Description: An Orthodox Jewish girls school in New York orders students to cancel Facebook accounts or be expelled
Source: cnn .com
Date: March 30, 2012
Questions for discussion:
- Do you feel that schools should have this right to keep students off of social media?
- What possible reasons would the schools have in taking this action to ban social media for their students?
Patrick
I do not think that educational institutions should have the right to keep their students off facebook or any other kind of social media. I believe that the students and their parents should be the ones to decide if it appropriate for them to have an account on social media sites. The thing that I believe that schools should have power over on social media, is allowing the students to access them while they are on the premises. I think that the schools that are introducing this “ultimatum” are just power hungry and I don’t think that they well be able to hold their ground. Who is saying that the students don’t create an account under an alias, such as putting an extra letter in there name and changing their name from something such as Patrick to Pattrick and just tell all there friends about the change. So basically I believe that the institutions that a implementing this will not be able to enforce these rules, and the will eventually have to dissolve this rule.
I think that the schools are looking out for the best interests of the students in implementing these rules because they have seen all the problems that they have had with people on social media sites.
Paige Magnussen
This was an interesting video to watch. Although i understand that social media can be stressful for parents and that teenagers might not make the best decisions with what to put on Facebook I think this should be the parents decisions to control their children not the school. If students aren’t going on Facebook while they are at school it should not be a problem. The school system shouldn’t control what their students do outside of school. And the fact that they took it as far as to charge people 100 dollars to make sure they didn’t get Facebook back is soo crazy. These kids could be facing expulsion for simply engaging in the latest technology. This is so extreme but I think you can see by these peoples style of dress and facial hair there obviously not up to date with any trends in society. I think the parents need to take charge of their children’s lives and not let school systems control them. The advancements in technology can serve as a positive experience for these students and it can help prepare them for the real world. This might serve them negatively. And I strongly disagree with what this school is doing.
P
I think this is a “grey area” problem. I can see the pros and cons of social media and the affects on teenagers. Social media is a large platform where people around the world can communicate in real time, this can be a good thing when users have family in other countries, but may be bad when essentially anyone in the world can have access to, and communicate with the teenager. The recent obsession and “addictions” to social media has been talked about quite a bit in the news, our generation is constantly accessing social media sites which in turn creates self absorbed, self-conscious teenagers. Anything can be put onto social media sites and teenagers may not have the knowledge that not everything is true. This can be for company social media sites to generate more revenue, or even the happiness on their fellow classmates. The social comparison theory states that people are constantly comparing themselves to others in society and if they feel they do not measure up, may in turn decrease their overall self-esteem. Social media is a touchy subject which can be viewed as either a massive benefit to society or a source for depleting it and communication skills worldwide.
Kelsey Roberts
This is quite an extreme measure to take, and in my opinion one that’s possibly gone too far; and arguably taken the rights away from these girls. Social media is simply a type of social voice, and to ban a individuals right from partaking in such a thing, I believe is taking away their freedom of speech. The man in the video says he wants the girls to “live in the real world”, well today the real world consists of technology and social media is a big part of that, so to demand that they delete their accounts is actually denying them access to the real world in my opinion. While I understand that different cultures have their set of values and customs, I don’t feel that alienating themselves from the rest of the world will bring them any good. Such extreme behavior from the Orthodox Jewish Girls School will only bring them scrutiny, and further ridicule. I think a better approach to their issue with social media would have been limiting the schools access at school, and requesting that they keep respectful profiles.
Nichelle
That is a very interesting take on Facebook and the use within an all girls educational institution. I can understand how the goal behind this is to ensure a real world communication with others, but I argue that it is not a decision to be made by a school, but rather the parents. And the fact that the institution collects a refundable fee to keep these students off of social media is just ridiculous. Other measures could have been taken instead of going a financial way. It should be up to the parents as to what type of “rules” are enforced in their separate lives, definitely not the decision of any school. The way in which schools are operating compared to when I was growing up has changed dramatically. Each day there is a new regulation put into place at educational institutions all over the place. Young children are no longer allowed to send valentine’s day cards to each other, the students are not allowed to hug each other, and the latest is that any scary Halloween costumes are not allowed to be worn for Halloween events. Going to these extremes is just ridiculous and frankly, if educational institutions wish to have their students not utilize social media sites, the schools should incorporate incentives for students for their non-use rather than charge them.
