Catholic school bans pupils from MySpace

[mommyof4]

Our school does not ban children from having an accout, but they do block the site from the school server.

 

[childofmary1143]

The big question is:

How do they know that I have a myspace account?
How do they know my username on myspace?

Do they have Secret police/spys on every corner the way they do in Cuba reporting what we do inside our home to fidel?

Unless they are spying inside my house, they will never know my myspace account, thats how it should be too.

Don’t ask if I have myspace, Don’t tell them you do.

Suspend someone who uses it at school., Yes this is appropriate.
If it doesnt go on at school, its not relevant and the only way they will find out about it will be by spys or gossip. Both of which are unchristian, and do have a certain ring of totalitarian/facist/communist ideas. Myspace may be a terrible site generally speaking, I hate it in many ways and discourage it as well but its not possible to monitor who uses it.

Remember Rupert Murdoch does own Myspace, what else does he own? Oh, Fox news too! WOW “conservative news” and pornographic web site? what a combination. Thats the USA for us, Corporate manipulation all the way.

You know when you mention it that way I often wonder if not only is it not legal that they can enforce that but that they could committing an illegal act and be subjected to criminal/legal proceedings.

 

[February]

I live near this school. It is a K-8 school. Since myspace is supposed to require users to be at least 14, only 8th graders whose 14th birthdays fall during the school year could legitimately have a myspace account.

personally, i think it is a good idea. not just because of the content of myspace accounts, but because the sites can be used for gossip, deleting friends/leaving people out, spreading rumors, bullying, etc.

however, i don’t know how well it will be enforced, or how people could monitor it that closely to know if it really was that student with an account. you can pretty much make yourself “unsearchable”; plus, the “computer savvy staff members” would have to be added as a friend before they could make sure it was a student if they had a private profile. but, still a good idea in theory.

 

[Dandelion_Wine]

It is a private school. If they don’t like it, they can send their children to a secularized school.

Agreed. Don’t like the rules, don’t let the door hit your bum on the way out.

 

[childofmary1143]

Agreed. Don’t like the rules, don’t let the door hit your bum on the way out.

True but we are a nation of Laws and being a Private School does not make one above the law.

Why this really bothers me is not because I think that Myspace is a good website but that the school is self appointing itself as parents of those kids. WAKE UP Parents don’t you see how this is like in Nazi Germany where the nazi’s were instructing the kids to rat out on their parents.

Schools can make all the rules they want to in regard to what goes on IN SCHOOL TIME. But after school is over and the kids are at home then they don’t have any say whatsoever.

 

[Dandelion_Wine]

Schools can make all the rules they want to in regard to what goes on IN SCHOOL TIME. But after school is over and the kids are at home then they don’t have any say whatsoever.

Sure they can. The Catholic Church tells us not to commit adultery. Are we going to answer by saying - I won’t commit adultery at church where you can make the rules but don’t tell me what I can or can’t do in my own home. Adultery isn’t illegal and I can do it if I want.

Sure that’s one answer. But then why be Catholic.

How about a catechist? When they’re teaching catechism, as long as they teach only what Catholicism teaches - but the Church can’t say nor expect that when the catechist isn’t at church/school teaching, well then it’s ok for them to shack up w/ their gay lover and do pot and get drunk every night?

 

[dwc]

Sure that’s one answer. But then why be Catholic.

How about a catechist? When they’re teaching catechism, as long as they teach only what Catholicism teaches - but the Church can’t say nor expect that when the catechist isn’t at church/school teaching, well then it’s ok for them to shack up w/ their gay lover and do pot and get drunk every night?

You’re mixing apples and oranges. You’re talking about a parish expecting its adult employees to refrain from acts which are inherently immoral and which violate church teaching – this thread is about a school principal telling parents of its students what the parents can and cannot allow their children to do in the privacy of the family home. And, the specific activity mentioned here is something that can be performed legally and morally and without violating Catholic teaching (unlike your examples of homosexuality, illicit drug use and alcohol abuse).

dandelion wine, I’ll ask you directly – if you have children and you send them to a Catholic school, do you believe that gives the school administration the right to direct the decisions you, as a parent, make for your child in your home and completely outside of school time and activities? Can the principal tell you what games your children can play, who they can be friends with, what TV shows they can watch, what other web sites they can visit? Is there any limit to the Catholic school’s right to intervene in your family life? Remember, it’s not the magisterium or the Vatican we’re talking about – it’s the principal or other administrator of the school.

 

[February]

ok, i’ll say it again…K-8 school. only a small percentage of students could legitimately have a myspace account (students who turn 14).

i’m not terribly concerned about the “rights” of a 5th grader who lies about their age in order to have a myspace account.

 

[cyberwolf001]

ok, i’ll say it again…K-8 school. only a small percentage of students could legitimately have a myspace account (students who turn 14).

i’m not terribly concerned about the “rights” of a 5th grader who lies about their age in order to have a myspace account.

And obviously you don’t care about the rights of the 7th and 8th graders that can have one legally…

 

[WanderAimlessly]

And obviously you don’t care about the rights of the 7th and 8th graders that can have one legally…

Yes they can have one legally, but that does not mean that the school has to allow them to remain if they do have one. If is a private institution, they are allowed to have their own rules of association. It is settled case law (i.e. the Boy Scouts)

 

[childofmary1143]

Yes they can have one legally, but that does not mean that the school has to allow them to remain if they do have one. If is a private institution, they are allowed to have their own rules of association. It is settled case law (i.e. the Boy Scouts)

I think the keyword here is “should” and balanced is another word that should be discussed here. The issue here is one of principal. It doesn’t matter if it affects 1 student or 500 students. If a school wishes to be so private and assert its “privateness” devoid of outside influence or control then perhaps the State should accommodate and refuse to acknowledge the validity of its academic credits and grades.

