Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation always has had a tight grip on student access to various websites. However, their tight grip has turned into a strangle this year.

Game websites have always been blocked when there is no academic benefit to them. However BCSC has crossed the line when they decided to block the pinnacle of academic gaming. Coolmath games has always been the number one site for fun, entertaining and educational games. How can you take away a site that literally has math in the name?

There have been gaming fads throughout the school like Agar.io and even phone games like Fun Run. But Coolmath games has been a consistent site that has paved the way for school gaming and fun.

Not only are high school kids affected by this, but the middle and elementary school levels lost a tool for learning and fun.

Junior Mark Nusterer said, “I think it allows students to take time away from what is certainly a stressful school day.”

Nusterer also sees the benefits of the site for educational purposes.

“A lot of the games actually teach elementary kids basic math skills as the name suggests,” Nusterer said.

Often, elementary students would be rewarded with time to play Coolmath during indoor recess or even computer labs. Even in middle and high school, the site was often a way to use time productively while having fun.

For example, my eighth grade math teacher utilized Coolmath Games in a way to create a competition through the lemonade stand game and see who could make the most profit. I wish I could tell you the name of the game, but the site is blocked and I am unable to look it up.   

Overall, the school system has made a drastic decision to deny access to a staple of school fun. There are too many benefits to justify the denial of the site. It leaves numerous students wondering where to go to take a break from school or where young students can practice their basic math skills. Perhaps a more investigative search will happen in the future, but for now we are all left wondering about the sudden change to the web restrictions.

UPDATE: BCSC has since been unblocked Coolmath games as of Monday August 14th.

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Oracle, Columbus East High School, and Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation.