"Should schools allow students unlimited Internet access?" It's the question on every reporter's lips. The answer is yes, but under two circumstances. One, a teacher must be there to supervise the students, and two, the students must have parental consent in writing.

The Internet is the information source of the future. With lots of information, including plenty of things you can't find at your local library, it's a valuable resource to students in the classroom. A quick search on Yahoo is faster and more efficient than skimming encyclopedias or scanning microfiche.

From the present trends, we can tell that computer skills are becoming more and more necessary for adults of today. As we look farther into the future, we can guess how necessary it will be for today's children in their later life. Newspapers will disappear - the Internet will be the news medium. And for this country to survive, we need an intelligent public, i.e. people who can understand what's going on. For that, they'll need to know how to find information.

But then, why should the school provide this? Why can't parents prepare their children for the future? The Internet is a new technology, and not an inexpensive one. The school provides supplies, textbooks, even lunch for students from economically-challenged homes. This tells us that if parents cannot afford their children's education - something vital for the future - the schools will take up the burden on these matters. Why not in the case of computer and Internet usage?

Of course, the Internet is not simply a warehouse of knowledge. The Internet is a forum for all types of expression, and that leads to many parents' concerns. Many see the Internet as a dark street in a bad neighborhood, with pornography and lies waiting around every corner to corrupt their children's minds. Worse yet, on the news every night, "48-Year-Old Internet Predator Rapes 10-Year-Old Girl!" This scares many parents, leading them to believe that the mere presence of Internet connections will cause their children to be raped and murdered.

This is why Internet use, while it shouldn't be restricted, should be monitored. Let's face it, commercial "Net Nannies" don't work - a resourceful kid can easily find his way around them. A teacher walking around the room, looking over everyone's shoulder, however, makes a very effective deterrent. The schools should set up rules about what using the Internet is about, and explain that unlimited access is a privilege, not a right - a privilege that can be taken away. Any student who breaks these rules should be restricted from the Internet - but we shouldn't let one rotten apple spoil things for everyone.

Responsible teachers are also the solution to the problem of misinformation disguised as news. A student who is taught to use three sources shouldn't have much trouble realizing that the aliens who killed Elvis are not coming back to destroy the Earth.

And what about those online predators? If the school works off a non-chat oriented system, the predators can't even reach the students. No chat rooms, no "instant messages," no predators. If the school cannot disable chats - for whatever reason - the teacher should make it clear to the students that these areas are out-of-bounds, as with pornographic material. Either way, a simple solution to a simple problem.

And finally, the students should only be allowed online with parental consent, similar to getting a permission slip to watch Schindler's List. This leaves the parents asking themselves, "Do we trust our kids enough to allow them into these dangerous waters?" The question should be, "Do we trust their teachers?"

Charles Rozakis is a junior at Farmingdale High School.