Yet Again?

I have to say, kids are very hard to keep track of. Having lots of experiance with lots of lost children now and then, this is something that technology has tried to fix many times before. Ever since those tracking devices that looked like teddy bears that parents strapped onto their kid's shoes to know where they are, to the device that you can put into a cell phone to keep track of where your teen is going and even the speed they are driving. Yes, there are such things. There is now a new type of electronics called RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification Device, is being tested on preschoolers of Head Start to help to keep track of the youngsters. Here are some quotes from the news story by Kansas City Star:

"Two hundred preschool students in 10 classes at the site have been outfitted with jerseys carrying small electronic locator tags, which help staff keep track of where the children are and what they've eaten that day."

"The locator devices, paid for with a $50,000 federal technology grant, were implemented not only to reduce the time teachers spend on paperwork, but as a safety-enhancement tool."

"When dropping off a child, the parent or guardian scans a blank tag, associating the tag number to their child's name on a computer in the classroom, and signs the child in on the computer's touch screen. The tag goes into the jersey's zipped pocket, allowing staff to track where students are and automating data entry for meals.
On their computer screens, staff members can see children as moving dots. The room's color will change to orange on the screen if the student-to-teacher ratio doesn't meet requirements, or if a student is nearing the exit. The color will turn red if the child leaves the room.
When a parent or guardian picks up a child, the tag is removed, and the child is signed out on a computer touch screen, automatically clearing the student's name from the device.
The tags also are automatically reset at midnight each evening, ready and blank for the next morning.
Collected data is stored in an encrypted system, accessible only to staff."

So basically, they put chips into these kid's jerseys' pockets. Then the kid shows up the screen that is somewhere in the school. The screen turns colors if the kid is getting away from the room. So here are some of the ups and downs to this idea, and also some interesting thoughts and ideas I had.

So to start with the good things:

• It helps keep track of the kid, so the kid is less likely to get lost.
• The teachers like it, and so do some parents.
• It helps keep track of the kid's food intake.

These can be good things, especially if you fear you child's safty.
Here are some of the bad things I saw in this.

• This technology is quite expencive.
• The idea they have the kid's information and what they are eating strkes me as creepy. Very creepy.
• The idea seems a bit pointless when we have so little information.

These, to me, seem to be something to take into concideration when putting kids in the care to computers....
And last, somethings I thought interesting.

• The parents like the idea. Okay, so you just give your kids away with chips in their clothes and you have to "check them in" so to say to get into the preschool. I must admit that we have something like this in our church, but at least it is more safe and personal, where only the parents have the information and the ability to have the kid's information. There is also the point that there are less kids in the classes at my church, so they are better looked after, and they don't keep track of the kid's food intake.
• It is unclear who watches the screen. If it is the teachers, then are the teachers really doing their job? If you ahve to watch a screen, wouldn't that distract you from teaching to kids? This technology was sopposed to help the teachers teach easier, so if it is not them, then is it the principle? Is it a security guard, or someone else? I can't see why we could entrust our child's information to someone who we don't even know personally.
• They use this kind of technology on cattle. This kind of explains for itself.
• They test this technology on Preschoolers. Think about it. They start with children who cannot understand the idea that this invades their privacy. They don't understand that they could complain, and that they are always being watched. I mean, they are just 3 to 4 year olds!
• Head Start is for the children who are, frankly, poor, so would they have the right to complain?
• What would happen if the kid had to take a bathroom brake or such? What about recess? Can you imagine what would happen to the screen?

These are some of my ideas about this technology. I personally do not believe that this technology works and it is very pointless. The idea seems nice, but when you look deeply into it, it doesn't seem very helpful. You can look into this article yourself at this website:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/09/2209827/electronic-system-being-tested.html