The Role of Social Media in Schools

This week at my fieldwork site, the students were given some free time on the laptops in the classroom. A few of them were listening to music online. My cooperating teacher commented on the fact that they always find ways around the blocked sites. This reminded me of how students at my own high school used web-based proxies to access sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and YouTube. Although most schools try to block social media websites on school servers, there is no denying that the students frequent these sites and use them to connect with each other.

According to this article, Rhode Island recently passed an anti-bullying measure that, among other things, bans all social media websites on school grounds. The bill does not specify what a social media website is, thus leaving it up to schools to decide. This can be risky because it allows for the censorship and, ultimately, abuse by administration when interpreting the law. Not to mention - as the article does - that social media sites are not inherently any more dangerous than other sites, and that students will still have access to these sites on school grounds with their cell phones. Rather than allow the students to access risky sites under the supervision of teachers and administrators; rather than creating teachable moments where students could learn about cyber-bullying and social media sites, the schools prefer to avoid the topic altogether and ban the sites. The best part is that this doesn't change things for students, who can just access those sites at home or on their phones. As teachers, it is our job to show students how to use this technology in safe and healthy ways. Unfortunately, most of us won't be given that chance.