Laura
School may have the right to restrict access to Facebook and other technology during school hours, but they have absolutely no right to dictate what students are doing outside of school hours. It seems likely that religion has a lot to do with this Facebook ban, and that’s alright as long as the school is private, and the parents of these kids agree with the views of the faulty. However, public schools cannot take the same action because there must be a clear division of religion and teaching. The Facebook ban puts an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, because once it starts, where does it end? Banning kids from having cell phones, or recess or interacting with each other at all? Unfortunately, any actions taken to censor ideas and thoughts are steps in the wrong direction. Soon censorship could be rampant on the internet, and that would be the beginning of the end for the most widely accessed freedom of speech platform the world has ever known. It may start with telling 14 year olds they are not able to use Facebook, but it might end with the internet as we know it becoming censored to a point where free speech was a fond memory of yesteryear.
M
I think this is somewhat ridiculous giving the students an ultimatum of delete facebook or be expelled. I know I would not want my personal freedom outside of school to participate in facebook to be revoked. If you are ridiculing or bullying people via facebook or say you are making inappropriate comments about the school or a teacher in the school then that is a different story. These should be treated as isolated incidents and dealt with that way; you cannot just blanket all of facebook as being bad. Facebook has many very useful functions other than just causing problems as this man in this video seems to think. I do not know how many times I have not had a phone number for someone and I missed class or needed to clarify something about an assignment, a test or anything else and facebook allowed me to communicate with them. Also this 100 dollar deposit I know I would never even take part in, I think that bringing in a separate social media channel like facebook and banning it or you are expelled is definitely an issue that could be brought to a school board and fought easily, especially when they have not provided any examples of how facebook actually effected their students. All that is said is that they want them in the real world, or that high school kids do not have the best judgement, which is a half ass excuse in my opinion.
Trevor Armstrong
Do you feel that schools should have this right to keep students off of social media? After watching the video, I have a difficult time understanding the reasoning given to make students delete their facebook accounts. I’m not sure what gives a school the right to be able to censor something the students do when not in class (this would be completely different if they were only disallowing facebook during school hours). The reasoning they give is that it is damaging to their social development, and while this may be true, no proof or evidence is given that kids who associate with their peers via facebook are more socially inept then those who do not.
A possible reason that schools could have for this action would be to encourage the interaction of students in person, rather than online. However, isn’t this is what grade school is for? Students attend classes in person, with their peers – this promotes interaction, as students are put into situations where they need to associate with others directly. If a student wants to remove themselves from this atmosphere at home, in their own time, they should have the right to do so without being expelled from school.
Dennis Zhong
I am agree with Trevor’s comment. However, the trend of communication is move to network in recent years, but I still believe face to face interaction should be encourage, because it is better to deliver your emotion. I can see why the school doing that, but i do not think they have the right to do that.Instead of using punishment, the school should encourage more face to face interaction or group activities in school time.
Lesley
There should be some limits, which are fair, inside the school and during school hours that keep students off Facebook. However, i don’t feel that the school should have the right to completly banish Facebook’s use after school hours. The idea behind banishing it was to keep the student in the “real” world, and with “real” friends. Isn’t that the responsibility of the students parents? The parents should be calling the shots on their childrens Facebook use.
The reasoning behind banning Facebook is most likely to keep the girls away from boys. I know that some religions are much more strict, but as the young boy mentioned if they want to date, they will. Facebook is not going to destroy the lives of young students, if anything, it will teach them some computer skills and offer a place to meet new people while being able to keep in touch with friends around the globe. The decision to allow my child on Facebook, or to not allow them will be just that, my decision.
Lacey Dodds
This school does not have the right to keep students away from social media because these teenagers are just going to go activate their account right after they graduate. I do not think this will teach them a lesson, if anything; it will cause the students to be more secretive and rebellious. I think this whole view of Facebook as the evil is old-school. Yes, it does have its disadvantages but it should be up to the individual person if he or she wants a Facebook account or not. Some people do actually use it solely for keeping in touch with long distant family members and friends, and I do not see anything wrong with this.
I think one of the reasons school have in wanting to take the action to ban Facebook would be because it does contribute to a lot of unnecessary drama (especially between teenage girls). It can start a lot of fights and even be another platform for bullying. It also might be distracting if students are constantly sneaking around trying to check their Facebook on their phones or on the web in a computer class where they are supposed to be paying attention. I think that this school is overacting because social media is not the sole reason teenagers fight, I do not think anything would change if the ban was to be enforced.
Billy Abesdris
1. Do schools have the right…
No. The institution of schools exist to help people learn things. The institiution of law exists to determine what people should and should not do.
2. Why would they…
Because they are religous extremists and religous extremeists tend to exhibit irrational behavior.
