For the past few years, many students visit the school library in order to be productive. Whether this is during a free period or after school, this is a common practice of almost all students of the school. Often, these students will begin working on a personal computer that they have brought from home only to be told that they must use a school issued chromebook, or else they will be kicked out of the library. This is simply ridiculous.
It is important to note that this is not a critique of the library administration that is just doing their jobs, but rather one of the broader policies that has brought about this issue. The rule that students cannot use personal computers in the library is due to the official Board of Education Policy. This policy states that personal computers are considered to be digital devices which are not to be used in areas of the building used for teaching and learning. The library qualifies as an area of the building used for teaching and learning, therefore students are not permitted to use their personal computers under this policy.
Personal computers are valuable tools that must be available to the use of students in their free time during the school day. It is important to acknowledge that it is reasonable for personal computers to be prohibited in classrooms as only chromebooks can be monitored by teachers, which is an important tool in online test-taking. However, in their free time students must be able to use any device that is necessary for them to complete their work to the best of their ability.
School-issued chromebooks have many flaws mainly due to the extensive blocking system that is applied to so many potentially useful sites for students to use in their academic pursuits. For example, Quizlet, an extremely popular site that many students used as a study tool, was recently blocked on school chromebooks. It is not just a few particular sites that render chromebooks essentially useless when using them it feels as if a vast majority of sites are blocked. This makes research with school chromebooks especially difficult.
Among the student body there is widespread discontent with this policy. Junior Arman Brummet said, “I was in the library the other day working with a sophomore that required me to use my computer and I was told to put it away. I feel this creates more of a headache and I am not sure if this is really helping.” Such a sentiment is widespread among all students in the school and this issue must be addressed.
The simple solution to this problem is that the library must be excluded from the designation of an area used for teaching and learning. The library is generally treated as a space for students to use in their free time for whatever reason they see fit. The designation of an area used for teaching and learning places restrictions upon this and makes the lives of students much more difficult for no good reason at all.
Personal computers are a useful tool for students that they must be able to use in their free time in order to complete schoolwork. The library must be a space for students to be productive during their free time and by limiting this ability, the ability of students to be productive in the library is hampered. This is a major issue among the student body of the school, but it has a simple solution and it must be addressed.
