RFID Chips in School Uniforms Track Students

Fri Oct 26, 2007 8:16AM EDT

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How would you feel about this: Tracking chips in kids' school clothing so that school officials can know their whereabouts during the school day?

Oh, it's happening. Ten students in a secondary school in the United Kingdom are being tracked through RFID implants in their school uniforms in a pilot program. Information Week reports that the kids attend Hungerhill School for ages 11-16 in Edenthorpe, England. 

Add the RFID chips to increased video surveillance and fingerprinting of kids, and this is a heavily tracked generation—for safety's sake.

That extra peace of mind for adults comes with a heavy loss of privacy for kids. Do you agree with David Clouter, a parent and founder of the children's advocacy group Leave Them Kids Alone, who says taking all these precautions has the effect of treating kids like criminals? Or do you agree with the parents who have OKed the pilot program who do not find it egregiously intrusive?

One possible side effect: Uniform sales may pick up as kids try to procure extra non-RFID-tagged clothing. As security expert Bruce Schneier writes on his blog: "So now it's easy to cut class; just ask someone to carry your shirt around the building while you're elsewhere."

LINK: U.K. Kids Get RFID Chips in School Uniforms [Information Week]

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  • 1906 Posted by under_the_rose0 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Btw...I LOVE ROCK MUSIC!!! You shouldnt judge ppl by what kind of music they listen to. What if classical music almost switched places with the reputation of rock music. All the kids that listened to classical music would be called freaks. And since we have these different reputations for music and YOURE using one ill go ahead and say my opinion. Most people that listen to classical music are nerds. SO what if this really did happen would the nerds become bad kids. They would be considered smoking dope. If you seriously did have this arguement with me you might actually realize that this world needs to stop judging people by what they wear and what they like. My favorite band is HIM so what? Who cares? That is so overrated. So just drop the stupid reputations! I know gothic kids that listen to Country music!!!

  • 1907 Posted by wwefan5337 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    If you're done getting your panties in a bunch, and if you read between the lines of the post that made you flip out, you'll realize it was being extremely sarcastic.

  • 1908 Posted by valerka777 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:31PM EDT Report Abuse

    My friend pastor from Russia , and he says:antichrist will be Gorbachev, who lived in S.Fransisco-Presidio. Gorby is one of riches illuminati in the US, and arround the world.

  • 1910 Posted by jerseyshuman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    What if Natalee Holloway or the missing child from the UK had these - their lives could have been saved.

  • 1912 Posted by rapmetal47 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree with leonrabatic, he's right about the apple not falling far from the tree.

  • 1913 Posted by rapmetal47 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:29PM EDT Report Abuse

    I agree with devilaznboi520 as well. Imagine criminalts tracking down their victims. That'll make it VERY easy for these criminals to create more chaos then there already is. Go UNIFORMCHIPS, GO!!! Sarcasm in last sentence was intended.

  • 1914 Posted by dolphinlover379 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    Anyone got any comments they wouldn't mind being put in a school newspaper? I'm writing an opinion article on it! Thanks! :)

  • 1915 Posted by wwefan5337 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:51PM EDT Report Abuse

    Great idea dolphinlover. I was on my highschool news magazine class for 3 years. I wouldn't mind being quoted if it's not too late. Feel free to take all or any of my feelings which are as follows. I think this is just a bad idea. It will give students the idea that the school is trying to take too much control and will ultimately lead to more problems than it will solve. I for one would prefer to be taught that making the right choice is better than being tracked and forced to follow suit. A student being taught that he/she is not to be trusted is going to have much more negative effect than a student skipping a couple classes.

  • 1916 Posted by ablu272 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:44PM EDT Report Abuse

    sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen

  • 1917 Posted by naughtydog143 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    this technology is worth it for parents and teachers. and kidnapping and terroist activtiy can can reducced so were about of students can be tracked always . but kids with figure a way out of damaging with a camera 1000v flash shock. tazu www.groundwirecomputers.com imtiaz@groundwirecomputers.com

  • 1919 Posted by jazzqueen56 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    I'm a high school senior doing an article on this story for a local magazine for high school students. To one point I believe this is a good idea. I live in an area where it is very easy to get hurt or kidnapped. And at 5:45 in the morning well it's even worse. Knowing where students are during school hours can benefit for the fact that more and more kids/teens are being kidnapped every day. If you don't know a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is a tiny tracking device the size of a grain of dust (nocards.org). From my understanding of the product it allows the person tracking the device to see exactly what is around them. So obviously this device is facing outer clothing to be able to see the surroundings. If a person is taken by force then whomever is watching all the devices is able to see exactly where he/she is. On the downside how exactly would someone or even a group of people be able watch so many students. Also we are also very intelligent. There are always ways to get around things. The reason I also disagree with this is because it is like tracking students like criminals. If we wanted to install this system into prison uniforms that would make more sense to me at least. At the risk of even myself being abducted parents should trust their kids and give them a little freedom so if I had to choose at all I would say to not put the chip into the uniforms. Students need to learn about things on their own and not be tracked like animals.

  • 1920 Posted by anna_ussur on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    Kids need freedom, space a normal life. Being treated like criminals is outrage, just insane, like there arn't more important things to do in this world. Yes kids need to be supervised but not tracked or spyed on, they're not a major threat to every single thing around them, not criminals, not theives, not phycopaths!

  • 1921 Posted by anna_ussur on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    I so agree with post 82! BEWARE!!!!!!!THE END IS NEAR...!!!

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