This year, the school has decided to block a portion of apps that were deemed “inappropriate”for school.  Some of the blocked apps include Snapchat, Madden Mobile, and Puffin.

Joe Ryberg, dean of students, said,  “this is a learning environment, so it’s not an unrestricted environment.”

In addition to this, students caught off-task on their iPad will be given demerits.

“We have technology that will assist us in helping students build good work habits,” said Ryberg.

At the same time there was also pressure from the parents.

“There are a lot of our parents who expect us to do that as well and we do work with our parents in trying to meet their expectations,” said Ryberg.

While it is true that students need to build good work habits, it does not require control on the school’s end. Blocking these apps is excessive and unnecessary. Students should be able to choose what they do on their iPads at school. Teachers giving out demerits for students off-task in class is warranted, but if students want to play a Madden Mobile game after school or during lunch, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to.

This is high school, and part of the learning experience is making mistakes and then correcting behavior to avoid those mistakes in the future. High school students are at the age and maturity to make their own decisions and understand the consequences and repercussions to their choices. If a student chooses to play Madden Mobile the whole time at school, he will eventually learn from his mistakes. First-hand experience is the best way to learn, and students would learn best if they experience the effects of being off-task for long periods of time.

Banning specific apps would hardly achieve anything. There are so many more distracting elements in the world, and it would be impossible to block every single one of them. The school can place us in this protective bubble, but what happens when we go home and have lots of free time, or when we graduate and go to college and are faced with more pressure and more distractions? Being given this freedom would help students learn to control and manage time. Only by experiencing a life with distractions and overcoming them are we able to grow and mature as men. Overall, students don’t need the school controlling what they should and shouldn’t look at.