If you heard a story of a teacher being prosecuted and facing 40 years in prison for exposing kids to pornography because a porn ad page popped up unsolicited while she was teaching, you’d think it was a joke, right? Everyone understands about pop-ups, right? This story seems as absurd as the legendary Senator Ted Stevens’ "tubes" speech.
Well apparently not. In Connecticut, Julie Amero, a seventh grade substitute teacher, faces 40 years in prison for just such an event. You can read a longer story about it here, on AlterNet.
Fortunately, she at least has some supporters. I learned of this story from Kelly at Mocha Momma — a committed and very gifted teacher herself. She is sending all her readers there for the details. This site’s proprietor, Karoli, not only provides links to backup information; she’s also donating $1 for every posted comment. In later posts, she adds still more info – and links. Take a look at them – and maybe even the fund itself. There’s more information there, too.
It’s a very troubling and scary story – not only for the obvious civil liberties and injustices, but also for what it says about technological expertise among the powerful. What do you think?