Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 12:25     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:You are why people quit teaching


The teachers bothered by parents upset about their kids watching videos at school on a daily basis aren't doing much teaching. You can't quit something you aren't doing.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 12:23     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.


K teacher, I can't even get my _college_ students to care about integrity. When there is a glowing screen nearby, kids are drawn to it like moths. Even if you tell your own kid that YouTube at school is against the rules or bad for their brain or represents some kind of moral failing, they will inevitably be standing over the next kid streaming a bootleg movie at the MS lunch table. I'd much prefer to have all Chromebooks live in classrooms rather than in student hands.


So I guess we just give up then? Kids won't listen to parents so... that's it.


DP

I think PP's point is YouTube and other social media are intentionally addictive for kids, to the point where the people who created them do not let their kids near them. Would you expect a parent to be able to stop a teenager from using heroin just by telling them not to do it?

FYI my kid is in 1st grade and what you describe doing in your classroom absolutely does bother me. Yet, if I spoke to you about it, it doesn't sound like you would change your behavior but I'd be labeled the problem parent.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 08:43     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
You are why people quit teaching
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 05:55     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.


K teacher, I can't even get my _college_ students to care about integrity. When there is a glowing screen nearby, kids are drawn to it like moths. Even if you tell your own kid that YouTube at school is against the rules or bad for their brain or represents some kind of moral failing, they will inevitably be standing over the next kid streaming a bootleg movie at the MS lunch table. I'd much prefer to have all Chromebooks live in classrooms rather than in student hands.


So I guess we just give up then? Kids won't listen to parents so... that's it.


No, we just go for the small changes that add up. Disallowing phones in MS was a good start even if enforcement can never be perfect. Next step is no Chromebooks outside of class. Then at least school becomes a partial (though very imperfect) break from all of this.


The away all day policy already does this. They can’t use them during lunch unless supervised by a teacher. It punishing kids who work slower or have a lot of extracurriculars to save the screen addicted ones.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 04:59     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:We keep hearing our elementary school kids are spending hours a week in a vegetative state watching YouTube videos at school. They are having a great time and not learning anything (based on last years scores).

It’s worst on days with a sub- they just do Chromebook videos all day!

Can a parent request YouTube be blocked for our kids? If so, how do we do this?



Who are you hearing that from? That ain’t happening unless your kid isn’t attending class.
Anonymous
Post 09/29/2025 02:55     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.


K teacher, I can't even get my _college_ students to care about integrity. When there is a glowing screen nearby, kids are drawn to it like moths. Even if you tell your own kid that YouTube at school is against the rules or bad for their brain or represents some kind of moral failing, they will inevitably be standing over the next kid streaming a bootleg movie at the MS lunch table. I'd much prefer to have all Chromebooks live in classrooms rather than in student hands.


So I guess we just give up then? Kids won't listen to parents so... that's it.


No, we just go for the small changes that add up. Disallowing phones in MS was a good start even if enforcement can never be perfect. Next step is no Chromebooks outside of class. Then at least school becomes a partial (though very imperfect) break from all of this.
Anonymous
Post 09/28/2025 14:28     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
YouTube videos can be embedded into Google Slides and played that way. When I need my students to watch a video that is how I do it.
I did know of a couple of kids who made a Playlist that way.
Anonymous
Post 09/28/2025 14:02     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.


K teacher, I can't even get my _college_ students to care about integrity. When there is a glowing screen nearby, kids are drawn to it like moths. Even if you tell your own kid that YouTube at school is against the rules or bad for their brain or represents some kind of moral failing, they will inevitably be standing over the next kid streaming a bootleg movie at the MS lunch table. I'd much prefer to have all Chromebooks live in classrooms rather than in student hands.