Timothy Anderson
Facebook is a distraction for everyone that uses it. It is distracting for many reasons but above all it is because it is always there and is easy to use. A person can get a sense of connection with others or acceptance from Facebook because someone likes their status or because they have many ‘friends’ or because they can know what is going on with a lot of people all a the same time. Facebook gives people a false sense that they are connecting with people on a meaningful level. This is a greater problem than simply keeping boys and girls away from each other. We have had that problem for generations and it is not going away any time soon. The real problem is exactly what the principle (white bearded guy) was talking about. That real interactions with real people is far better for young people than is the fake interactions we have online. Some young people today might argue with that but their only real argument is that this is the way we communicate with each other today. That may be true, however the interactions we have online are far more limited than the real, face to face interactions. Just because a person gets a sense of connection with people on the web doesn’t mean that it has actually happened. It is far more difficult to read a person on the web. There can be a greater level of miscommunication and this can lead to a false sense of closeness.
While I do not think that the school system has the right to keep kids from Facebook, I do agree with their argument that the kids need real interactions with people and you can not get that online. However, I do think that there are ways that a school could try to limit Facebook on school property by banning smartphone use while in school. That I think would be effective, however kids will do what feels good and so I think there is no stopping the movement toward more time online interacting with people and less time in face to face real connection with people. Sad but true.
Rachael Brown
First of all, this video made me extremely happy I am not an Orthodox Jew because it displayed their ignorant and outdated way of thinking. I could understand teachers banning students from using social media while on the school premises, but this is demonstrating control beyond the boundaries of the school. Setting limitations on students now, will hinder their growth in the future, as they aren’t developing the decision-making skills that are necessary for a post-graduation environment. These outlandish rules are a poor way of controlling students and will harmful long-term.
The reasons for banning Facebook that were discussed in the video include making students live in the “real world” to help their socialization skills, decrease “hooking up” with guys on Facebook, and that it is important for their education and social life. All of the reasons behind deleting a Facebook account were poorly explained in the video and have no evidence-based support. The video reflected poorly upon the members of the school and on the Orthodox Jews themselves. It is a sad world we live in when female high school students aren’t able to grow by making their own decisions.
Sagrika
Schools do not have the right to monitor their students activities outside of school time. However, the school do possess a right to restrict the assess to Facebook between school timings but that does not mean they could take measures to extend the restrictions to the social media. They are forcing their decision on the students based on their religious views and this is not right and fair to the students. They are trying to take away the individual freedom from their students in the time when they are not even present at school. I do not think they should be able to ban the social media completely because joining the site was the children’s decision and the first one to guide and be responsible for their any inappropriate actions would be the parents. Also, if the school is trying to limit the connections between the students by banning Facebook then they obviously forgot about the cell phones where the students can connect to each other and girls and boys are doing that. If that was the issue then cell phones would be banned too. This just seems illogical and unfair.
Darren Fletcher
I do not think that public schools should have the right to dictate anything that happens off campus at all including social media, but private schools do. That being said I agree with the Orthodox school when they said that they are not real friends. Facebook is creating a generation of time wasters and what ever the opposite of a social butterfly would be. In no way does posting what you ate for breakfast of when you are going to sleep socializing in any way. Facebook is offering a free service for one reason and that reason is to use you in anyway to make money off you. Those ways are unknown and could be a serious violation of individual privacy. I think that in the long run anyone choosing to shun social medial will be rewarded with less junk being bombarded at me at all times.
Ashley O'Donnell
I do not think schools should have the right to keep students off social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Parents should be the only ones with the right to keep their children off social media. I can see a number of different reasons why the school may think that forcing students to deactivate their account is ideal but in these cases it may just need to be handled on a case by case basis. One reason the school may want to ban facebook is the use of it during school hours. Obviously Facebook is a distraction and may cause students to become derailed from their studies in school. However, it is easy enough for the school to ban the site so no student can access it during school hours. If they choose to use it after school, then that should be their choice and up to the parents to limit their use of it. Another reason they might be choosing this alternative is because of the bullying epidemic. Again, this can be solved on a case by case basis. If it brought to their attention that Facebook is being used to bully a child, the school and parents can take it upon themselves to assist the victim and speak with the bully(s) to solve the problem. Overall, banning students from using Facebook is just asking for trouble, and they will find another site to use.
