In what can be associated with the string of “teacher abuses student” cases in the 90s, the new face of educational abuse has reared its ugly head in the classroom: pornographic pop-ups.

July Amero, a 7th grade school teacher residing in Windham, Connecticut, is facing a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison for, “risk of causing injury to a minor.”

Back in 2004, July was teaching in her normal classroom, when on the room’s computer appeared a flood of sexually explicit pornographic pop-ups.

She panicked, and attempted to close the pop-ups, but as some of us have had the displeasure of experiencing, this only created more pop-ups, and unfortunately some of the students witnessed the graphic spam.

To make matters worse, July might have simply powered off the machine, but a strict school policy demanded classroom computers never be shut-off. July rejected a plea-bargain that would have saved her from jail, and is now defending herself in court, which is seeming to be a wise decision.

The school administration admitted the network’s firewall had been disabled because the bill for the software was not paid, which left the computer vulnerable to the malicious spam.

It was also revealed that the officer who inspected the computer in question failed to test the computer for infections or spyware. Alex Eckelberry, president of a software company commented, “That is a blunder akin to not checking for fingerprints at the crime scene.”

If the computer was infected, the pop-ups could have been triggered by 2 students who used the computer before the teacher to visit a “hairstyle website.” With such a list of gross miscalculations and irresponsible actions, July’s case seems positive; however, it raises some very interesting questions that will no doubt be addressed upon this case’s conclusion.

Spy-ware is an unavoidable demon for modern PC users; the best one can do is to regularly purge and protect the against the newest forms. If this is the case, how can someone’s livelihood and freedom be forfeited over something that cannot be completely protected against?

Furthermore, the way computers are accessed in classrooms must change if individual teachers are to be held responsible for the content that is accessed. If students are allowed to access computers freely without supervision and complete internet freedom, would it not stand to reason they might search for objectionable material?

It would seem that the parties that should be held accountable for this situation are the school’s administration. First, good tax-payer money is being spent to pay for computers, internet access, and a stalwart firewall…pay the bills on time. If you can’t, do not blame your teachers.

Secondly, those in charge of the school should re-evaluate the current policies regarding the shutting down or monitoring of classroom machines. It is unjust to hold the teacher responsible for her reaction to the pop-ups when no policy had been established for handling such mishaps.

Amidst all the finger-pointing and accusation-making, an honest school teacher’s life has been irreversibly tainted. It would be best to evaluate this happenstance thoroughly and react appropriately so no one else must endure what July Amero is experiencing.

Related:

Entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 5:38 pm under Adult content, Internet, Legal, Uncategorized.

Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
Stumble It!