It has come to our attention that the Everett Public School District has made the decision through the iBoss security system to ban coolmathgames.com from our school provided  laptops. While it is unknown whether this was an intentional move by the district or the result of newly enacted filters, this oversight can not be ignored.

Coolmathgames is an essential part of the learning experience at Everett and without it, our education is being harmed, not encouraged. Coolmathgames has been a part of many of our lives since elementary school, and it has been an important resource to us in and out of school. Games on this site are more than just a way to spend an evening or a free period.  They are vital tools that taught and continue to teach us skills such as teamwork (as seen in Fire Girl and Water Boy), persistence through trial and error (The Worlds Hardest Game), creative problem solving (Run) and even time, business, and money management (Papas Pizzeria). All of these are things that coolmathgames has provided us free of charge throughout our lives. 

In the age of the smartphone, distraction has become inevitable. Social media has become an easy and instant escape, and often a much needed one considering the growing pressures students face to perform well in school. Escapes like coolmathgames, which utilize the skills we learn in school, should not be blocked, but praised. These sites have done what many teachers struggle to do— they make school fun. While providing us a break from endless schoolwork, they have given us a way to practice and enhance the very same skills that school serves to teach. Blocking coolmathgames is an affront to all that this district stands for and it is important that actions be taken to amend this mistake.