Sparing the children

The Halifax Regional School Board uses a ridiculous computer filtering system -- one that blocks so many sites that teachers have a hard time finding sites their students can use. (Another absurdity is that exactly the same filters apply for all grades. What's unsafe for Grade 1 is unsafe for Grade 12, apparently.)

One of my kids, for example, says his teacher recommended a science site, but the filtering software won't let students access it. It's classified as "gaming." An unintended result is that the high school kids are learning more about computer science, as they access the forbidden sites they need to do their schoolwork through anonymizers and proxy servers.

Of course there are some sites that are so evil children must be protected from them. This one, for instance -- yes, the good old Muddy Hill Post. Try to access it from a computer within the Halifax Regional School Board and you will see this message: "Access denied. This site has been categorized as occult."

The company that provides the filtering software claims to offer the "most advanced proprietary global filtering and categorization service." That must explain why -- in addition to dangerous blogs that offer commentary on freelance writing, Halifax and Nova Scotia news, music and other satanic topics -- they also block access to certain government web sites, teen health sites, dangerous publications like Harper's and the Village Voice, and anything that will let you check your email. And don't even begin to think about researching a paper on the Second World War. Because Hitler, you know, was anti-Semitic. So sites referring to him are a no-no, apparently.

I wonder if the folks behind this software really think living in a CNN world with other viewpoints considered too extreme for young minds will make for a better society.