New Canaan, Connecticut Schools Consider Tracking Students With RFID
One of the United States' most affluent cities is debating whether or not, and how, to track its students with RFID tags. School officials in New Canaan, Connecticut have engaged in talks with SecureRF Corporation, which has applied for a $100,000 federal research grant and is hoping to find test partners. Among the potential applications for the radio-frequency identification devices (like those used in mobile payment systems) bandied about were tracking students for the purpose of emergency evacuations, streamlining the bus system and monitoring who's cutting class. At least one board member, it seems, has some sense, though. "I can perceive parents would have an issue with tracking kids through the school and through town," Jim Kucharczyk told the New Canaan Advertiser. "There's a big difference between putting this on the school bus [and] putting it on backpacks or an ID card."Fortunately for the students of New Canaan High School, Superintendent Dr. David Abbey has made clear that participation in the experiment would not be mandatory, and that it would require both student and parental permission. Of course, this raises the question: what kind of kid would jump at the opportunity to be tracked? We have a sneaking suspicion that the RFID data would skew towards the library, computer lab and the student crossing guard.





Whitney Houston Dead: Singer Dies at 48, Body Found in Beverly Hilton Hotel
Whitney Houston Autopsy: Cause of Death Determined?
Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina: Late Singer's Daughter Hospitalized
Whitney Houston Dead: Stars React to Legend's Sudden Death
Grammy Red Carpet 2012 (PHOTOS)
Grammy 2012 Winners' List: Adele Sweeps Music's Biggest Night
Katy Perry Grammy Performance 2012: Diva Tricks Fans With Faux Technical Meltdown
There's only one thing to do when the Nürburgring is covered in snow...
Tax Reform in This Election Year: It's Not Likely
Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown: Ex-Husband Honors Singer Onstage














Comments
54
Subscribe to commentsSaywhat2010Aug 25th 2010 7:23PM
@Madeity
"Madeity", I hope you are joking. If not, please read what Libertywatchmen101 wrote. You need a wake-up call. How would you like to be chipped so people can watch your every move???
ca momAug 25th 2010 8:42PM
@Madeity What are thinking your child should be able to grow up free she should not have to take you everywhere she goes. when she is an adult she will not want you around. Did your mother go everywhere with you,your first date, on your honymoon. Kids should get to be kids. Track the preves,look them away, put them on an uncharted island somewhere. Let the kids be kids.
GrovinofdarkhourAug 26th 2010 11:07AM
@Madeity
Having the data does not mean having CONTROL OVER the data. Hackers will always be a step ahead, and I'm sure some hackers are perverts. We start chipping the kids, hackers will hack that system just like they hack everything else. Do you want some perv knowing exactly where your kid is at any hour? Do you want some perv to be able to study that data, and decide at what point of the day it would be easiest to abduct your kid? I don't.
FalkowskicAug 25th 2010 5:57PM
@krisagggg
FYI Schools cannot lock down all day. Fire safety regulations forbid it. I completely agree that this is the beginning of BIG BROTHER if it is allowed to continue. But: kids will never agree and if they were somehow required to carry an RFID how long do you really think it would take for them to take the thing and flush it, hang it on the principal's doorknob or whatever to get rid of it. I teach in a high school and we have problems making them wear their ID tags. What a stupid waste of money! Spend it on EDUCATION.
drewAug 25th 2010 4:16PM
First it'll start off innocently using it to track goods. "Oh we need to track goods because since the economy is bad people are stealing." Then it'll be used to track credit cards. "Oh RFID would be perfect for tracking lost credit cards." Then it'll be used for pets. "Rfid is great for finding lost pets, no more lost pet signs." Now it'll be used by schools."Rfid is perfect for tracking children in school just in case a major evacuation or if the kids try to skip classes and miss learning all this bias, federal government propaganda the schools teach our children now in days. Then it'll be used to track prisoners. "Oh The RFID works great for prisoners, none will escape and we can keep better track of them. Then it'll be used for people with serious medical conditions and the elderly on welfare. "Rfid works great for the medically needy it has all their information on there and plus if they have a medical emergency we can track them and the RFID will alert their family or health care provider. Then it'll be used for the general population but only by government and be prohibited for regular population use due to the fact people will abuse them. "Oh due to the high rise in domestic terrorism we feel that it'll be safe if everyone were required to get a RFID chip implanted for safety reasons of the general public, it is not a option. Please AMERICA WAKE UP...
