Every JC student with a functioning computer knows firsthand how easy it is to sign into Skype or to play games like Bubble Shooter when it’s 2 p.m. and your brain has shut down for the day.

I’ll admit it, getting lost stumbling across the internet or trying to hold in laughter from photos of awkward families and people shopping at Walmart is awfully tempting.  And with Christmas Break nearing, these temptations are so much harder to resist.

But raising your Skype bowling score to the national level won’t earn you a spot in the National Honors Society, or any honors list for that matter.  In fact, it could easily send your QPA well past a point of redemption.

Luckily, the faculty and administration took notice of the recent increase in computer distractions in class and is attempting to steer us away from these dangerous tendencies.

This week of Dec.13 to 17, the administration plans to hold a faculty meeting to gather thoughts and ideas from teachers on how to tackle this ongoing problem.  And though I might be alone, I’m extremely glad this is being done.

Some teachers like social studies teacher and Vice Principal of Academics Gary Scholl suggest returning to the classic discussion atmosphere in the classroom, which forces students to pay attention and to be ready to answer questions on the various topics discussed.

However, this would reduce the use of computers, which other teachers like social studies teacher Brian Powell and Latin teacher Richard Wojewodzki think are essential to the classroom.

Being a previous student of Wojewodzki’s and experiencing the infamous paperless classroom, I believe that the computers really do enhance the learning environment.  It’s just a shame they enhance our gaming, Skyping, and procrastinating environments as well.

That being said, I’m interested to see how the faculty will address the issue.  Will they keep an extra eye on students from the back of the classroom, dust off the long lost Synchroneyes program, or simply go back to pen and paper?

All of these options are certainly viable, but I wonder if teachers will take the time to reflect their performance in the classroom as well.

Though I am not taking any blame away from fellow schoolmates and myself, I challenge the administration to look into teaching methods as a solution, too.

Let’s face it.  If you give a teenager a laptop to take notes, keep organized, and be able to use the internet for class research, but you constantly lecture or read from a PowerPoint during every class, they’re going to be doing anything but those three things.