There’s nothing more irritating than searching something up and being greeted with the giant text reading “BLOCKED.” This is the way the school deters students from searching things that may be deemed inappropriate or might disrupt the learning environment. But what is actually considered inappropriate?

The school’s handbook states, “Using the network for any illegal activity, including violation of copyright or other contracts, or transmitting any material is in violation of any state or federal law. Unauthorized downloading of software, regardless of whether it is copyrighted or de-virused.”

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as a list much longer resides within the handbook itself. There is even a section on proper online etiquette.

The handbook says “Be polite. Do not become abusive in your messages to others. Use appropriate language. Do not swear, or use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language. Do not use the network in any way that would disrupt its use by other users.”

So it seems that the sites that you would imagine being blocked, those that would be used for illegal activities, are the ones inaccessible; however, half of the time a website given by your teacher is unreachable or blocked itself. All you can do is keep refreshing in hope that the system allows you entrance. This brings up the question everyone is wondering. Is the schools blocking system an effective deterrence? I would say that yes.

While I understand the annoyance and inconvenience of Netflix and Hulu being blocked, there is simply a better time for things like that. The school’s internet security system was put in place in order to maintain the focused learning environment that DGS strives to maintain. It may not stop off task work completely, but it does suppress the most disruptive of sites.

Personally, I find the security inconvenient. I know that in a classroom it is necessary to keep focus, but outside of the classrooms some websites are  still blocked. This makes it much more difficult for the people using their computers outside of class, especially those whose only access to the internet is their chromebook.

Maybe one day we won’t need systems like this to keep the focus of the student in check, but until then the school will keep monitoring things that may impede our ability to learn.