Michael Holland
I don’t believe schools should have the right to dictate whether their students can use social media or not. I strongly believe they have the right to restrict or ban access when on school property, however, I do not believe schools should have any control over their students personal life. Social media is becoming a growing part of modern society, and it is becoming the common way to interact and communicate with other people. There are problems to social media, however, these problems are neither new, nor surprising. As with the invention of the internet new forms of abuse, fraud, and exploitation occur on social media, and yet these issues are just the same old problem with a new face. The schools banning social media will have a negative effect, because they will have no way of enforcing it without encroaching on the students and their families right to privacy. Any effective way to monitor this use outside the normal public means would be a direct invasion of privacy. I understand why schools would want some control over this with the rise in cyber bullying and other problems, and yet this is not the solution. This will only force students to use other means of interacting which they will not be able to monitor, and which could potentially escalate the current problems. Rather, have a no use policy when on school grounds, and have a policy in place in which instances of cyber bullying will be investigated and dealt with on a case by case basis.
Tuan Tran
Only an Orthodox Jewish girls school in New York that I do feel that the school have the right to keep students off social media. If your religion required you to be pure and true to your faith and if you are true to your believe than it shouldn’t be an issue. However, I think it is those student who are force or pressure by their parent to join this religion school would not agree because they do not believe. If you do not believe in something than you definitely will not accept anything plain and simple. Possible reasons why the schools have in taking this action to ban social media for their student that I could think of is that the religion wants to be old school and wants to keep the belief in a traditional way with no modern influences. Furthermore, I think Face book or any social media is very addictive and the religion probably see it as a drug.
Linli He
I do no think that schools should have the right to keep their students off any social media, like facebook, twitter. The only thing that schools should do is having power over on social media, like providing some rules or policy for their students accessing social media. The school have no the right to control what their students is doing outside of school on the social media. However, the schools have the right to restrict their students on using the social media while they are at school, not keeping their students off the facebook or any other kind of social media. I think it is too extreme that charging students 100 dollars because of the social media. Social media is a major part for our generation. We use facebook or twitter to contact friends, updating the news happening around ourselves. It is so difficult for us to cut off the social networking because the social media is like a obsession and addictions for us. I would say only parents can decide if the social media is appropriate for their kids or not.
Joe thiongo
Do you feel that schools should have this right to keep students off of social media?
personally i do not think that schools should have the right to keep students off social media because facebook is a great way for people to connect and prepare them for the “real world”. social media has taken over our society and is only going to get bigger. helping kids make better decisions from a young age is really important. instead of completely banning facebook, this school should be helping the students make good decisions online.
What possible reasons would the schools have in taking this action to ban social media for their students?
Facebook has been a place where people bully other people and this might be a reason why this school has taken this drastic measures. Schools should be taking measures to educate the students on making good decisions while using social media.
Lealand McCallum
No I don’t think schools have the right to keep students off of social media sites. In class time and such I agree, but on their own free time is just ridiculous to me. They have no right keeping someone off of facebook. One this is definitely not the school’s concern, if the student’s parents don’t allow their child to have facebook that’s fine but having a school ban facebook for all their students is way too far. And two, what harm does social media do in the first place? In my mind it would help teachers/parents/police find out what the students are up to and what kind of things are going on in the teen age world. Blocking the site on campus is a different story, the principle has total control over what sites the students may access while on campus. But as soon as they leave the premises it is no longer their call.
CAP
Schools definitely should not have the right to make students close their accounts on any social media sites. These sites are public and anyone is able to have an account if they wish. I think if the students are using their social networking sites in class or in the schools then the schools should be able to ban them but only when the students are in the schools. Social media sites can be distracting or can be used in a negative way especially when used in classes so I can understand the school’s concerns. It still doesn’t give the schools any rights to not let students use these sites for personal use or when they are out of the school. Not only do the social media sites have negative aspects but also positive ones. They can help students or anyone really to be more social or even use its features for personal benefits. Personal benefits can include being able to communicate to family or friends who are far away and storing pictures and memories into the site. I think the schools are looking at social media way too negatively and thats probably why they want to ban it.
LW
I do not believe that schools should have the option to ban students from using social media sites such as facebook, and twitter. These social networking site help to connect individuals and experience some type of Foreign culture through others. II do not believe that schools should have the option to ban students from using social media sites such as Facebook, and twitter. These social networking site help to connect individuals, and experience some type of foreign culture. I completely understand the purpose behind banning Facebook from students. As our world is becoming increasingly more virtual where people are relying too much on technology instead of experiencing the real world. As I have noticed more and more as I grow up I am constantly adapting to new technologies and spending more and more time inside on the computer or watching T.V then experiencing the outside and the fresh air. The purpose of banning social media sites in school I think could be beneficial to some extent as it forces kids and adults to socialize on a direct level instead of virtually through the use of the computer. This socialization includes meeting up for coffee to chat or walking up to someone to have a real conversation.