This year, Southeast of Saline has cracked down on internet usage. Because of this, there have been many concerns regarding the restrictions on student ability to research. Many keywords have been blocked from students. Oftentimes, students will search up words and a screen saying “Content Blocked” will pop up. Here is my ranking of the oddest words that are blocked from SES searches: 

1. Toy (Why is the word “toy” blocked from SES students? I would love to be provided an explanation for this.) 
2. The Picture Lady Website (I tried to order my school photos on the website “thepicturelady.reorderphotos.com” and it was blocked… why?)
3. AI (I can’t even look up the word “AI” for research purposes. Any academic projects involving researching AI cannot be completed in school.)
4. Weapon (I mean… come on. There are so many worse things. I promise I am not planning an attack on the school.)
5. Games (This is wild… I understand blocking specific games, but blocking the word “games”?)
6. Netflix (I tried watching a documentary for research and I couldn’t… Reminder: not all entertainment sources are for unproductive purposes!)

Overall, the blocking of these words is controversial among SES students, as well as SES staff. Additionally, it is speculative that other educational resources are unable to work because of these keywords being blocked. For example, the tool of using in-text citations in Google Docs no longer works. Because of this, teachers are having trouble helping students write a works cited after using this tool as a resource for years. 

English teacher Mrs. Miller says, “We are experiencing new difficulties with our technology that have made using the Google Docs citations tool very difficult for the majority of students in sophomore English.” On top of that, Mrs. Miller assigned students to a historical research project. Many keywords were blocked and the students were unable to research facts to help support their projects. Phrases such as “historically accurate Native American weapon” or “Civil War gun” are blocked, resulting in the inability to conduct adequate research. 

As students get closer to college and the workforce, the ability to research is crucial. Additionally, it is imperative that adolescents are capable of having self control and using tools in an appropriate manner. If there are strict restrictions on the freedom of using the internet through this hindrance, it can be hard for students to learn to use the internet professionally and responsibly. Isn’t high school supposed to prepare students for the real world? How is one able to be adequately prepared with such harsh restrictions on the freedom of using public resources?

Ultimately, these restrictions on internet usage for Southeast of Saline has created more problems than it has solved. There are many different factors influencing this implementation, as well as many consequences that have erupted from this.