Internet Filtering

Pros of Internet Filtering:

Children’s chances of coming across inappropriate and dangerous material is drastically decreased.
Sexual predators and other dangerous people will have less access to kids online.
Filters can be set on different settings, least restrictive to greatest restrictive.
Parents will feel secure in allowing their children to use technology.
Many programs come with kits for teaching Internet Safety.

Cons of Internet Filtering:

It has become a means of financial control for schools, thus forcing them to comply with regulations. This makes teachers feel as though there is no need to teach Internet safety because it is already “taken care of.”
Internet filtering companies can filter sights for political reasons, thus censoring text that children should have access to.
Teachers feel a false sense of security in the filtering systems and may not do their necessary research before allowing students to use the Internet.
Material that supports the curriculum and is not harmful is often blocked or filtered.
The theory of intellectual freedom is breeched by filtering websites.

According to the ALA’s view on intellectual freedom, students should not be subject to censorship in any form. Clearly, Internet filtering is a form of censorship. It restricts students from making a choice, good or bad, and makes the choice for them. I believe in intellectual freedom in most respects. Having said that, I am also in favor of a small amount of Internet filtering. Having 26 third graders in a computer lab, can I ever be completely certain that a small third grade finger won’t ever slip and type in a wrong address and won’t ever end up in some pornographic site? I am not sure that I can be certain of this. It is my job to guarantee parents that when we are online, I am keeping those students away from these sites. On the other hand, I believe that teachers need to step up to the plate and do their homework. No more free searching for information. Teachers should provide links to search engines designed specifically for kids that guarantee safe results. But most importantly, we must instruct students on Internet safety. We must inform students of the dangers of sharing personal information online. We must give them clear expectations for what is acceptable online. Primarily, the burden rests on parents and teachers. Children are not safe online, even with Internet filtering. New sites will pop up all the time, so we need to prepare our students ahead of time.