LTAug 25th 2010 4:26PM
@LibertyWatchmen101 What do you mean it will? Every one of us is already "tracked" now. Every time we use a crrdit or debit card, our bank knows the exact time, location, and amount. Walk into an Walfart store, and we are on camera from the second we pull into the parking lot until after we leave. Half of downtown Orlando, people walking the sidewalks are on camera. No doubt when we stop to take a leak, we're being watched to make sure we shake it right.
FalkowskicAug 25th 2010 7:57PM
@LibertyWatchmen101
Just for clarification, we do track products. It is called UPC codes, the little black lines on the packaging, And responsible pet owners do have microchips put in their pets. While I like to think of my dogs as furry little grandchildren, they do not, alas, think for themselves and do run away, do get lost, do get taken and need protection, And police can, to a point, trace our whereabouts by tracking cell phone and credit card usage. If you disagree with this, then I suggest that you turn off your phone and cut up your plastic. Being on grid to communicate necessarily means that we are letting people know where we are. And communicating to the credit card issuer so we can charge our double shot grande latte necessitates informing them of where we bought said quaff. We give up some aspect of freedom for the luxuries of the information age. That being said, for responsible people, there are limits. I suspect that this whole idea is what used to be called a "red herring." I doubt that the school board in question is seriously considering this plan, but it will make, for example, the installation of metal detectors, more palatable, I wish the very large high school in which I teach had such detectors, I would gladly walk through one every day for the knowledge that none of the kids is bringing in anything that could jeopardize my students, my colleagues' or my well being.
joseph bodnarAug 25th 2010 4:28PM
THE TROUBLE HERE IS PLP R 2 LAZY 2 CK ON THEIR KIDS SINCE I RAISED 3 OF MY OWN AND SOMEWHAT MY GRANDDAUGHTERS I CAN SAY IF U DO THE DISCIPLINED THING UR KIDS WILL B SAFE TROUBLE HAPPENS WHEN U BECOME 2 LAZY 2 DO UR HOMEWORK WITH THEM.,BETTER NOT RELY ON GADGETS 4 WHAT U SHOULD DO,AND ALSO OTHER PLP SHOULD NOT B RAISING UR CHILDREN.(CHILD CARE )BESIDES WHY SHOULD I AS A TAXPAYER HAV 2 PAY 4 UR CHILDCARE OR ELECTRIC DEVICES ON UR RUGRATS.GET OFF UR DUFF AND DO THE RIGHT THING HERE ,BESIDES THESE KIDS SHOOT UP FAST DON T U WANT ALL THE MEMORIES OF THEM AND ONLY UR INFLUENCE IF U DON T MAYB UR RAISING THEM 4 SOMEONE ELSE S TASTES
joeAug 25th 2010 4:45PM
Hell, why not chaining them and have guards with shot guns and teachers with stun guns for the classroom. Why not have them bunk there Mon-Fri then they can be allowed to go home for the weekends but must be back by Mon morning or they miss all lunches for that week..............fukn a$$hole$
rel8nrot8Aug 25th 2010 4:47PM
I see a major battle brewing in the wings if this ever takes hold.
I'm sure civil rights lawyers, the ACLU and constitutional lawyers throughout the land would LOVE to sink their teeth into this one, and for once, I hope they get the opportunity.
What the heck is this country coming to?
This has to be the most ridiculous, preposterous, idiotic, moronic thing I've heard of to date.
Why don't we just put armed guards and guard dogs in all the schools and maybe ankle braclets for the kids too!
I thought kids were supposed to be in school, NOT prison!
I would love to know what moron masterminded this debaucle .
If any parent.... let me say that again if ANY parent agrees to this they should have the child taken away from them and given to someone who beleives children have the same rights as an adult.
Here's one for ya....
how about putting the same tracking device on the adults who come up 'missing' so they can be tracked. Do you think they would like it, Do you think they would agree to it?
What makes kids any different?
joeAug 25th 2010 4:48PM
Heres one better, how about being a responsible parent in the first place!? Tame your gorillas at home so they arent that way at school.
rel8nrot8Aug 25th 2010 4:54PM
@job1866
Amen to that!
