile on myspace.com and was quite upset.

My opinion is that it is perfectly legitimate for the school to prohibit this activity. One of the reasons we send our children to private Catholic Schools is that we recognize the need for consistency and continuity between their school, home, and social lives. The faculty and student body is an extension of our family sharing the same commitment to the Catholic Faith.

A ban such as this is just a formal statement on a specific topic of an understanding that already exists between me and the school adminstration. Of course some students will disagree and is to be expected. Their disagreement is not in and of itself a problem as long as they adhere to the rule while they disagree. They have the freedom to disagree but since they are still children they require a great deal of guidance. The school's authority is an extension of my authority as a parent and I expect the school to aid in the moral guidance of my child.

Some issues are serious enough to require a specific policy to clarify an existing commitment. The school featured in this article beleives this issue is significant enough to require a formal statement. Any other Catholic School worthy of the title has the same authority but may not see the need to formalize it at this time.

What is a bleg?

I think I read somewhere that the school could come to an ageement with individual students if they remove all mention of the school on the profile. This says to me that the concern isn't only for individual students, but also that predators or such may target the school.

A bleg is a blog beg. A blog is a web log. What next?