[LM_NET] Censoring What Political Material Teachers May Read

[Jamie McKenzie <fromnowon@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Dear Colleagues . . .

The February issue of From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal
takes a look at the unbalanced filtering going on in some school
districts
that have opted to block sites that fall into the "political advocacy"
category.

You will find the issue available free on line at http://fno.org.

There are two articles and a cartoon devoted to this serious issue of
news
and opinion censorship by school district officials and the companies
that enable them.

1. Big Brother Comes to School: Telling Teachers What to Read
and What to Believe
By Jamie McKenzie
http://fno.org/feb2005/censoring.html

Should a school district limit access for teachers and students
to certain political points of view while preventing them from
reading opposing points of view? This article explores the dangers
of filtering programs that block political advocacy sites in unfair
ways.

2. Legal and Constitutional Issues
By Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org

When school officials prevent students and teachers from reading
controversial political information, Willard argues that they are
interfering with a constitutional right.

3.Cartoon - Serious Monkey Business
http://fno.org/feb2005/febcartoon.html
See no evil.
Hear no evil.
Speak no evil.
The company says the district does the filtering.
The district says the company does the filtering.
The teacher says she/he didn't know they were being filtered,


Jamie McKenzie
Editor, From Now On - The Educational Technology Journal
http://fno.org
Editor, The Question Mark
http://questioning.org
Editor, No Child Left
http://nochildleft.com
mckenzie@fno.org
360-647-8759
500 15th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225

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