My school is located in a low-income neighborhood. Because of that, many students do not have internet access at home. It blows me away how anybody can not have internet in today’s world. My goodness—everything is done online. But you know that already. The internet should be a priority. Cancel the cable TV. Don’t give every member in your household a cell phone. Skip a meal once a week. Anything to come up with the $15 or so need for basic DSL. Hell, even Time Warner advertises “This is not a promotional price.” It’s inexcusable that these kids don’t have internet at home.

Because they don’t have internet I open up my classroom before school so they can play games and watch YouTube videos (school-appropriate, of course). Some of the kids who come in like to watch YouTube videos of the latest stars, which is fine by me–as long as it’s school appropriate (hmmm…maybe these kids do have internet at home and their parents won’t let them watch rap videos–kids don’t lie, do they?).

One day a group of fifth grade boys gathered around the computer to jam to the latest crap the RIAA passes off as music. “Mr. Nerd, . . . . .