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October 26, 2005
The Medium isn't the Whole Message
I think it's really cool that teachers at some schools, including some at Case, are integrating blogs into the curriculum. It's a great way to make students think about the issues involved with Internet-based communication technologies.
What's not so great is the private school that is making rules about their students having blogs and posting to them in their private time.
Let us set aside that the MTV article I linked to initially makes it sound like the principal is banning all blogging (it later says that students can't talk about the school in their blogs).
I'm not clear what the intention of this policy is. Early in the article, the principal is quoted as saying that he trying to prevent students from being targeted by sexual predators. Later, when the policy is clarified, it sounds like the administration is trying to silence criticism about the school. If it's just about keeping students safe, it seems rather inadequate to target blogs, among the various Internet-based communication methods. If it's just about trying to control negative messages about the school, that's just a freedom of speech issue and we all know what the constitution has to say about that.
The principal says, "I believe we are teaching common civility, courtesy and respect." Maybe he thinks he is, but it seems to me that he's just telling the students to sit down and shut up. Blogs are just another medium. Learning to use it with "civility, courtesy and respect" would require teachers to come up with positive ways to use the medium and monitor students' progress, or at least discuss the ramifications of having a blog and what you share on a blog.
I have a lot of respect for Marshall McLuhan ("The medium is the message.") and his whole bit about how new media tend to have unanticipated social consequences. The medium may be a message, but it's not the only one. Unanticipated consequences happen. You can't control them by discouraging the use of a medium. The better solution is the use the medium thoughtfully and discriminatingly, while keeping open a dialog with others about consequences.
Posted by pls9 at October 26, 2005 01:58 PM
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