EDUCATION WATCH : Worth the Hassle

First came computers in high school, then access to the global computer network known as the Internet. Then came students using the computers for things they shouldn’t, like downloading risque pictures and talking dirty to users elsewhere on the Internet. Not quite what teachers and principals had in mind.

High schools have been scrambling to ensure that students use their on-line time for academic purposes. The Orange County Education Department reports that nearly all school districts in its jurisdiction either have adopted or are about to adopt policies dealing with computer usage in school. That’s a sensible precaution for all schools.

Three students at Aliso Niguel High School recently lost their computer privileges for using unacceptable language in a computer “chat room.” Another student was barred from using the terminal for trying to download a Playboy magazine photograph.

The Capistrano Unified School District is requiring parental permission for students to sign on to computers and will track how they are used. The district also plans to subscribe to software that blocks access to computer addresses specializing in indecent language or pictures.

School districts say most students are responsible users of the computers, but teachers and administrators are right to keep tabs on their charges. Congress is wrestling now with how to curb indecent materials on the Internet. This marvelous new learning tool is not problem-free, but it should prove to be worth the extra hassles it imposes on parents and teachers.