I am reprising this post since the vote about Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) is happening soon. See David Warlick’s blog to get contact info to contact representatives about their vote.
Paper and pencils can be used to draw inappropriate, hate filled, pictures messages and ideas – and you could poke someone’s eye out. They could even be used to lure your child into a dangerous situation. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut off access to keep our children safe? No, because they are everywhere and too valuable in so many ways, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
Over 200,000 children are injured using playground equipment each year, some are killed. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut access to playground equipment to keep our children safe? No, because they’re eventually going to find play equipment and playing is too valuable an experience, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
50,000 people die or are injured in swimming accidents each year. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut access to swimming to keep our children safe? No, because pools and lakes and ponds are everywhere and it would be dangerous if they fell in and it is too valuable and healthy a skill, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
30,000 people are killed and thousands more injured in auto crashes each year. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut access to cars and driving to keep our children safe? No, cars are everywhere and driving is too valuable, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
Phones are used for criminal activities, even luring kids away from home. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut off access to phones to keep our children safe? No, phones are everywhere and they are too valuable, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
There are some churches and religions out there that don’t have the same beliefs as yours – and some even preach ideas that you would consider blasphemous and hateful. Should we (and could we if we tried?) cut off access to religion to keep our children safe? No, religion is everywhere and it is too valuable, so as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use.
There are applications of technology that can expose your child to inappropriate, hate filled, pictures, messages and ideas. Technology and the internet are everywhere. Do we cut off access? (and could we if we tried?) Or are these applications too educationally valuable? As parents and educators it would be better if we monitored and taught ethical, appropriate, safe use.
Otherwise who will teach them about these things and where will they learn about them?
Learning is messy!
Wow!
What a powerfully frightening pseudo-reality “Reprised” challenges me to ponder.
I just tried to imagine…
No paper~ no pencils?? With what will we draw? With what will we spit through straws at lunch?
No more slides to go down backwards? No swings to twist-n-spin til we barf and do underducks for our best friends? No teeter totters to bail off of, for the thrill of seeing the kid up-top catapulted to the moon?
No more swimming holes to belly flop into? No diving boards to cartwheel off of? No more “going off the deep end” and holding your nose??
No cars, jeeps, pickups, busses, John Deer Tractors, hummers, paddle boats, skateboards, scooters… no tricycles? No more $3.00 a gallon for gas?? (HEY! What a great idea!!)
No cell phones? No voice mail, text messages, or downloading ringtones??No more telemarketers?????? (hmmmm….)
No GPS’s? Blackberries? Laptops?
No more Jesus Loves Me this I Know? No more little gold or orange Gideon bibles? No more first communions, no Sunday School, no batismal fonts? (these DO contain water- you know!)
No more Game Cubes, X-boxes, PS2’s, PSP’s, laptops, notebooks, flash-drives, no more bloogging?? No more mySpace???? (But where will the children hang out?)
Pinch me~ I must be dreaming…
I wholeheartledly believe that you hit the nail right on the head when you said…
“as parents and educators we monitor and teach ethical, appropriate, safe use” and to that, I’d like to say a great big AMEN and add…
“of our BRAINS” at the end.
Old-fashioned use-your-head-type thinking is certainly worth the effort!
Having just dug my dusty old thinking cap out from underneath the bed…
I catch myself wondering if they have any frozen brain-cells in the government’s brain-cell bank that we could send overnight express to the folks who thought up DOPA??
Inquiring minds wanna know…
I think.
Great post, thanks.
DOPA passed by a shameful 410-15 margin. I urge you to write your representative after the fact and explain why his/her vote was wrong.
Andy Carvin has a DOPA news aggregator at.http://www.andycarvin.com/dopa.html
The report is very sensational. Whilst I appreciate that great numbers of children are likely tp pick-up injuries whilst engaging in physical play activity, it is fair to say outdoor play equipment has got a lot safer.
With safety first a number of accidents, scrapes, bumps and bruises can be avoided.
See my information on Climbing Frame safety: http://www.climbingframesuk.com/content/safteyFeatures.cfm
Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
Best you should edit the page name Reprised Because of DOPA – So As Parents and Educators We Monitor and Teach Ethical, Appropriate, Safe Use | Learning Is Messy – Blog to more specific for your blog post you write. I enjoyed the post all the same.