I had a discussion about our class the other day during my coffee break with a co-worker, explaining all the different tools I had been learning about, and about how to integrate technology into the classroom. The answer I got?
‘Technology? All that’s going to happen is kids are going to goof off during class and download porn!’.
Oooook.
Now, I realize that yes, there IS an exceedingly large amount of porn out there these days(and is that all that people think you can do on the internet???), BUT, are we going to sit around and ban the use of technology because of it?? I hope not. I think that if we are worried about all the plausible outcomes of letting a student use a computer, then we haven’t properly prepared them to use it. It’s like telling your 17 year old son/daughter not to drink when they go out, and then give them 20 dollars and a 2am curfew, and don’t ask where they’re going.
Like any classroom management, if you make your expectations for your students known, as well as the concequences, AND you follow through with them, life gets a whole lot easier for you.
As for the porn issue, well, it’s out there, and the students know it. It is on advertisements on websites, it’s on tv, it’s in magazines, and it’s easily accessible. They also know that it is out there because there is a demand for it. I believe that if you do catch your students viewing porn at school, it’s important to address some of the underlying issues that come with it. Why do people get so upset about it? To students, porn might form their entire concepts and ideas about what sex is actually like. And not addressing the ideas and issues around sex may only further promote these false ideals and perceptions. I think it is absolutely neccessary that as teachers, we are able to discuss sex in an educational, appropriate way. Allowing ourselves to become angry or embarrassed does no favors to our students. It may get rid of the problem at that moment, but odds are, it’ll be back….there’s certainly enough of it out there….as well as a large amount of curiousity.
