Students to wear Radio ID Tags

[Jonathan]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02....ap/index.html

The only grade school in this rural town is requiring students to wear
radio frequency identification badges that can track their every move. Some
parents are outraged, fearing it will rob their children of privacy.

The badges introduced at Brittan Elementary School on January 18 rely
on the same radio frequency and scanner technology that companies use
to track livestock and product inventory.

[ChrisTech]

Good and bad. Privacy issues, but for a youngster getting lost, or kidnapped, it would be a blessing.

[Frank Hagan]

Its overkill and unnecessary. The majority of the "kidnappings" are of non-custodial parents taking the kids. There are only about 100 "stranger abductions" each year, and the odds of this rural community having even one in a country of over 250 million people are very long indeed.

They would be better off making the kids wear life jackets all the time, as drowning is the number one cause of accidental death in children.

[Buddha]

"There is a way to make kids safer without making them feel like a piece of inventory," said Michael Cantrall, one of several angry parents who complained. "Are we trying to bring them up with respect and trust, or tell them that you can't trust anyone, you are always going to be monitored and someone is always going to be watching you?"

At least they'll be ready to climb that Corporate Ladder, "trust no one" and "always act as if your being watched" are cornerstones of corporate life. About time schools educated the kids for the Corporate Grind! Maybe they could upgrade to sub-dermal implates next year? Matter of fact if they implant them in the right part of the anatomy it will a real learning experience of what to expect after graduation!

[Jonathan]

At least they'll be ready to climb that Corporate Ladder, "trust no one" and "always act as if your being watched" are cornerstones of corporate life. About time schools educated the kids for the Corporate Grind! Maybe they could upgrade to sub-dermal implates next year? Matter of fact if they implant them in the right part of the anatomy it will a real learning experience of what to expect after graduation!

Very funny, but saddly true.

[Buddha]

... but saddly true.

I was trying to bring a little levity to the subject. However, some Corporations have been using this technology for some time and some have taken the technology much further than even that school has considered.

Signed, a former watcher of Corporate drones.

[Frank Hagan]

We've joked at work that the fire sprinklers are really listening devices. Probably not, but they do have records of all your internet surfing while at work (the list of URLs). The problem with that kind of snooping is that it generates so much data that its hard to see the forest for the trees.

[Jonathan]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/02....ap/index.html
Update, the company apparently pulled out of the contract.

[shalom_m]

Give credit where credit is due!

The idea is great; the subjects to be tagged were the wrong ones.

I would love to tag all those elected officials I put into office, living off the taxes I pay who promise the world but can never be found when you really need them!