Kids need mental break

The Wellington Catholic District School Board is bringing wi-fi onto school buses for a three-bus pilot project.

Students from communities such as Arthur, Elora and Mount Forest will now be able to access the internet on their way to and from school.

The bus route I took to both elementary and high school was an hour long each way. During that time I read, chatted, listened to music and other activities to decompress from the day.

Not once did I consider that being able to look stuff up on the internet would be helpful. Blackberries started to become a “thing” while I was in high school and the whole internet-on-the-phone thing was new too. But even though I had time, I rarely opened my books to get started on the mountain of homework. Not because I was a crappy student, but because I needed a break from school. Even for an hour.

Having wi-fi available on Wellington Catholic high school buses may sound like a neat idea, but the school board is naïve to think students will use the “secure internet” for “innovative learning.”

Can we leave the students to socialize on the bus to give them a mental break? I wonder if having an hour of internet-free time might be better for students in the long-run?

– Olivia

VS.

Wi-fi means productivity

School buses are being retrofitted with wi-fi … finally.

Just this month the Wellington Catholic District School Board announced that several buses carrying about 100 Wellington County students to and from St. James Catholic High School in Guelph will offer wi-fi.

For years county kids have been at a disadvantage. While their city classmates get home quickly at the end of day and can have a good chunk of their homework done before dinner, county kids attending Catholic high school spend hours on the bus daily, wasting an hour of their time that could be used to get started on homework and assignments.

Now those kids can jump-start their research or writing assignments on their way home.

We all know writing in a vehicle is a nightmare, but if students bring their laptops, typing on a bus is a breeze. They’ll be able to convert that wasted time into a productive portion of their day.

Think about it this way: even if kids use the wi-fi to goof off, watch TV or play games, they’re getting it out of their system before they get home, theoretically still giving them an extra hour to complete their assigned school work.

Regardless of how the cookie crumbles, wi-fi on buses gives county kids a ton of additional time to be productive.

– Jaime