Poll: Schools stalking students; Does this seem right to you?

[thingymuwatsit]

I try not to make people choose between extremes but I have to wonder your opinion:
(short for TL;DR people) It has recently come to my attention that after a decision to 'crack down' on cyber-bullying my school's authorities have decided to monitor each and every one of students' contributions to anything that can be accessed with a computer and a modem; this means that they have full access to private messages and posts on anything from Facebook to Deviantart, removing any illusion of privacy we have on the internet.
So I ask you a question: does this (the removal of internet privacy) seem like a fair way to deal with cyber bullying in schools?
EDIT: I want to make it clear that this applies all the time, not only at school this is prevented by the school's PROXY server and each student operates off an independant laptop used for schoolwork.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

Simple solution to this: Don't use facebook at school.

Besides, cyber bullying is overblown. I'd rather take cyber bullying than normal bullying any day.

 

[Gaz6231]

Short answer; no.

Long answer; noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Why can school systems never use a rational mindset in these issues? They always resort to either 'take the thing away' or 'watch them do the thing EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY'.

 

[Kulingile]

I try not to make people choose between extremes but I have to wonder your opinion:
(short for TL;DR people) It has recently come to my attention that after a decision to 'crack down' on cyber-bullying my school's authorities have decided to monitor each and every one of students' contributions to anything that can be accessed with a computer and a modem; this means that they have full access to private messages and posts on anything from Facebook to Deviantart, removing any illusion of privacy we have on the internet.
So I ask you a question: does this (the removal of internet privacy) seem like a fair way to deal with cyber bullying in schools?

Well, if the removal of privacy only applies to when you are in school, then I'd say it's fair. Don't want teachers invading your privacy, then don't use facebook or private messages at the school. Going without internet chatting or whatever for a few hours at school isn't going to kill anyone.

 

[Sonicron]

Does this apply to anything you do at any given time, or just whatever is done via a school computer with internet access...?

 

[viranimus]

I think this is just nothing more than a case of schools using current events to justify what they are already doing, which is stalking kids profiles.

As for monitoring computer use at school? Yes.. its their property thats being used. No different than a corporation has the right to monitor the activities used on their computers by its employees.

I think it is atrocious simply based on the fact that schools and teachers specifically ARE stalking their students.Ive seen it first hand so I am fully aware it happens. The problem that comes up is where exactly does it end? If they have the right to monitor students activites then logically it is very very possible this can lead to things such as account names/passwords being seized so deeper levels of monitoring can occur, such as soft hacking profiles to gain access to messages sent OFF school property, which that right there is reason enough to say no way in hell should this be allowed.

But as for privacy in school, look at it this way.. if you loan someone your car and they use it to plow through a daycare center playground, dont you think you would have the right to know what your car had been involved in?

A better solution? How bout the schools IT staff set up proper proxies that block off access to social networking and instant messaging and other net sources that are not relevant to educational purposes?

 

[Gaz6231]

Just how to solve the issue of cyber-bullying is beyond me, however.

You can't solve it, any more than you can solve actual bullying. It's part of childhood, part of nature. The big kids will ALWAYS pick on the little kids, or the different kids.

 

[thingymuwatsit]

I try not to make people choose between extremes but I have to wonder your opinion:
(short for TL;DR people) It has recently come to my attention that after a decision to 'crack down' on cyber-bullying my school's authorities have decided to monitor each and every one of students' contributions to anything that can be accessed with a computer and a modem; this means that they have full access to private messages and posts on anything from Facebook to Deviantart, removing any illusion of privacy we have on the internet.
So I ask you a question: does this (the removal of internet privacy) seem like a fair way to deal with cyber bullying in schools?

Well, if the removal of privacy only applies to when you are in school, then I'd say it's fair. Don't want teachers invading your privacy, then don't use facebook or private messages at the school. Going without internet chatting or whatever for a few hours at school isn't going to kill anyone.

This does not apply at school (a PROXY server prevents it) They actually have access to what we write at any time, anywhere.

 

[SuperUberBob]

They own the computers and they are entitled to monitor the system as they wish so long as they disclose the fact that they do it. Most schools make their internet policies clear to students and parents.

 

[Nunny]

Could you just not give them such information and block them when possible?

I doubt they have the right to access your private things out of school.

 

[SwagLordYoloson]

Troll them with porn sites and viruses

Edit:
Unless the victim is being haxored then blocking or deleting a bully from your social network is simple. Most people who i have heard about, who were bullied, were just too lazy to isolate themselves from a select group of butt heads

 

[Vrach]

Short answer; no.

Long answer; noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

^This, very, VERY much this. It doesn't prevent anything (because if the idea's public, people will just do it from home and not log in at school, or have two accounts) and the invasion of privacy is just plain wrong and unjustified. They should just tell the kids to report/talk to a counselor if they're having trouble with that sort of thing, and considering how bullies work, make an anonymous drop-in box where you can report some such activity or something like that.

That all said, correct me if I'm wrong but Facebook has privacy options? Just set it to ignore/restrict access against people that aren't on your friends list (or however it works, I don't use it) and you don't need your school to meddle at all in the first place. Instead of teaching kids they'll be protected throughout their whole life, tell them to protect themselves and only interfere if it gets extreme.

