In a time of mass failure of standardized tests, and children finishing high school unable to read or do college level math, it seems that schools are spending more time and money worried about behavior and tracking kids than actually teaching them anything.
In a case of innovation gone awry, a school district in Sutter California has mandated that students wear radio frequency badge/transmitters so the school can keep track of the children. The badges show the name and grade of the student along with a wireless transmitter that beans their ID number to a teacher’s handheld computer when the child walks under an antenna above the classroom door.
If you ask me, this sounds like a very expensive way to take attendance. There are however bigger plans for this system. Right now, this new system is being tested on seventh and eighth graders to monitor their movements within the school. There will soon be chips in locker room bathrooms and other places around the school to “prevent” vandalism.
I see many potential problems with this new system. First, it relies on children wearing badges, keeping them on and not swapping them. It relies on technology working uninterrupted as teachers and administrators will more likely believe the readout over the child’s word. It relies on kids not hacking the system…. HAH! Moreover, when all of these problems make themselves clear, will the next step be to implant transmitters under the skin? Scary isn’t it.
Now I am not normally a homeschool alarmist running about screaming, “The sky is falling”, but I have to admit this really has me worried for the dignity and privacy of schoolchildren. Stories like me sure make me glad that we homeschool!
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