Right to Ban MySpace?

Oh and I mean nothing bad to you aidan.

You are raising your child the way you see fit. And that's what kids need.

Not some stupid school rule.

I can't stand people who put any responsibilty for a child's rearing on the school they attend. My kids will be taught morals and life behavior by me, not by a school. That's how my parents did it and that's how I will do it.

Bella- Yeah, that's what I thought too before I actually held the precious little bundle in my arms and realized that I was totally responsible for this small being that had instantly become the most important thing in my life.
Unfortunately we don't live in a vacuum.

It's not so much about not trusting your own children as knowing that there are dangers out there and knowing that you can't trust other people and sadly more and more, other kids.

Yes, parents should be responsible for their own children. Parents should teach their children what they believe the right thing to do is. But some parents haven't done that. So there are a lot of kids and adults who are walking around without having had the benefit of that instruction. And they can impact your kid- believe me- whether you think they can or not- they can- and they will try to.

myspace is just one more opening or vulnerable spot. My daughter has a very trusting, compliant nature. It's one of the things I love most about her, but I also know it's one of the things that makes her the most vulnerable.
If someone says they're an adult and they tell her to do something- she's the type of kid who thinks she should do it. It doesn't matter how I've drummed into her that she should question, she should feel empowered to refuse- I've seen her open the door to a strange adult who told her to- just because they were an adult and they told her to. Luckily, I was home when she did it.
She's smart- she's not stupid. She's just a cooperative and compliant personality. So are a lot of other well-behaved and well adjusted kids. That's why teachers, etc. love them. Because they've been surrounded in their lives by people who care about them- they can't conceive of the fact that anyone would do them harm or be dishonest or be evil or cruel. I know this because I've been that kid, and I've also seen those kids over and over. But this makes them so vulnerable- especially in arenas like myspace.

When you have your baby, you'll probably come to appreciate any of the systems in the world that make your job raising him/her and protecting him/her easier for you. That's what I see this school as doing- for parents who are on the same page. For parents who aren't- they can choose another school.

Good luck with your baby.

Sorry- I forgot to mention this in any of my other posts on this, but it's probably the most important part of why I do think the school has the right to do this.

Sites like myspace and facebook extend the clique atmosphere outside the school. There's bullying and taunting and isolating, etc. that can now go on totally without any adult supervision- outside of the view of the parents or the teachers - though it impacts the atmosphere in the classroom. The kids come in talking about what's going on in myspace and reenact it in the classroom. So it does impact the school and classroom-often in a negative way.

Another thing you might want to think about is how important it is to know who your kids are talking to. And I don't just mean- know their names and what they look like- I mean know their life situation, etc.
You can't get a real sense of that from my space.

Finally- I personally just don't think sitting in front of a computer screen is productive. I'd rather have her on the phone, going to movies or shopping with her friends, riding horses, whatever. That's just my personal bias-but I don't think it would hurt most kids to spend less time sitting in front of a screen of one type or another- experiencing life passively instead of actively.

When I would have a gripe with a classmate the school would say, take your grievances off the school play ground. I am not advocating for my space, but it is a way grievances can be let out in the open (as opposed to being suppressed) and then possibly dealt with in a reasonable manner. When grievances are handled and talked over kids learn healthy interaction skills and they do not bottle up their emotions to become more of a problem as an adult.

When the world teaches your child some of their lessons in the school of hard knocks then your child cannot blame you for being their nemesis. As long as you are there to help them reason out their difficulties then you become a guide rather than a wall.

Kids are sometimes too isolated from society so they do not learn how to make wise informed decisions.

Emerson said we need to be the same person in isolation that we are in the midst of a crowd (I have paraphrased). This single faced person needs to be socially developed by trial and error. It is best to act out as a kid and learn discipline before you are an adult and hold the lives of others in your responsibility and care.

It is like the idea of jail. When a person becomes dysfunctional in society they lessen their roll in society by isolating them from society. This only separates them from learning the skills in real-time that they need to know to function with proper etiquette and manners.

A child needs to learn how to ride a bike alone, kick their first touch-down. We can't hold their hand on their first date etc...

Yet, I firmly believe it is better to shelter a child than to let them run wild. When they are sheltered, they learn discriminately and this can lead to a healthy sense of self. For the ugliness of the world comes soon enough and then the comfort and peace of childhood vanishes from this life.