That is a very good question. I'll let them answer it :-)
> It seemed to me this was a interesting test case for determining how the
> decisions are made in democratic schools. So far I have learned a lot
> from the discussions but as you imply there maybe more to learn.
I am sure. I see censorship as yet another control issue. Traditional
schools overtly control kids. Censorship is an effort at control as
well. My interpretation of SVS's philosophy is that it takes the position
that kids should be in control of their own lives as much as possible, which
kind of automatically puts them in an anti-censorship position. At the
same time, SVS resolves disputes through democratic process, which
implies the position of changing censorship laws through democratic
process rather than by disobedience to laws. Someone from SVS is
welcome to pipe in and clarify.
> I will tell you one thing. The homeschoolers can surf anywhere they
> want to unless their parents have installed some filters. I am always
> comparing the SVS model against the homeschooling/unschooling
> model(where there are no compromises with a school of staff and
> students) and trying to determine where the students have the most
> freedoms and responsibilities. They both operate under the same state
> laws. Dale
Homeschoolers can surf anywhere they want to if their parents allow
because they can't be monitored. I would be willing to bet that if you,
as a parent, called your local police and asked them if it's legal to let
your kid surf the net without being monitored (either by the computer
or an adult), I think they would say no, it's illegal to give minors access
to pornography, period. That would be an interesting experiment.
Remember, usually the laws were made before the Internet was around.
Having said that, I know of parents who let their kids surf the net all
they want, and have never had any problems.
Wayne