Comment Re:So, basically the parents are screwed? (Score 1) 420
The problem with this approach is that the students are then spoon-fed their sources. Giving them an assignment with a pre-approved list of sites takes away the part where they have to actually dig for information.
I don't think this is really a problem. For example, when I was in grade/middle school the internet didn't exist as it does today. We were supposed to do research papers on various topics (specifically, I wanted to be a vet at the time, so I was doing one on the health of cats).
I had access to the complete resources of our school library. This was a pre-approved list, and I (still) had to dig for information. When you're 12, you really don't have the critical thinking faculties to determine what is a good and bad resource. Librarians have had lots of training, supposedly they're good at it.
In my mind, having a whitelist is the best possible solution for institutions like grade/middle schools. It's exactly like the librarian model, and would prevent most abuses.