As a teacher ( band director ) in a private Christian school, we had some problems with MySpace last year. Since then, the school has an agreement that must be signed by the parents and the students that if anything related to school is found on their site, they can be expelled.

The problem we had was rather tame as compared to other schools. Some idiot had taken a picture of the founders wife ( in her late 70's) as she was subbing a class and created a pretty harsh site talking about sexual favors and the like. We3 were able to trace back to the day, the class and the row of kids by the other kids in the picture. When the administration contacted MySpace, at first they said they could not reveil any information etc. Once the FBI became involved it was a very different story. ( the FBI was called in by a parent on a different problem ) If you think to catch a predetor is interesting, you should see what they are doing with MySpace.

Besides the cheating with text messages and phones going off in class, students are not allowed to have cell phones in school during class. Students must keep their cell phone in a locker. If a cell phone is seen during school hours, it's taken away and the parents must come in. Same thing with myspace.

You would be surprized at how few parents know whats going on with their kids. While myspace can be fun etc. there is the possibility for harm.

My band kids communicate practice schedules etc through myspace but they also alert me to problems they see.

If some of you were to spend a few days in school to understand the whole story you might have a different outlook.

If I were to stand back and pick apart your profession without knowing all the facts you would call me a democrat.

Then they can choose to go to a different school. They don't HAVE to go to the Catholic school.

Nobody should HAVE to go to a Cahtolic school. Nobody SHOULD go to one. That's another story.

Basically it seems you are saying the problem is more complicated than it appears. I wasn't able to follow your example though. Could you elaborate a bit more.

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http://tinyurl.com/25trx9

03/04/07 "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

02/25/07 "There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action." ~ Bertrand Russell, British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

Originally Posted by TheHarshTruth
I don't have a myspace but I noticed quite a few people in my neighborhood do. I was totally shocked to see people I knew. And they have pictures of their relatives on it too. It's like I now know some people much better than I think I should. Still it's up to them, not some authoritarian, to say what they can or can't do.

AHH FINALLY THE TRUTH..........U FEAR the Disciplinarian

http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q...RICS&form=QBRE

BUT WHAT YOU REALLY FEAR IS THE REAPER:-O

http://www.freewebs.com/thoughts86785/

If you think of MySpace being a billboard to the world, you start to get a better idea. Imagine driving down the interstate and seeing your picture on a billboard with a message, ANY message attached to it.

How would you feel about it ?

What if your picture was on a billboard with an add that said the best head in town ? Is that still free speech ?

What if it were a picture of your underage daughter, photoshopped into a sexual manner ?

What if one of you co-workers could put anything they wanted about you or the company you worked for on a billboard ? what if it caused you problems but what the hell, it's free speech right ? Who cares if one of you co workers is pissed becuause you got the promotion and they didn;t so they launch an attack on you, your family and your job ?

These are just a few of the things that can go on when MySpace is abused. It's a billboard to the world that is still pretty free wheeling and wide open. The hate that I have seen launched by kids against other kids is pretty horrible. Like I said, the problems we have encountered as a school are very tame compared to others.

But if you would not mind a picture of your 12 year old daughter on a billboard with a list of her "services" or a picture of your mother and a list of her favorite sexual positions, I commend you on your view of free speech.


One of the other things is that kids get linked to sites they have visited. Imagine the FBI showing up at your house because your kid happened to view a MySpace that threatened someone. I would imagine that most things are done with a harmeless attempt at humor, much like grafitti on a water tower, but with the internet, it gets pretty serious.

Yes, it's a lot more complicated than just free speech. I have a hard time understanding all the computer related things that are available, but ask any 7th grader how to photoshop someone and post the picture to the net.

And I thought we were smart back in the early 70's when we enrolled a made up person to college and he passed all of his first semester classes playing an Eb contra conola horn. We just couldn't get him a scolarship...........

Again with the assumptions. MySpace gets some pretty negative press. I use it to communicate with my brothers and friends who are already in college. Many people do abuse the site, but you can control what goes on your page (you can even delete inappropriate comments), and if you see a page that has things like photoshopped pics of naked girls, you can report that member and they will be banned. You just have to be smart. Some girls/guys put up stuff about themselves that is very personal and even sexual and give a lot of info to anyone who asks. They are the ones who get into trouble when they are made fun of at school, but it's their fault. Parents should decide whether the child is mature enough before allowing them a MySpace, and watch so that nothing inappropriate happens, but for a school to say what a child can do at home is beyond retarded.

__________________
Should they whisper false of you,
Never trouble to deny;
Should the words they say be true,
Weep and storm and swear they lie.
-Dorothy Parker

The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his.
-Patton

You dabbled in ritual majic....your my hero........so when is the coven meeting anyway? ahahahahahahaaaa

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The biggest problem is that some parents have no clue what their kids are doing on line. The parents who send their kids to a private school do so with the undersdtanding that they chose to go by the schools guidelines or rules.

While it takes some parents a while to understand the concept, most come to agree with the methods. Years ago, most kids came froma 2 parent home of parents who birthed and raised them. Now, the majority of the kids I teach come from divorced parents and split their time with 2 families, not 2 parents togesther. Because of this, it's much easier for the parents to be in a position that they don't know all that much about the childs life.

When parents are called in and shown what their children have posted on their MySpace site, they are usually shocked. It figures. The kids that have done nothing wrong usually don't have their parents called in.

As I stated, we have adjusted to the problems by having parents and students sign an agreement that they will not post anything regarding the school or other students or teachers on their site. If they do, they face possible explusion.

It;s their choice to attend our school or not, no one is forcing them to do so.

No one is forcing the students to go to the Catholic school in the news. They are free to attend the public school if they don't agree with the rules.

Our code of conduct isn't just for school hours, you agree to LIVE by the code of conduct 24 hours a day. It's a private school because we expect the students to live by a higher standard than those in public schools. We do our best to work with parents and students to mold the kids into good citizens. Sometimes it takes awhile and the turning of several cheeks to do so, but we try to do it with a loving heart and the childs best interest at heart. I think that is far from retarded.

Thanks river. You are ok for a republican. It's not a simple problem to fix in todays world. You are right. It's especially hard when you have kids from broken families. Good luck teaching them band kids. We need good teachers. You seem to be one of the good teachers.

__________________
http://tinyurl.com/25trx9

03/04/07 "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

02/25/07 "There is no nonsense so errant that it cannot be made the creed of the vast majority by adequate governmental action." ~ Bertrand Russell, British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)

This Kid named Perry Erskin was the first guy I ever heard say FUCK YOU ta Sister Johnathan.........She hauled him off to the office by his EAR..............we didn't see him for a week......he got.....oh my................"EXPELLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEED"