School in California decides to make elementary school students wear RFIDs *Updated*

[EricNoah]

I raise my children to be independant, thoughtful and well behaved.

Everyone thinks that of their own kids and that's great. It's when Parent A doesn't trust how Parent B raises his/her kid, and tries to use the schools to make rules "for the good of" Kid B ... that's when I think things start getting funky (and not in a good way).

 

[Mystery Man]

Everyone thinks that of their own kids and that's great.

This is true. There are days when I can't believe how lucky my wife and I are but then I believe that you make your own luck sometimes.

It's when Parent A doesn't trust how Parent B raises his/her kid, and tries to use the schools to make rules "for the good of" Kid B ... that's when I think things start getting funky (and not in a good way)

Agreed.

 

[reveal]

From http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02/10/tracking.students.ap/index.html

InCom has paid the school several thousand dollars for agreeing to the experiment, and has promised a royalty from each sale if the system takes off, said the company's co-founder, Michael Dobson, who works as a technology specialist in the town's high school. Brittan's technology aide also works part-time for InCom.

Emphasis added

 

[fanboy2000]

I just read that article and now I'm furious. Mr. Graham is ignoring parental concerns for no other reason than money. He's flat out ignoring them. On top of that, he's going to punish the children for following their parant's instructions. That's unconscionable.

 

[Angcuru]

Emphasis added

Everyone look at that. This is where parents realize that people on the school board value money over kids, and the populace grabs their torches & pitchforks (or in this day and age, swing their briefcases menacingly) and storm the.....school board building....yeah.

 

[Aristotle]

Mr. Graham is ignoring parental concerns for no other reason than money.

As far as money goes... Schools are businesses. Most of the decisions that the administration makes hinge on making money for the school or spending as little as possible for what the school has to have. I don't agree that it should be like that (but then again I think teachers should make twice as much as they do and be much better trained), but it is the way it is for public schools.

I don't see him ignoring concerns so much as explaining why each one lacks validity. It is highly unlikely that the technology in these little chips or the chip readers could pose any sort of medical threat to the children (no more than your television, microwave, or other household electronics are causing). The chips don't provide any sort of exact location (just a notice that the child has entered or left through a doorway) and isn't linked in any way to personal data on the child.

I respect the opinions of those of you who are voicing yourselves against this concept, but I just can't agree (hopefully you respect that too). I don't see any trampling of civil liberties here (no more than say, school uniforms which would present a higher cost to parents). I don't agree with stopping something that could be potentially good because of the possability that it leads down a real or imagined slippery slope to something bad.

If my child's school did this. I would be for it. If they later told me they were going to attach my child's personal information, school records, and so forth to the badge... My opinion would change (but only on the additional stuff), and I'd take action as a parent against the changes.

I don't know about implanting anything medically (it would have to be proven pretty darn safe before I or my child would get any sort of elective surgery of that sort), but I could definately see myself buying a backpack or jacket with a lojack in it for my child or getting one of those "black box" things for my kid's car so that I always know where they are, how fast they are travelling, and whether the vehicle has detected any recent collisions.

 

[reveal]

While I respect your opinion, I completely disagree.

Schools should not be all about money. They should be about our children's education. True, it takes money to do that but this is not the way to get that money. Especially since the school did it without consulting the parents first.

These badges do not teach our children anything beyond "you must fear your superiors because you might get caught" not "you must do what is right because it is important to being well-rounded human being."

While I do think it is important to keep track of my son and what he is doing, I will still respect his right to privacy and trust him enough to do what he thinks is right. Hopefully, this will be what I have taught him. If not, then hopefully he will learn from his consequences. Without the ability to do this, learn from your mistakes, one can never become anything more than a mindless drone who goes with society because "everyone else does."

 

[Aristotle]

Schools should not be all about money. They should be about our children's education.

I couldn't agree with you more. In fact this is something I'm quite passionate about. I was simply saying how it is, not how I want it to be. I think the public education system needs massive improvement. I'd venture that most people think so (I know most teachers do), but for one reason or another it hasn't happened yet. Any further comments would border on the political.

These badges do not teach our children anything beyond "you must fear your superiors because you might get caught"

This is how most schools, that I've attended at least, go about things anyhow. It might not be the same everywhere, or maybe you've just been exceptionally lucky in what schools you attend ... but once again this is not a problem with the badges so much as with the way the school system is run in general (although I concede that if that were not the case the badges would be less likely to be instated).

Without the ability to do this, learn from your mistakes, one can never become anything more than a mindless drone who goes with society because "everyone else does."

I agree with you to a point. Although I hardly think that monitoring how fast my kid's car goes (and potentially saving him from killing himself or others in an accident) is going to turn my kid into a mindless drone. I came from a very overprotective family and am still a very creative individual.

This, like most of this thread, doesn't mean much. We have our respective opinions and we made up our minds before we even submitted our first posts. Nothing the other side can say is going to sway us. The issue with discussing things like this online, to me, is that it really does just become 'running around in circles' after a bit.

 

[reveal]

This, like most of this thread, doesn't mean much. We have our respective opinions and we made up our minds before we even submitted our first posts. Nothing the other side can say is going to sway us. The issue with discussing things like this online, to me, is that it really does just become 'running around in circles' after a bit.

Very true. But you're still wrong.

 

[Krieg]

I don't agree with stopping something that could be potentially good because of the possability that it leads down a real or imagined slippery slope to something bad.

For me one of the primary issues is that the "potential" good is little more than a load of BS. Wearing personal locator devices is not going to help improve attendance and it is not going to improve the safety of the children in anyway. If the school administration honestly believes that it will, they are either lying to themselves or just foolish.

There is also the matter of communication between the school and the parents of the children. The school is obligated to make parents aware of potentially troublesome policies that they wish to implement. The fact that the first the parents heard of the issue was when their kids are wearing the damn things home says entirely too much about the school district in question.