A Junior/Senior High School principal in Vermont has banned in-school blogging because "blogging isn't educational."
Principal Chris Sousa said the decision to block the site from school was made because blogging is not an educational use of school computers.
But he's also urging parents to keep tabs on their children's blogging, with a particularly close eye to what personal information the student may be posting on sites like Myspace.com.
In 1988, I was the writer-in-electronic-residence for a class of grade 2/3 students in Toronto, reading and helping them with their writing via 14.4K modems using ZModem transfers. Getting them to use to computer to write, revise, and critique one another was an amazingly powerful tool for unleashing their creativity and improving their communications skills. If this prinicpal thinks blogging isn't educational, he needs his head examined: he should be seeking out every student blogger in the school and giving them special time to blog more — and giving them extra credit besides.
(via Apophenia)
Update: Pinky sez, "The email address for the principle quoted in the article is sousac@proctorhs.org (found easily on the school's website). I've whipped off an email of protest and indignation. I figured I could make it easier for anyone else to do the same."
Update 2: Many of you have written in with this form letter that Mr Sousa has been sending to those who email him:
Apparently misquoting does not happen outside of Vermont otherwise I would presume that all the wonderful folks who know best would have asked the question, "did you really ban blogging, and say that it was not educational?". We did block the website "myspace.com" and if you have been on it you may know why. I do not wish to explain all the details however it suffices to say that it was not enriching our students education, nor was it being used in any educational venue. We have not banned blogging and I myself have personal experience in using blogging in the classroom.
I am greatly offended by the arrogance that people have to presume that we have not taken advantage of this teachable moment. It seems that you would rather get up on your soapbox and shout then have a meaningful conversation. You are very misguided here and I do not wish to have a reply. Rather I hope that you would refrain from snap judgements based on blurb articles when it comes to judging our educational system.
Suffice it to say, huh? That explains it all right.