joseph bodnarAug 25th 2010 5:09PM
I WONDER IF MAYB PLP WOULD B BETTER OFF TEACHING THEIR OWN CHILDREN .IF U THINK BOUT THIS ,HEY NO MORE WORRING IF SOME NUT WILL COME IN AND SHOOT EM.OR SOME SCUM WILL KIDNAP EM ,OR SOME DIRTBAAG TROUBLEMAKER GETS EM ON DRUGS OR OR OR OR ETC,ETC,, U C MY POINT WHY NOT JUST GET PUTER LESSONS ,IM SURE THEY WILL COME OUT WITH THEM SOON,WHERE A TEACHER IS TUTORING MAYBE 1000 CHILDREN AT HOME 4 A FRACTION OF THE COST NOW ,I NO THIS COULD B DONE ,U MIGHT HAV 2 GET UR KIDS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN SPORTS OR SOMETHING 2 TEACH EM 2 INTERACT SOCIALLY BUT HEY HERE IS A SOLUTION 2 HEAVY COSTS
joseph bodnarAug 25th 2010 5:15PM
BETTER YET WHY DON T PLP PAY 2 SEND THERE CHILDREN 2 SCHOOL,I PAID EXTRA 4 A PRIVATE SCHOOL 4 MY CHILDREN.WHY SHOULD PLP THAT DON T HAV CHILDREN HAV TO PAY 4 URS
FalkowskicAug 25th 2010 6:11PM
@big bool
PLEASE!!!! I must believe that you are a better speller than your post indicates, If not,m then you have proven why many people should not home school. If you do not know something, then you cannot teach it. As Aristotle said. "Those who can, do. Those who understand, teach." And you are correct, private schools are an option, but not for most people for whom they are prohibitivly expensive. Public education is one of the pillars that this country was built upon. As a teacher, I strongly believe that many of our societal problems are due to the lack of respect and support for public education and those who teach therein.
RadicalForChristAug 25th 2010 5:30PM
They take the 10 Commandments out of the schools, Graduate 12th graders at an 8th grade level, and put a tracking device on them. So keep them stupid, and track them while they sin. Parents need to step up and educate their kids.
lenoreAug 25th 2010 5:35PM
THIS IS SUCH A F****** UP IDEA!!! any parent stupid enough to do that to their children is blind to the larger danger of this, TOO lazy to teach their kids right from wrong, AND just another sheep in the flock the government controls. To Be honest, If i was tht child being CONSTANTLY watched, i wouldnt feel safe, eventually id start to feel like a prisoner, why dont we just bring back concentration camps??? what happened to child/parent trust? what happened to being open with your family? AND why dont our schools TRY more to educate our children Instead of trying to control them, thats NOT their place, We're NOT animals. If this Vchip was just one step away from becoming mandatory, IM TAKING MYSELF AND MY LOVED ONES OUT OF THE COUNTRY!!! the rest who believe in this horrible idea can stay to suffer in their own mistake, this is a one stop ticket to straight hell. this isnt paranoia ppl this is REALITY n we MUST open our eyes to see that this is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. It sounds appealing in a small perspective but really ppl think of HOW MUCH IT CAN BE TURNED AGAINST US AS A SOCIETY!! this is straight control, the government is just trying to warm it up in a nice way to crawl underneath our gaurd but luckly i see that alot of us are not dumb n arent falling for this sh** THINK PPL THINK PLZ
princessemmy97Aug 25th 2010 5:42PM
This ridiculous!! I can think of MANY ways that this is a violation to privacy rights! The parents are the only people who have rights to track their children! And even then it's still wrong! If this is ever officially put in place at that school, you'd know that people would definetly be suing
Greg JosephsAug 25th 2010 5:54PM
It would make me feel like a prisoner. No free will. My desire to be there would be gone.
lenoreAug 25th 2010 5:55PM
i just re-read this article n i just feel this horrible dread n doom come over me. ANY real LOVING parent would never consider this, STOP n say this outloud I WANT TO IMPLANT!! implant my child, i want to CUT my human baby/child OPEN n LET a CORRUPTED system IMBED and put something inside MY childs BODY. WHO KNOWS WHAT OTHER FUNCTIONS THESE CHIPS ARE CAPABLE OF THAT THE GOVERNMENT WONT TELL US ABOUT. dont be stupid ppl plz, ITS ridiculous!! i would never without a mature permission from MYSELF would I EVER ALLOW A TRACKING device IN MY BODY, Why would be do this to our children whom probably dont know how to form words n speak yet let alone understand the danger of whats going on with this idea. Im Not a religious person by any means but it even mentions this in the bible!!! and honestly if i were that child implanted at birth with a chip n was told about it when i was older i would freak the hell out, be angry that my parents would ever let some doctor cut me open without important need n stick something inside my body that lets ppl WATCH ME NO MATTER WHAT, WHAT IM DOING OR WHERE IM AT. We have enough things in our world that do that already, we dont need it to be inside of us. thats too far. I WOULD CUT IT OUT!!!! no joke, AND i could never NEVER trust my parents again, FOR ALL I KNOW their brainwashed n could harm my well being cus the government tells them too, THEYVE MADE NUMEROUS MOVIES ABOUT THIS ASIDE FROM MOUNTAINS OF EVIDENCE N COMMON SENSE that this is something truelly terrible, should be shunned n feared.