August 8, 2013
Re: The Challenge of keeping kids safe on the web by Sandy Garossino
http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/op-ed/comment-the-challenge-of-keeping-kids-safe-on-the-web-1.572317
Parents: Don’t sign those forms releasing the School Boards of
their responsibility to keep your children safe online!
Since the mandatory exposure to WiFi that has been installed
in all the schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12 parents don’t seem
to be aware that their children can be exposed to pornography, child
predators, animal cruelty, sexting, bullying, etc from the
unregulated use of wireless Internet. Children can be
tracked down and located with their wireless devices and online
information. How can a teacher be expected to supervise a classroom
full of children who have brought in their own devices to use 6
hours a day, 5 days a week with unlimited use of the wireless
Internet in our schools and still teach the daily curriculum?
Parents are now being asked to sign a release form to release the
Schools of any responsibility of offensive and inappropriate
material being downloaded from the wireless Internet onto
children’s wireless devices.
Is this part of the BC Education Plan for 21st Century Learning?
One sample of School Release Forms
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4616169/SD61-Glanford/Surrey-device-policy.pdf
Here is a story submitted by a grade 7 teacher:
I am sorry to report that a personal story supports your fears - I
am a gr.7 teacher - during the last week of school we took our
children to a documentary science film. Since our Board has the BYOD
(bring your own device policy) children were allowed to have their
personal devices on their being. During the film a boy was using
his device to show a porn photo to the girl beside him. Following
the film - I searched the theatre to ensure no personal belongings
were left behind and found an Iphone on the floor. A tech savy
teacher searched the phone for the owners identify and found a
wallpaper of porn. It was the owner of this phone that was sending
it to the other boy in the theatre during the documentary. Upon
return to school, the children and teachers involved went to the
Principal. The result: the children's parents were called - and the
teacher was reprimanded for invading the child`s privacy! ...it is
out of control.
Janis Hoffmann
