• drugs
• wikipedia

As we gear up for this year's "War on Christmas," I thought I'd point Blogora readers to another campaign using Reagen-esque rhetoric. The Great Meadows Middle School librarian is telling students to "Just say no to Wikipedia":

A US SCHOOL librarian is treating the do-it-yourself online encyclopaedia Wackypedia like a drugs curse.

Linda O'Connor has blocked the site on the school's computers and stuck up signs all around the library saying "Just say no to Wikipedia". The motto was the same one that Nancy Reagan used for her campaign against drugs.

There are major problems with Wikipedia's "authority," but to encourage this type of campaign seems to be saying no to "reading" rather than to Wikipedia. Instead of banning the text, why not teach students how to read Wikipedia effectively?

Then again, fans of Wikipedia can probably take comfort in the fact that previous "Just Say No" campaigns have been...um...less than successful. Telling kids not to do something is a great way to get them to do it.

• Jim Brown's blog
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