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

[reveal]

okay, so the badges show if the kids are in class or not. it doesn't seem that they have a map of the the campus and can tell where all the kids are at all times, just if they are in class. I'm still not seeing the bad. It seems to me that people are just assuming that this is leading to mass mind control or something.

My argument is not about "mind control." My argument is a) that children are being taught to fear rather than to simply do the right thing and b) that the ability to abuse the system would not be that difficult.

I would argue that they do, indeed, have a map. How else would they know where a child is located? They pull up a child's info in the database and it says that "Child A is in Room B" or in "Area B".

yes we need to know the facts. As you said they have a "tendency" for abuse....not that they always lead to abuse. Besides, this will probably be challenged in the court of law. If it gets past all the appeals and crap and is help up by the Superium Court, then you be worried about Big Brother.

Personally, I don't think the worst of situations as soon as I hear them. I want facts, I want reasons, I want to hear from the people doing this. Then when I can make an educated analysis of the situation I will, until then I'm not going to be worried about it or get all mad about it.

I usually do the same thing but, in this instance, I am very passionate about privacy and the right thereof. I see too much potential to abuse the system. I absolutely hate the notion that anyone would track the whereabouts of any human being, whether or not they are trying to protect them.

Many cultures throughout history have done this (makring citizens in some fashion for easy tracking and counting) and, while not every culture used it for violent measures, it has never led to anything positive.

 

[James Heard]

A device that advances the safety of my child at the expense of her liberty, nope - not buying it. There's only two people that get that power, and that's because we've invested genetic material. Besides, I'm just as worried that this Big Brother "safety" device would just get used by the local school child molester to track and isolate victims. You want to protect your kids? Teach them to be responsible so they don't grow up to be irresponsible adults, don't vanish their freedoms so they grow up "cool" with a society that feels that it's necessary to remove freedoms in the pursuit of security.

And THAT's about as political as I'm going to do for ENWorld.

 

[reveal]

They don't need a proper lojack. If you have to use your badge to open doors or operate elevators you are being tracked by the system that controls all of that (timestamped entries in a logfile showing what doors or terminals you've accessed).

And some do have the ability to actually track your location. Mine does. Then again I can count 5 ceiling-mounted cameras from my desk.

For what it's worth: I'm not in favor of 'big brother' monitoring every step of the members of our society, but I think that technology can be used to better us without sliding down any slippery slopes. A badge that sounds an alarm somewhere when my child is taken off of school grounds against his or her will is protection that makes me feel my child is safer... A location device that can show police where my child is hiding when a gunman is on the loose in the facility might save my child.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (a government organization): "In each school year from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 2000, youth ages 5-19 were at least 70 times more likely to be murdered away from school than at school."
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/crime03/1.asp

So why don't we tag kids away from school? They're more likely to be a victim when not at school.

 

[Crothian]

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (a government organization): "In each school year from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 2000, youth ages 5-19 were at least 70 times more likely to be murdered away from school than at school."
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/crime03/1.asp

So why don't we tag kids away from school? They're more likely to be a victim when not at school.

actually, we shouldn't let them leave school....

 

[reveal]

actually, we shouldn't let them leave school....

Touche.

 

[reveal]

Many adults wear badges in their place of work. Those badges serve a variety of purposes (mostly to protect the employer's interests, but also to protect some of the employees' as well). Would you not take a job that required that you wear a badge? Even if jobs (particularly those without badge requirements) were difficult to come by? I don't think I've had a full-time job in the past decade that didn't have some sort of badge that I was required to display, and in the past 5 years they've all been 'smart' badges.

But you're a person who chose to be in that place and agreed to the terms provided by the company prior to accepting the position. In the children's case, they are legally obliged to attend school and have not agreed verbally or in writing to accept this measure of security.

 

[Crothian]

But you're a person who chose to be in that place and agreed to the terms provided by the company prior to accepting the position. In the children's case, they are legally obliged to attend school and have not agreed verbally or in writing to accept this measure of security.

But they haven't agreed in any way to any level of security. Do children then also get to choose if they have metal dectors, security camera, students patroling the halls, police watching over the parking lots, etc?

 

[Aristotle]

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (a government organization): "In each school year from July 1, 1992 to June 30, 2000, youth ages 5-19 were at least 70 times more likely to be murdered away from school than at school."
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/crime03/1.asp

So why don't we tag kids away from school? They're more likely to be a victim when not at school.

Because it would be your responsability, not the schools, to tage the child away from school. You, as a parent, most certainly could... and there are lojack/GPS devices on the market specifically for the purpose of giving parents that ability.

I specifically stated that these badges were being used only during the hours that the school system was responsible for your childs safety. And that the limited technology within these badges (these are not military technology GPS tracking devices or james bond style tracking beacons, people) allows overburdened public schools better serve its purpose.

 

[reveal]

But they haven't agreed in any way to any level of security. Do children then also get to choose if they have metal dectors, security camera, students patroling the halls, police watching over the parking lots, etc?

I know. My point was that their situation can't be compared to an adult working in a building/location that requires a badge.

IMHO, I feel the students should have a say in regards to these measures as should the parents.

 

[Crothian]

I know. My point was that their situation can't be compared to an adult working in a building/location that requires a badge.

IMHO, I feel the students should have a say in regards to these measures as should the parents.

I don't think the kids should, since they really aren't old enough to know what is best for them. The parents on the other hand defiantly should get a big vocal say in the matter.