Oh and PS, the current poll result even graphically displays how I/most people feel about it

 

[Lord Honk]

It's bullshit (pardon my klingon). I'm from germany (here he goes again) and TBH, we've had our fair share of surveilance in history, not to mention that our current government is ogling to put up a law that pretty much allows them storage of any personal information for at least 24 months. Just in case my cousin Mahmud ends up in a Taliban camp next year or something xD

On the subject of bullying, how long exactly has that been around? I mean come on, the internet may make it easier to bully someone, but taking away that opportunity, or at least making it harder, won't solve the problem. I know nobody wants to hear it, but instead of new rules there should be more teachers or cousellors there to enforce the existing ones.

Now that I'm in my 20s, the thought of my professors having full access to anything I've written while on the net @uni is far more scary for me than someone across the room posting "You're fat and I hate you" on my facebook wall. (Yes bullying is more than that, but I still wouldn't want my profs to have all my personal data.)

 

[Cazza]

It's an over the top soultion. It's not fixing the problem. Cyber bullying is caused by bullying. Fix bullying and you fix the problem. Schools don't do the right thing with it comes to bullies. They just want something to say their are trying but don't really want to spend the time and money to really fix the problem.

 

[SonicWaffle]

But even if it could, what you do at school is schools concern. What you do out of school is none of their fucking concern.
If my boss stalked me online you can bet Id be either calling the cops on her or pushing her teeth down her throat.

Hypothetical situation: if he spent his time at home buying swords off the internet and looking up bomb recipes, and obsessively googling the Columbine massacre, is that still none of the school's concern?

What I gathered from the original post is that the OP uses a laptop provided by their school. Therefore it's the school's property, and they can do what they like with it: presumably the kids are only being lent these laptops, because what kind of school has the funding to buy every child a laptop?

If you don't want them spying on what you do online, use your private home computer, and save the laptop for schoolwork.

 

[thingymuwatsit]

SNIP

I am not sure how this happens but it has become apparent that they can do this after a friend of mine had received an Email from the head of this Cyber Bullying 'crush campaign' after insulting the school musical over the long weekend
That was enough information for me.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Just how to solve the issue of cyber-bullying is beyond me, however.

You can't solve it, any more than you can solve actual bullying. It's part of childhood, part of nature. The big kids will ALWAYS pick on the little kids, or the different kids.

I hope you're wrong. With all my heart, I really do. I've lost too many friends to bullying.

He's not wrong. There are always going to be degrees of bullying, whether it's mild stuff like name-calling or serious stuff like brutal beatings. That's the nature of children, the whole pack hierachy thing wherein the weak get picked on by the strong. Most people survive, get over it, and get on with their lives. Occasionally you get a case where the victim is weaker than most or the bully harsher, and it ends in suicide, and it's tragic. Unfortunately, that doesn't actually change anything; kids will still be bullied, and they always will. The best you can do for them is to try and teach them to cope with it, because as all of us who have been bullied know, the suggested coping strategies - talking to a teacher, for example - is only going to make the situation worse and cause the bully to seek reprisals.

 

[tharglet]

It's good practice to learn on public networks that you can and probably will be monitored .

My school banned pretty much anything that you could use to send messages on, and had their own mailserver, that everyone knew was monitored. This allowed people to send messages to each other, but ensured they stuck by the rules. (of course the odd idiot got pulled up for something though)

If it was a case of schools effectively being able to be given backdoor access to the accounts it would definitely be wrong, but if it's monitoring communications on their own internet connection, well, it's to be expected imo. Most workplaces and schools have a monitoring policy, and you can always go somewhere else if you don't want your employer/school looking at your content.

There were certain things I used to bookmark and then go browse at home .

If it's a case that the bullying is that of an extent that warrants private account investigation, it would need to be done by the right person. I don't think most school employees would be the right people for the job - it would be better done by someone who doesn't even know the kids, as the private accounts may turf up stuff that really shouldn't be seen by people the kids know. How many teachers are going to go OTT over some spur-of-the-moment insult against them, that was only intended for friends? Could the teacher/staff stay impartial if they read about some personal tragedy that the kid has suffered outside of school?
If someone tried to discuss an issue with my life, where there was only one way of finding out about it, I'd be very pissed about it, even if they were trying to help.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Hypothetical situation: what if he plays violent video games, one of which involves shooting a entire airport of defenceless innocents, then he watches a series of videos involving a enraged foreigner swearing and insulting people for 5 minutes with his own artwork of people getting killed playing in the background... You see what I did there?

Well, so what if he does? There's a world of difference between playing a video game and actually purchasing weaponry or researching bomb-making techniques. OK, yes, the likes of Fox News don't care that there's a difference, but it's blindingly obvious to rational beings that there is. Children purchasing weapons while reading up on school massacres = bad sign, children playing a clearly defined game in which they perform undesirable actions = not so bad. Does a racing game cause adults to drive too fast? Did anyone ever get banned from a zoo for trying to recreate Super Monkey Ball? The hypothetical I gave was of someone giving every sign that they were planning something violent, or at least fantasizing about it. Merely playing a game carries none of these connotations, because even the most stupid of kids understand that what happens in the game is not real.

 

[Dexiro]

I never saw the big issue with cyber bullying anyway, most of the time it's just idiots saying "you're gay". Hacking is a completely different issue.