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

[barsoomcore]

Okay, time for the Dictator to weigh in.

If I were in charge:

A school wouldn't be able to MANDATE something like this. They could OFFER it to parents, but they couldn't insist that all parents conform.

I think it's a patently silly idea (did somebody say a 7th-grader could figure it out? Come on! This isn't going to slow down a third-grader) and I wouldn't want my kids kitted up with this sort of gear, but if the school thinks its so great, they can try to sell me on it and see if I bite.

I also think the business aspects of this deal stink, and I hope Mr. Dobson ends up losing his shirt on such an unethical little sleaze.

But primarily, if I were in charge, I'd be looking for ways to INCREASE people's (both teachers and children. And parent's) individual responsibility and make them feel more in charge and more powerful. Not give them more reasons to avoid taking ownership for their own actions.

 

[Umbran]

Strangely enough the teachers at my elementary school in the 70's were able to take attendence without the aid of technology. They were also quite capable of picking out someone who didn't belong on the school grounds without needing to look for a badge.

Perhaps the school should just hire competent teachers.

Okay, I now have to open my mouth, to say that it just isn't that simple - or simplistic.

At the moment, I'm doing a lot of substitute teaching. While it isn't a lot of fun, I can rightfully say that I'm reasonably competent at it. But I don't know all the kids in the five different schools in which I work. Kids could swap around in and out of my classes left and right, and I wouldn't know them from Adam or Eve. And they lie to me all the time, saying they should or should not be in my class, or who has what name.

As for the invasion of privacy - HA! It's a badge that can be taken off! Give it to a kid that shares the same classes as you, and as far as the system is concerned you're a good little kid. Meanwhile, you're off smoking in the restroom. This system might be useful to protect kids who are willing participate, but it won't work as a Big Brother against a kid who doesn't want to be caught.

And before you start laying blame upon the school for not teaching the kids respect for learning - that they should be in class because it is good to be in class and not because Big Brother is watching - I need to remind you that this isn't the school's job. If the parents don't teach the kids respect for school, the school cannot do it for them.

 

[Blue_Kryptonite]

I've re-typed this a dozen or more times... But I still feel strongly. I'm not going to comment on RFID, since I have complete faith it'll work as well as anything else... Intermittently, and frequently screwed up.

But man... Don't make ENWorld into RPGNet. This place is so much... more. I'm getting disturbed by the subtle, creeping change in tone. Let's not go down that road.

 

[EricNoah]

It's inherent in the nature of the topic, though ... If I'm right, you must be wrong, and if I perceive that it's a moral/ethical issue, then your wrongness is tied to your lack of morals/ethics. Et cetera, et cetera. And whoever recently made the point about not being able to sway others, going around in circles, etc. was spot on.

Side note: Angcuru -- this thread is giving me major flashbacks to a couple of years ago when you and I first locked horns over what constituted a "political" thread. And it made me kind of smile.

 

[barsoomcore]

Your wrongness is tied to your lack of morals/ethics.

Yeah, it's kind of troubling the degree to which people assume that DIFFERENT ethics are the same as NO ethics.

 

[Qlippoth]

apologies to John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, et al...

Gold Hat: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges! Barsoomcore for Dicator!"

 

[Krieg]

At the moment, I'm doing a lot of substitute teaching. While it isn't a lot of fun, I can rightfully say that I'm reasonably competent at it. But I don't know all the kids in the five different schools in which I work. Kids could swap around in and out of my classes left and right, and I wouldn't know them from Adam or Eve. And they lie to me all the time, saying they should or should not be in my class, or who has what name.

Yeah but by their very nature substitute teachers are supposed to be clueless patsies who are to be exploited at the whims of the students.

Heck, screwing with your head is probably the only entertainment most of them get.

 

[Humanophile]

Provided it was done elegantly, I wouldn't have a problem with the school keeping track of when which students went where. Hide the RFID in a normal school ID, ideally sell it as a convenience/security measure (for ease of use in the cafeteria/library/only allowing staff/students to open certain doors/etc.) Allowing it to act as a back-up for normal methods like teacher awareness wouldn't cause me to react nearly as strongly.

But everything about this story feels slimy. Popping it on the parents by surprise, the fact that any halfway intelligent child can defeat the system, and most importantly the financial tie-ins really go beyond what I feel are acceptable for a school district. (Even as I admit that the extra funds are probably the reason for this all.)

The badges only work to know when a student passes through a door, and only if the student hasn't ditched the badge. I don't see much of a security benefit there. (Spotting non-students is even sillier; the only way a predator would be caught would be if they walked in and sat in on a class, which seems like a good way to stand out anyways.) If it were worth the cost I wouldn't mind it being used to help better plan traffic-routing through the school and help tag people for a quick chat at the principal's office, but that's about all the practical use I can see to it.

 

[EricNoah]

Now, if they can turn it into a pin ala Star Trek: Next Generation (including voice communication, status monitor, and oh let's say intra-school transporter beams), then it's a totally different story!

 

[Alzrius]

Now, if they can turn it into a pin ala Star Trek: Next Generation (including voice communication, status monitor, and oh let's say intra-school transporter beams), then it's a totally different story!

Sadly, the Army already closed the book on investigating transporter beams (anyone see that NBC report)?