 

[Corki]

I think this is inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on the parents’ being the primary educators of thier children but I am not sure that this is outside the school’s authority.

For example, a private school can expel or discipline a student who belongs to a sorrority (high school) or gang even if they don’t do anything illegal or act on school property or during school time. Generally, they can dismiss a student for any legitimate reason as long as they are not violating discrimination laws.

ChildofMary: BTW, I understand things are different in Cananda where some of the funding for Catholic schools comes from the government but in the US, private schools are not bound to follow the same laws as public school regarding school rules and even what is taught. Each state is different, of course.

 

[JGheen]

Despite Myspace being a problem…it should not be in the rights of the school to prevent children from using the website at home. Ban it from school, but their authority does not extend to their house.

The private elementary school (K-8) I went to (years ago!) banned all birthday parties or other parties during the school year. They said it distracted the students. Students were also not allowed to date each other - during school or otherwise.

I think the benefit of private schools is that they CAN make rules like these. I can certainly understand the logic behind banning myspace accounts. And clearly the ban has to extend to home use to have any effect.

Hopefully parents who entrust a school with the sacred responsibility of training their children (and pay tuition to boot!) will uphold the institution’s rules in their homes. Otherwise, what is the point of picking that school? If you disagree with the institution, why are you entrusting your child to them?

 

[JGheen]

I think this is inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on the parents’ being the primary educators of thier children but I am not sure that this is outside the school’s authority.

I think parents exercise their role as primary educators by selecting appropriate schools for their children. A school is not violating Church teaching for making policies to protect its children. If parents have a problem with a school – they are free to find another institution more in line with their educational philosophies. Again, parents exercise their role as primary educators by selecting appropriate schools for their children.

 

[childofmary1143]

ChildofMary: BTW, I understand things are different in Cananda where some of the funding for Catholic schools comes from the government but in the US, private schools are not bound to follow the same laws as public school regarding school rules and even what is taught. Each state is different, of course.

Yes we do have full funding for Catholic Schools but we also have Private Schools too. Also regarding Private Schools they do have to comply with teaching the basic curriculum.

 

[childofmary1143]

The private elementary school (K-8) I went to (years ago!) banned all birthday parties or other parties during the school year. They said it distracted the students. Students were also not allowed to date each other - during school or otherwise.

I think the benefit of private schools is that they CAN make rules like these. I can certainly understand the logic behind banning myspace accounts. And clearly the ban has to extend to home use to have any effect.

Hopefully parents who entrust a school with the sacred responsibility of training their children (and pay tuition to boot!) will uphold the institution’s rules in their homes. Otherwise, what is the point of picking that school? If you disagree with the institution, why are you entrusting your child to them?

Well parents don’t send kids to school for the school to raise them. After all parents are more than just egg and sperm donors to be pawns of the State or School. As for sacred responsibility it falls on the parents not on the school.

 

[childofmary1143]

I think parents exercise their role as primary educators by selecting appropriate schools for their children. A school is not violating Church teaching for making policies to protect its children. If parents have a problem with a school – they are free to find another institution more in line with their educational philosophies. Again, parents exercise their role as primary educators by selecting appropriate schools for their children.

I think there is more to parental responsibility than just “choosing” a school. A school can most certainly violate Church teaching by becoming its primary educator when it tells what can go on in the home or not. Nowhere does it say in ANY CHURCH DOCUMENT that the exercise of primary educators shall consist SOLELY of selecting a school.

 

[Thekla]

Schools can make all the rules they want to in regard to what goes on IN SCHOOL TIME. But after school is over and the kids are at home then they don’t have any say whatsoever.

Let me say first that my kids aren’t old enough to be on the computer and when they are the computer will be in neutral territory in the house.

But from any school’s perspective, the problem with myspace and other sites like it is that so much of what gets said by the kids on the internet in their own homes comes to school the next day and can cause real problems.

School have filters; I can’t even get on this site from work. But the garbage that kids will say and do to one another on the internet is very different than what they will do or say in person or on the phone. We’ve had more than our share of fights at 8 o’clock in the morning over what went on on the internet the night before.

 

[dwc]

I think parents exercise their role as primary educators by selecting appropriate schools for their children. A school is not violating Church teaching for making policies to protect its children. If parents have a problem with a school – they are free to find another institution more in line with their educational philosophies.

That’s the point – the school has stepped outside of educational philosophy and into an area that belongs to the parents – protecting their children. We entrust the school to keep children safe during school hours, to and from school if they ride the bus, and during school sanctioned extracurriculars. Outside of that, protection of the children is a parental duty.

I think there is more to parental responsibility than just “choosing” a school. A school can most certainly violate Church teaching by becoming its primary educator when it tells what can go on in the home or not. Nowhere does it say in ANY CHURCH DOCUMENT that the exercise of primary educators shall consist SOLELY of selecting a school.

and

Well parents don’t send kids to school for the school to raise them. After all parents are more than just egg and sperm donors to be pawns of the State or School. As for sacred responsibility it falls on the parents not on the school.

***Exactly. ***

 

[cyberwolf001]

Yes they can have one legally, but that does not mean that the school has to allow them to remain if they do have one. If is a private institution, they are allowed to have their own rules of association. It is settled case law (i.e. the Boy Scouts)

Last I checked having a Myspace wasn’t a mortal sin.