Poll: Texas Students to be monitored with microchips.

[Saulkar]

Yup, just heard it now.
http://rt.com/usa/news/texas-microchips-school-district-262/

Kids when on premise of two schools in Texas will have to wear ID cards with RFID chips (Radio Frequency Identification System technology) which allow real time monitoring of students in the school and school grounds.

So what do you think? Is this a good or bad idea and why so? Does it give the school more options to ensure the safety and attendance of students or does it set a dangerous precedent that could expand well beyond the boundaries of school and employment?

 

[DANEgerous]

No this is a hideous idea it is simply an unacceptable invasion of privacy.

 

[Supertegwyn]

That is a terrible idea.

I can't even believe how stupid some people are.

 

[Saulkar]

No this is a hideous idea it is simply an unacceptable invasion of privacy.

People might be expecting an unbiased report from the OP but I agree with you 100%! It might stop some bullies by having different ID cards being back listed and thus raising alarms when they are in close proximity to a known bully victim or gang leader but I do not have to tell you how easy it would be to dupe this system.

 

[Terminate421]

This has been done before and been proven to waste time and money.

All in all, it'll fail the moment they realize it won't stop a student from being kidnapped.

 

[Saulkar]

This has been done before and been proven to waste time and money.

All in all, it'll fail the moment they realize it won't stop a student from being kidnapped.

I think I read a story about something similar happening in a California school district (referenced in the news article itself) that goes on to this day. Mainly because the people developing the technology are paying them to do so. I would love for someone to prove my memory wrong!

 

[Heronblade]

No this is a hideous idea it is simply an unacceptable invasion of privacy.

I think the system a waste of time, but what privacy are you trying to protect?

They're on government owned public property, are required to comply with rules concerning where they can go, what they're allowed to do, etc. Its already perfectly legal for the school to assign someone to follow the students around and report on their whereabouts and/or activities while on campus. (They don't as a general rule, mostly because it is a colossal waste of effort and resources.) The RFID chips would actually be less invasive in that sense, merely reporting physical location while on campus, information that is WELL within the school administration's right to know.

 

[DANEgerous]

No this is a hideous idea it is simply an unacceptable invasion of privacy.

I think the system a waste of time, but what privacy are you trying to protect?

They're on government owned public property, are required to comply with rules concerning where they can go, what they're allowed to do, etc. Its already perfectly legal for the school to assign someone to follow the students around and report on their whereabouts and/or activities while on campus. (They don't as a general rule, mostly because it is a colossal waste of effort and resources.) The RFID chips would actually be less invasive in that sense, merely reporting physical location while on campus, information that is WELL within the school administration's right to know.

Then simply the problems already exist in law and none of these right should exist.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Nah, it's a pretty disgusting idea actually. I feel sorry for the people who have to attend Texas schools. Land of the free, indeed.

 

[Heronblade]

snip

Then simply the problems already exist in law and none of these right should exist.

You're missing the point, whether it occurs by law or not, there is no privacy on a school campus, for exactly the same reason I won't get anywhere complaining about being filmed by security cameras or seen by security personnel when walking into a shopping mall. A school is a very public location, with eyes everywhere, the location of any particular student is almost certainly already known to someone else, systems like this would just pass that information along to the people who actually have a need and use for that information.

In addition, in order for any school for minors to work, the administration must be able to monitor the students in some capacity. We would not otherwise be able to trust our children to their care. This would be an extension of that same concept, not something new.

Nah, it's a pretty disgusting idea actually. I feel sorry for the people who have to attend Texas schools. Land of the free, indeed.

How exactly is this an infringement on someone's freedom? What, exactly, is so disgusting about someone in administration being able to actually find a student while they're at school? If they were monitoring anything more than simple physical location, I might be inclined to agree with you, but as it is...

I don't think it is a good idea either, but in terms of it being a waste of resources when there are MUCH bigger issues to fix with the school system.

 

[evilneko]

?It?s going to give us the opportunity to track our students in the building," Principal Wendy Reyes of Jones Middle School tells KHOU. ?They may have been in the nurse?s office, or the counselor?s office, or vice principal?s office, but they were marked absent from the classroom because they weren't sitting in the class. It will help us have a more accurate account of our attendance.?

Sounds like they're looking for a high-tech solution to their low-tech problem.

I'm not worried about the "privacy" of students at school--as has been pointed out, they don't have any. Their lockers can be searched at will, without cause or warrant, for example.

However I do worry about the effect this will have on the students later in life. Getting them used to this kind of thing in school is going to make them more likely to accept it in situations where it really is absolutely inappropriate. People already give up their privacy too easily, and this would severely exacerbate that problem.

 

[Frozen Fox]

What a waste of money, who care if we can put more kids in their seats we still are not teaching them correctly

 

[bat32391]

Awesome. It is reasons like this I just love living in Texas.

 

[malestrithe]

Anyway, another waste of time, money, and resources. Honestly I am not surprised.

What evidence do you have that says this is a waster of time, money, and resources? Do you have any proof that this will not work other than you unrelated anecdote and personal incredulity?

Fact of the matter is you will not know if something is a time waster until you try it out.

 

[BishopofAges]

I couldn't care less, the chips are in the school ID cards, and my school required we have ID cards on us for the barcode on back to be used for school lunches or computer check outs. If it also monitors your movements during school hours then what should you care about? I can see a 50% increase in awkward interruptions during love 'connections', but tbh I never thought it was that interesting to get freaky on school grounds in the first place. To be fair I left my ID cards in my backpack so when I was done with school, even if the chip was still active it would think I am constantly sitting in my living room when not in school.

I can admit there being a 'breach of privacy' if they had to have these cards on all the time, but from the sounds of it, they are only active at school. It is not the same a chipping cattle, pets, cargo, etc. because the ID cards can freely leave the student whereas a chip in cattle or pets is implanted under the skin.

The above opinion is my standpoint ONLY if they are implanted in the ID cards and ONLY active at the school, as well as masked if there is a frequency so any bozo can't track kids.

 

[malestrithe]

Nah, it's a pretty disgusting idea actually. I feel sorry for the people who have to attend Texas schools. Land of the free, indeed.

If it were a more active monitoring system, I would agree with you. This is nothing more than tracking physical locations and nothing else.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I think George Orwell called this one.