I am a student in the Pinellas County School District who, like many others, uses the internet as a platform for learning and exploring my passions. I diligently maintain my good grades as a straight-A student for the past few years now and strive to be the best student I can be, often utilizing the online resources the school provides. My interests range from mathematics and physics to hobbies I nurture online. These opportunities are stunted by the District's recent decision to block several websites in their latest update.

We understand the need to limit distractions and inappropriate content, but the current restrictions obstruct certain educational and informative websites - like Wikis and YouTube. These are platforms that encourage passionate students like me to engage in vital communication, gain interest, and deepen our understanding of a wide range of topics. Particularly in my case, I utilize YouTube's numerous educational videos that bolster my understanding of subjects like the calculation of joules to tons of TNT and comprehending the capability of physics. As for another example I am interested in learning more about Art as I have been practicing for years now and have relied upon the web to help me understand things such as anatomy, values, and lining it has shaped me to become better and caused me to have the inability to access more information is painful. As of also the update you've blocked images, what will an image do? It's simply an image most of these images are not even inappropriate as of this writing I had looked up "school art" have of the images were banned for no good reason aside from the site being categorized as "mature art" or "forums". As a student, I understand my brain will not fully mature until 25, but many of these "mature" aspects are not bad in the slightest and most are simply socializing or slightly inappropriate when we are learning about far more mature topics in school such as violence and murder in History class reading multiple stories towards gangs such as "The Outsiders" and learning about the human body in Science and Health class. So, who's to say something is too mature for us when we learn these things in school?

Statistics indicate that almost one million educational videos are watched on YouTube daily. Some students might have problems that they can't simply understand in the classroom or at a 20-minute Khan Academy. This points to the significant role this platform plays in supplementing classroom teaching and fostering an independent learning culture. Wikis, on the other hand, enable us to work collaboratively, strengthening our knowledge and communication skills. Furthermore, while I understand that students could abuse this power which is most likely why it was stricter shouldn't hard-working students who can't obtain a personal computer be allowed to have a break and enjoy a simple YouTube video or be able to read something online? 

As a compromise, block most mature websites for students under elementary school since those who are entering Middle School have already mandatory health classes and are expected to be mature should be allowed to have websites that are 13+ or 14+ (such as YouTube) to be capable of using the site and when there is harmful or bad behavior involved that's when you should step in. As we bend towards a world more shifted to technology, we simply wish for you to understand that there are many who want to accomplish good things with these sites and to understand how we feel when you rip these sites from our convenience. 

We believe our education and personal growth should not be hampered by unnecessary internet restrictions. We, therefore, request the Pinellas County School District to take another look at the recent updates and unblock those sites playing a crucial role in our education. Please join us in standing up for less restrictive and more supportive online learning environment for students. Sign the petition today.