So I guess we just give up then? Kids won't listen to parents so... that's it.
Anonymous
Post 09/28/2025 09:36     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It depends on the grade level. In elementary, it's often blocked. Middle and high school students may occasionally need to view teacher-approved content and so they allow some of it. My 10th grader cannot access all of YouTube on her MCPS chromebook - a lot of content is still blocked. She's not the type to find a workaround, because she spends a lot of her time on Sora, the MCPS online library. She complains bitterly when some teachers, who cannot be despised enough, go so far as to block THAT! It's like they want her to pay attention in class, or something





Quite a bit of the curriculum requires use of free YT videos. It’s because we don’t have the budget to invest in subscription platforms.


LOL
They have the budget for logo jackets for administrators.


That’s such a helpful comment.

Clearly all of the logo jackets living rent free in your head add up to the many thousands of dollars per platform for each school license needed times 8-9 platforms to replace free content.



Anonymous
Post 09/27/2025 21:18     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.


K teacher, I can't even get my _college_ students to care about integrity. When there is a glowing screen nearby, kids are drawn to it like moths. Even if you tell your own kid that YouTube at school is against the rules or bad for their brain or represents some kind of moral failing, they will inevitably be standing over the next kid streaming a bootleg movie at the MS lunch table. I'd much prefer to have all Chromebooks live in classrooms rather than in student hands.
Anonymous
Post 09/27/2025 13:27     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
I'm a K teacher and can back up that YT is blocked on student logins but not staff. My students watch several YouTube videos a day--Sesame Street and other while kid-friendly shorts for phonics and counting, and sometimes footage for science or social studies. For transition I might play a fun video while students are cleaning up and coming to the carpet. They're not spending hours in a vegetative state.

If it bothers you, I would reach out to the teachers for clarity and find out what and when they are actually watching. Older elementary can figure out how to get around blocking YT, in which case you should be having serious talks with your kid about integrity.
Anonymous
Post 09/27/2025 08:39     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It depends on the grade level. In elementary, it's often blocked. Middle and high school students may occasionally need to view teacher-approved content and so they allow some of it. My 10th grader cannot access all of YouTube on her MCPS chromebook - a lot of content is still blocked. She's not the type to find a workaround, because she spends a lot of her time on Sora, the MCPS online library. She complains bitterly when some teachers, who cannot be despised enough, go so far as to block THAT! It's like they want her to pay attention in class, or something





Quite a bit of the curriculum requires use of free YT videos. It’s because we don’t have the budget to invest in subscription platforms.


LOL
They have the budget for logo jackets for administrators.
Anonymous
Post 09/27/2025 07:54     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
The kids unblock pretty much anything as soon as MCPS blocks it. They exchange URLs for pirated movies, video games, and yes, YouTube access. Your kid not doing these things has to rest with you, not with MCPS. You have to talk with them about decisions and peer pressure, and about making choices about what they view. Because they will see things you wish they didn't, even if it's just mindless garbage that wastes time and brain cells. It's not easy, but it's way beyond the school system anyway. Some other kid will always have a phone at the bus stop.
Anonymous
Post 09/27/2025 07:17     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Anonymous wrote:It depends on the grade level. In elementary, it's often blocked. Middle and high school students may occasionally need to view teacher-approved content and so they allow some of it. My 10th grader cannot access all of YouTube on her MCPS chromebook - a lot of content is still blocked. She's not the type to find a workaround, because she spends a lot of her time on Sora, the MCPS online library. She complains bitterly when some teachers, who cannot be despised enough, go so far as to block THAT! It's like they want her to pay attention in class, or something





Quite a bit of the curriculum requires use of free YT videos. It’s because we don’t have the budget to invest in subscription platforms.
Anonymous
Post 09/26/2025 23:27     Subject: Can we request no YouTube? How?
Is it possible your kids are watching YouTube somewhere other than a school Chromebook and saying it’s at school so you won’t be upset with them? DD is an adult now but this is something she would have told me. My understanding was always that it was blocked in younger grades (youngest is now in HS). I think YouTube is dangerous. If your child is truly watching YouTube, I’d talk directly with the teacher who I’m confident will take care of it.