5 ms·

Why? Is there any reason to block it?

mathieuh 6y ago
Could be they overzealously blocked a load of things that could be used to cheat on exams (a REPL can be used as a calculator). Never attribute to malice etc. Not saying it’s right but I think it’s unlikely there’s some nefarious current in teaching to stop kids learning to program.
space_ghost 6y ago
From the petition[0]: "Some schools have called the site a "distraction" as kids are choosing to learn computer science and programming as opposed to working on other subjects." [0]: https://www.change.org/p/schools-of-the-world-unblock-replit-at-schools https://www.change.org/p/schools-of-the-world-unblock-replit...
- throwaway3699 6y ago
  I don't get why this is an issue. I slacked off on many boring subjects to do the same. Building software and other digital stuff helped me think like an entrepreneur, and was a hell of a lot more educational than the rest of school.
  - BitwiseFool 6y ago
    While the goal of schooling is cultivate young minds and educate them, the reality is that schools are an institution that must implement a curriculum and they expect students to do as they are told.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- chmod600 6y ago
  Is this a widespread phenomenon, or a few dumb administrators in a few places? The article doesn't give much context. In a country of 350M people, "some" schools are going to block hopscotch or using improper fractions for whatever dumb reason. Why should I care?
- weeblewobble 6y ago
  Very peculiar sentence. The word "distraction" is quoted but the rest of the sentence, the strongest claim, is not quoted. Where does the "are choosing to learn computer science and programming as opposed to working on other subjects" come from? It is implicitly attributed to "some schools", but which schools? did they really say that, or is the author paraphrasing something they said? or is it the author's interpretation or guess of their motivation? Or perhaps this is viral marketing, or in other words, BS.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
chomp 6y ago
Title is probably sensationalist. More likely that stretched IT departments at schools implement one-size-fits-all content blockers for websites and this particular site is caught up in a blocked category. I have strong doubts that schools are collaboratively targeting and blocking repl.it in particular.
- Wistar 6y ago
  My spouse is a teacher and can confirm that their IT dept uses a very broad brush in blocking things on the network. Many of the blocks are of sites that have become important teaching resources such as pinterest.
  - mytailorisrich 6y ago
    If a pupil somehow manages to access pornographic, violent, racist, whatnot content the school is going to be in trouble. The safest and simplest is to block liberally. No-one is going to be in trouble for blocking Pinterest.
    - Wistar 6y ago
      I think that an IT department should have enough wherewithal to be able to distinguish between student accessible resources and teacher accessible resources.
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    Pinterest themselves go a long way towards breaking Google. Their crappy spam prevents you getting to the actual source of an image. I can’t believe Google tolerate it.

Could be they overzealously blocked a load of things that could be used to cheat on exams (a REPL can be used as a calculator). Never attribute to malice etc. Not saying it’s right but I think it’s unlikely there’s some nefarious current in teaching to stop kids learning to program.

space_ghost 6y ago

From the petition[0]: "Some schools have called the site a "distraction" as kids are choosing to learn computer science and programming as opposed to working on other subjects." [0]: https://www.change.org/p/schools-of-the-world-unblock-replit-at-schools https://www.change.org/p/schools-of-the-world-unblock-replit...

throwaway3699 6y ago
I don't get why this is an issue. I slacked off on many boring subjects to do the same. Building software and other digital stuff helped me think like an entrepreneur, and was a hell of a lot more educational than the rest of school.
- BitwiseFool 6y ago
  While the goal of schooling is cultivate young minds and educate them, the reality is that schools are an institution that must implement a curriculum and they expect students to do as they are told.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
chmod600 6y ago
Is this a widespread phenomenon, or a few dumb administrators in a few places? The article doesn't give much context. In a country of 350M people, "some" schools are going to block hopscotch or using improper fractions for whatever dumb reason. Why should I care?
weeblewobble 6y ago
Very peculiar sentence. The word "distraction" is quoted but the rest of the sentence, the strongest claim, is not quoted. Where does the "are choosing to learn computer science and programming as opposed to working on other subjects" come from? It is implicitly attributed to "some schools", but which schools? did they really say that, or is the author paraphrasing something they said? or is it the author's interpretation or guess of their motivation? Or perhaps this is viral marketing, or in other words, BS.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

chomp 6y ago

Title is probably sensationalist. More likely that stretched IT departments at schools implement one-size-fits-all content blockers for websites and this particular site is caught up in a blocked category. I have strong doubts that schools are collaboratively targeting and blocking repl.it in particular.

Wistar 6y ago
My spouse is a teacher and can confirm that their IT dept uses a very broad brush in blocking things on the network. Many of the blocks are of sites that have become important teaching resources such as pinterest.
- mytailorisrich 6y ago
  If a pupil somehow manages to access pornographic, violent, racist, whatnot content the school is going to be in trouble. The safest and simplest is to block liberally. No-one is going to be in trouble for blocking Pinterest.
  - Wistar 6y ago
    I think that an IT department should have enough wherewithal to be able to distinguish between student accessible resources and teacher accessible resources.
- lostlogin 6y ago
  Pinterest themselves go a long way towards breaking Google. Their crappy spam prevents you getting to the actual source of an image. I can’t believe Google tolerate it.