Jessica Michaelson

SLM521

June 10, 2005

THE PROS AND CONS OF FILTERING

Pros

· Filters steer children towards the safer content, rather than allowing them to browse through the content that may not be so kid friendly.

· Some filters block outgoing information, which in turn helps with physical safety.

· Many communities would ban Internet use if not for filtering.

· By eliminating banners at the top of the page, you are allowing pages to load faster, as well as block advertisements that may not be appropriate.

· If children are sharing computers with adults, filters can block previous sites that were visited

Cons

· While blocking pornography, and explicit sexual material, the software may also block access to useful information related to personal health issues and other topics.

· Filtering never works 100 percent. Hence, issues arise when something comes up that shouldn’t, since it should be filtered.

· It is very pricey to order and install filtering software.

· Filtering prevents students from conducting Internet research on their own.

· Filtering could send the message of “we don’t trust the students.”

My Role in Protecting My Students

I believe that I have a very large role in protecting my students from harmful material on the Internet. I see my self as their primary caregiver while they are at school and under my watch. When my students go on the Internet, which is often, I want to make sure that they are searching through material that is appropriate for them. Most of my students would not intentionally look for inappropriate material, but it is quite possible that they could stumble upon it. Thus, it is my job to make sure that this doesn’t happen. My school does have filters, but as stated above, those are not 100 percent safe. This is why I either tell my students what sites to go to, or I only allow them to search on kid safe search engines, such as Yahooligans. I do agree that filtering is a form of censorship, however, when dealing with five to ten year olds, I feel as though it is my responsibility to keep them from being exposed to certain things at such an early age.