Try to monitor my closed Chromebook

Parent access to everything we’re doing on our Chromebooks is not only an invasion of privacy, but completely unnecessary.

The joys of a new school year. The thick air in the classrooms without central cooling, the excitement of finishing sixth hour so you can experience AFT and the peace of mind knowing your parents can view every website you go to on your brand new Chromebook!

My mom was more subdued than I was when she found out about the last one. She forwarded me the district-wide parent e-mail and added her own commentary.

Interesting

Sent from my iPhone

It’s a bad feeling when you find out about a school policy directly affecting you through a forwarded e-mail. It’s even worse when you realize your mom can now see that you spent 43 minutes on Reddit.com during 4th hour.

I get it to a certain extent. I really do. The Chromebooks are district devices that shouldn’t be used to mess around on. Therefore, it makes sense that the district should have the ability to monitor these devices.

But come on. My mom and dad? Getting time-stamps of how long I spend checking my e-mail? That’s where it stops making sense.

I feel quite fortunate that my parents are almost as far from helicopter-y as they can get. I doubt they have the time or interest to check these time-stamps, or block websites, another ability they have (right, parents?).

“Parents don’t need to go there unless they choose to,” said Adam Kurth, Director of Technology and Innovation. “They can choose to unsubscribe.”

However, imagine the kid who has felt pressure since 7th grade to get straight A’s and a 102 percent in each class. This kid is going to now have his parents asking why he spent two hours on an assignment, when it should’ve only taken him thirty minutes. If there’s one thing high school students don’t need, it’s added pressure.

At the least, students should have received some very clear information on their Chromebook rights. Even a simple “hey, beware, your parents can now see every website you visit! So stay off Club Penguin in AP Euro!” would have done the trick.

I guess I’ll just stop complaining and continue using my Chromebook for its best purpose: taking fun photos using the flippable camera.

Happy surfing!

Nina can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow her on Twitter at @ElkadiNina