Students Kept Under Surveillance

[nursie]

I spent 10 years on a school board. I can imagine that if someone came to us and said we can track where your kids are in the building...if they are in the building or not, that we might think that was a good idea, especially if there was some kind of alarm that sounded for unauthorized leaving the building. There is so much concern for kids safety in the aftermath of Columbine that people let that cloud their judgement. My first thought when I read the title of the thread was.."I wonder if the ACLU has heard of this."

Something like this should have had public hearings before it was implimented so people would understand how it would be used and what info was available from the system so people could understand what it was for, and have a chance to object. It seems silly to just track the 6th and 7th graders. Little kids can and are more likely to be abducted, and one would think they would want to watch all kids.

 

[Harlock]

I spent 10 years on a school board. I can imagine that if someone came to us and said we can track where your kids are in the building...if they are in the building or not, that we might think that was a good idea, especially if there was some kind of alarm that sounded for unauthorized leaving the building. There is so much concern for kids safety in the aftermath of Columbine that people let that cloud their judgement. My first thought when I read the title of the thread was.."I wonder if the ACLU has heard of this."

Something like this should have had public hearings before it was implimented so people would understand how it would be used and what info was available from the system so people could understand what it was for, and have a chance to object. It seems silly to just track the 6th and 7th graders. Little kids can and are more likely to be abducted, and one would think they would want to watch all kids.

Well, the article said that was a test run. They want to track kindergarten through 8th grade.

 

[Jason01]

GPS tracking of company cars is becoming more common. As is recording of the drive.
Think about it. If you own a company, and an employee is driving one of your vehicles, you have the right to know where that vehicle is. If the employee is supposed to be making deliveries on a set route, and the employee ends up taking a 25 mile detour, to a friends house, the grocery store, you have the right to know where they went/are. Recording of events is becoming extremely popular in new cars. Mostly because of warranty claims. I was at a dealership a few months ago when a coustomer started screaming about his truck(a brand new silverado). The engine had blown up. The computer had recoded the last 5 minutes that the engine had ran. The final RPM before it lost the crank signal(motor pretty much exploded) was ~8500 RPM. The motor is only supposed to run to 5000 RPM. Guess what? His son was driving it, and swore that he was only cruising at 30 MPH when it went(the PCM recorded no less than 6 shut-offs in the 5 min - a shut off is when the vehicle hits the top speed limiter - on this particular truck it is 110). The warranty on the truck was voided. The dealer did not have to pay to have the truck fixed because of owner neglect.
GPS tracking in certain places saves money.

Back to the school thing. It is entirely appropriate. If it is to be used only at school, and on school grounds, then no problem. I don't see them trying to push it past that. They just want to know where the kids are the best way possible when the school is responsible. Cameras are not too likely to help there. If you have a tracking device on every child, in the event of an emergency, say, a fire, that system could help emergency rescue teams locate missing children VERY quickly! Especially when opposed to a full building search. If you can narrow it down to 1 room, you make the efforts much easier. Put yourself in that position. Yes, it infringes on them. But, how much? A seatbelt infringes on your movement in the car, but you still wear it, don't you? The question really boils down to, why complain that the school knows where they are at, something that you expect them to know anyway?

 

[Timmain42]

The point is now moot. Sorry, folks.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6980735/

 

[nursie]

Thanks for the info Timmain. It was good food for thought.

 

[happychem]

It's kind of a shame that it ended in this manner. It would have been much more definitive if the final result was arrived at through an open debate as opposed to the company pulling out.

 

[Lila]

Guess some might want everyone 'marked'...
:thud:

Joe... There many that want everyone marked. It's scarey.

Something about this whole thing, if it's for protection of the students, and to make attendance easier (That excuse just blows me away!), it doesn't stop strangers who aren't tagged from walking onto the school grounds and start shooting. They aren't being electronically monitored.

Just a thought.



Lila

 

[125gJoe]

Joe... There many that want everyone marked. It's scarey.

.....


Just a thought.



Lila

Yes..
This thread has made me re-think how easy it is to "market or sell" a product/device that could have serious negative effects on our society.

(Sorry if some did not understand the Logan's Run reference - it was a long read.. )

 

[Dangerdoll]

hmmmmm...... on second thought, I wonder if T would..... oh nevermind

 

[happychem]

I got the Logan's Run ref. Joe, but I only skimmed the text, it was a long read