On an average Tuesday, during my second period health class, I heard something shocking and disturbing. Coolmathgames.com had been blocked throughout the Johnston Community School District. My heart dropped. This was a travesty. One of the most enjoyable things about school had been swept from under the students’ feet. I was introduced to the wonderful Cool Math Games website when I was a young first grader. Every kid was obsessed. And when we had free time in the computer lab, we all knew what we were going to do. It is almost if kids became passionate about learning.

In the “about,” section on Cool Math, I learned that the website was born in 1997, in attempt to make math enjoyable. I found myself in this section to look at the policy of Cool Math Games to find what qualifies their games as educational.

Cool Math even says it themselves–these educational games are so fun that you “forget you’re getting a mental workout.” Johnston High School forgot that we were getting a mental workout by playing these games. I could not stand idly by and just let the Johnston Community School District walk all over its students. Something had to be done.

I immediately burst into action and went to change.org to create a petition. It started gaining signatures slowly, but after posting it to my snapchat story, the petition gained steam and started to go viral. As of publication date, the petition has 607 (!) signatures. Sources have even told me kids in other school districts were posting it. In the discussion section of the petition, there were 90-plus comments. The school was buzzing about the petition. Some even went to the extent of putting it in their Instagram bio. If you are not getting the picture by now, the devotion and passion for these online games has a huge presence across the school.

I ask for one thing, and one thing only–unblock Cool Math Games, Johnston Community School District. The people have spoken.