Now after about a month, (seemingly less bias article) the program is in full swing and the daughter has been offered a choice as to either wear it without the batteries installed, or forgo the education and other activities offered at the school. The hefty 2 million dollar program says it will combat tardiness and absents associated commonly with students. But opposition to this claim says only the best school with the best attendance records were chosen so it made no difference. To many, this chip seems like an invasion on one's individual liberties, privacy and freedom.
I can only say to myself, what comes next? Schools may find it necessary to implement this anywhere where they feel technology can benefit and possibly add more. It seems a little reminiscent of that book we read called "1984". Constitutional abridgment or not, invasion of privacy or not, necessary or not, what do you think?
8 comments:
I know that if Aragon implemented a requirement that students must ware tracking devices that I would be upset. Not only is it a invasion of privacy, but it also is unnecessary. It is the students choice if they want to go to school or not and I feel that even if a tracker is implemented, that students that don't want to go to school won't go even if they have a tracker. Overall, I feel like a tracker will have minimal effects on student attendance and that a tracking system will only burden those who attend school.
I think the whole situation of requiring students to wear tracking devices is completely ridiculous. I could understand the use of tracking devices for the purposes of a school study or something closely related, possibly for a day or two. Any mandatory wearing of a tracking device is completely irrational and completely "1984" ish. I can see how tracking devices can act as a deterrence for students who ditch class. However, demanding the entire school two wear tracking devices is a complete violation of the right to privacy. This seems like a textbook definition of violating the right to privacy.
As a student I would certainly oppose wearing the tracking device because I feel it is absolutely ridiculous, yet the tracking device isn't much of an issue to me personally seeing that I've never felt the need to ditch class. I probably wouldn't go as far as pressing charges against the school, but I could see myself signing a petition if one was passed around. I am surprised the federal government is letting this happen.
I agree that the RFID system does seem very extreme to implement on an entire school and is a violation of students' privacy. Students should believe that schools are a place to feel safe, not intimidated by if a few students make poor decisions. The locators might increase student attendance and therefore funding for the school but that does not mean anything if the students feel restricted and unhappy there.
Like everyone else, I agree that this tracking device program is utterly uncalled for. If the state had a billion dollar surplus, then a $2 million program to combat tardiness might be in order (and that's ignoring the Constitutional aspect of this issue). I'm not entirely sure how this program was funded, but tardiness and ditching seem like the last issues that schools need to worry about at the moment. The state is cutting education budgets all over the place; now is not the time to be wasting time on unconstitutional tracking devices.
I'm just reiterating the consensus here, but this decision is, in every sense, utterly wrong. There may be a problem with absences, but such an issue does not give anyone the right to literally track the movements of the student body. And there are certainly better ways to use all the money invested in this program-I could think of thousands of different ways that would get kids to go to school by motivating them or improving their conditions, rather than having Big Brother watching them at all times. Honestly, I hope all students faced with having to wear such a ridiculous and in my opinion, rather disgusting thing, will protest in some way. How atrocious.
I also agree that this is a massive invasion of privacy, but I'd like to follow up on Garrett's point--how are these tracking devices funded? $2 million dollars is hardly pocket change. Some schools (like one nearby in South San Francisco) run out of their kleenex budget long before the school year is over, yet money is being spent on ridiculous things like this. Another outrageous thing about the tracking devices, I find, is that the students are required to wear them after school hours as well. This does no good to the school and is completely an unnecessary violation of privacy. If a student is sick, do they have to wear the device if they're at home to prove that they aren't cutting class?? Questions like that are simply ridiculous and should not even have to be considered. This program, in my opinion, is deeply flawed and should be ceased.
While I'm astonished that any school would commit such a violation of students' privacy, this issue goes beyond simple moral objection. This high school is a public school, and therefore is funded with taxpayer dollars. Implementing costly and morally objectionable policies without taxpayer consent violates citizens' interests. This program ought to be voted into action, not merely implemented. Had the school been private, it would have been at complete liberty to do what it chose with its rules.
I can't believe a school would expect students to wear a tracking device; that's completely ridiculous. That is a complete invasion of privacy, and I don't even know how the school got authorized to implement such a program in the first place. I would definitely not wear such a device if Aragon decided to require it. The most surprising part about the program is that students are expected to wear the device at all times, even when not at school.
This school is treating its kids like criminals or sex offenders, not like students.
Post a Comment