Just over an hour ago, a student at my school was given in-school suspension (ISS) for finding an opportunity in the code on his school-issued laptop to enable administrator privileges. Now I know this student personally. He’s a good friend, and I know his intentions behind what he was doing, and why he chooses to pursue technology. It’s his passion, and he was merely trying to allow himself more privileges to experiment with some cool technology. On one hand, it’s fun to mess around on a computer, finding some settings to play with or a cool place to test some code. Although it can have some unintended consequences, it does have its advantages.

On the other hand, the school’s position is understandable. You don’t want 3,000 kids running around with admin controls on a school issued laptop wreaking havoc on the systems and the network, but one guy who I have never seen do anything remotely close to wreak havoc should never be punished with something as severe as ISS. At least they should let him off with a warning.

Continue reading “We should be rewarding students for experimenting with tech, not punishing them.” →