First, your comments imply that schools shouldn’t have rules about non-educational issues. I don’t think that’s what you meant … you’re talking about non-school hours, non-school-realted activities, and things that happen off school property, right? Any school administrator (and parent, for that matter) would laugh at the idea that they weren’t allowed to enforce rules about non-curricular matters (”I know he punched you, Johnny … but what does that have to do with science or math?”). Even so, that’s a fine line to draw with minors …

Second, I’d be interested to hear your definition of “education” in the context that you’re using it. From your comments, I’d guess that it’s something along the lines of “a system that helps students aquire information”. As you’re probably aware, however, educators today are expected to do much more than that … they’re expected to teach the “whole child”, to generalize knowledge to everyday life, and to ensure students’ future success. Until college educational courses, federal law, and basic educational philosophy change dramatically, teachers are going to be expected to reach into the everyday lives of students. Then again, this is probably the exact uphill battle that your organization is fighting!

Finally, I didn’t mention in the original post that I teach at a private school … and one that takes the social, ethical, social, spiritual and physical well-being of our students very seriously. Parents send their children to CHCA because they want us to be involved in helping students grow in every aspect of their lives … and I, for one, teach here (in part) because I believe that it is essential to avoid compartmentalization in young lives. If families have a problem with this, they’re welcome to go educate their child somewhere else … and as everyone understands from the beginning, the school can freely ask them to go somewhere else to do so.

So, by definition, I’m approaching this issue from a very different point-of-view. I suppose that there are other schools that are trying to do “real things to harm the lives of students” … and, in that case, I applaud your efforts to hold those schools accountable (though I’d suggest that you clarify/justify your argument a bit). I’m just happy to be in a country and in a school where I have the freedom to care for my students completely!

Should schools act as police forces? In my opinion their purpose for being is to teach kids, not to monitor what they do 24 hours a day 7 days a week and punish them for it. That’s the job of police and parents. Schools should stick to education.

If however schools want to play the part of a police force then they should be forced to abide by the same proceedural guidelines and Constitutional protections that police follow. A picture of an adult smoking a joint isn’t sufficient evidence for the police to arrest that person, so neither should it be sufficient evidence for a school to expel or kick a student off the football team.

Schools can’t have it both ways.

In most cases this isn’t about being a good neighbor, its about sticking one’s nose where it doesn’t belong and doing real things to harm the lives of students subjected to it. The punishments students receive in school really do have an effect on their entire lives. There is absolutely no reason for what a student does on their own time to be the jurisdiction of schools.

The reality is that most schools, from what I’ve found at technology conferences and online, already keep an eye on student blogs … just as they check the contents of lockers, pay attention to behavior in public places, and help to deal with conflicts between students outside of school. It may not be their responsibility to do these things, but it’s definitely part of the kids’ education.

The unusual thing about this school in Illinois is that they chose to hold a press conference about it!

browsing as an authority figure, as opposed to a mentor, is a completely different feel. if it’s done well, then bravo. if it’s not it may be a whole ‘nother can of worms. we shall see.