California officials are outfitting preschoolers in Contra Costa County with tracking devices they say will save staff time and money.
The system was introduced Tuesday. When at the school, students will wear a jersey that has a small radio frequency tag. The tag will send signals to sensors that help track children's whereabouts, attendance and even whether they've eaten or not.
School officials say it will free up teachers and administrators who previously had to note on paper files when a child was absent or had eaten.
Sung Kim of the county's employment and human services department said the system could save thousands of hours of staff time and pay for itself within a year.
It cost $50,000 and was paid by a federal grant.
37 comments:
This reminds me of the implants owners can choose to place underneath their pets' skin for tracking, but with little children, not dogs and cats. Are there really THAT MANY California kids running around school that teachers can't keep up with their whereabouts? And one more question: how can they tell that the students have eaten? Where tacking devices implanted in their stomachs too? The computer system LISD uses for absences and tardies seems to have worked well, and it only takes 5 minutes a class period. If I were these kids parents, I would much rather risk the chance of a single fluke in the computer system that results in an absence which could be corrected than have my child be "tagged" like endangered wild life.
I think its a great way to keep track of young kids that have to walk home everyday. Especially with the ones who are always late or just absent alot of times. I am wondering though how do they even know if the kids have eaten yet?
wow I want one of those to track people
Personally I believe this is a great idea. When I was working in my elementary school last year it was really difficult to keep up with all fifty of the first graders. The tracking devices will put a lot of minds at ease (both teachers and students) especially if the unthinkable happens and a kid somehow wonders off or gets kidnapped.
I personally don't have a problem with the whole pre-schoolers wearing tracking devices. It sounds like a good idea in theory. Saving time and money, not having to take attendence and knowing if they've eaten and also where they've been. The only problems I could maybe see is what if a child forgets to wear his tracking device vest, or loses it, maybe even switches with another child. They cost 50,000 dollars to provide for the children and aren't guaranteed at the moment to save money but i suppose if it works out well in California, we could see these devices in pre-schools all over the U.S. and maybe even the world in time.
Wow thats pretty cool. I wish i would have had a sensor to tell my teachers if ive eaten or not because sometimes I didnt have lunch money and they could have paid for me!
Chin-Lin, make sure your comment is an actual analysis of the article with some sort of tie to potential or real political issues...if you want credit.
The tags are a good idea because it is difficult to watch a large group of young kids especially at that age. And if all the staff has to do is scan over the tag or have it automatically register that's one less thing to worry about and less "paper" attendances to file. It's better than putting a leash backpack on all of them.
Well, I suppose one pro is that it's pretty environmentally friendly; they're going to save a ton of money and even a few trees. This seems like another step towards being a 'paperless society.' Those poor guys and gals are going to be out of a job over at Dunder Mifflin. Anyway, there are going to be some people who will to oppose this idea. They'll say it's just another way for the government to keep tags on people and getting too involved. Whatever. I think this type of thing is okay to use on kids. It really is just for their safety.= and seems like it could help parents and teachers worry a bit less.
I personally believe this could be beneficial to the school district, however, as Jessica pointed out, it is a lot like microchips pet owners can have implanted into their pet. However, should costly technology really be placed on the shirts of hundreds of five year olds? I also am curious as to how they track that these children are eating...
Well this is half way between the cool and useful and the scary and scifi. While on the one hand, after camp counseling over the summer I think it would be really great to have some way of making sure your kid's not at the bottom of the lake, it also seems like something someone might run with, deciding "hey why not just implant these in everyone?" I can appreciate parents wanting to make sure their kids are safe and where they're supposed to be, but at the same time being implanted with a chip that monitered your whereabouts at all times would sure be a little scary in itself. Also as someone else previously stated LISDs system is cheaper and generally reliable, in a 5-A school which I suspect this school where all the kids wear jerseys with chips in them is not. Also I can't imagine how implementing this into ONE school for ONE year could save thousands of hours and dollars. Sounds like the school district is just lazy to me.
In my opinion, great idea! It would put alot of minds at ease so that a teacher will not have to take roll and say "oh my! where is little Billy Joe?!" Instead, he can know where little Billy Joe is with the device. I agree with Josh Powe, my teachers should know if i have eaten or not :) I also think that those devices should be used in high schools so that the kids who skip all the time will get busted either way.
I think that's a pretty neat idea, i mean at least they didn't have to put the tracking device under their skin. If there was a natural disaster or something then they could make sure that all the kids are accounted for (assuming that there still is electricity), or even if someone takes a kid (and the perp didn't know about the tracking devices) then they could probably locate the kid...the only thing i'm curious about is, how can they tell whether or not the kid has eaten or not?
I can see the benefits and downfalls to this, i guess its a good idea to know the where abouts of students when they have alot of absences. But it actually just makes the administrators and teachers just seem lazy. Absences really don't take a lot of time, its not that hard for a kid to just say "here" and I'm sure kids are capable of eating on their own. its an expense that isn't really necessary, and the money used for it could be spent on something more beneficial.
I don't think these tracking devices are really necessary. It honestly doesn't take that long to see which kids are present and which are absent. Plus, what exactly do preschool teachers need all this extra time for? What would they do during that 10 minutes of free time that's so important? And I don't see how having a tracking device on the kids is going to tell the teacher if they ate or not. I say those preschool teachers are just getting really lazy and don't want to do their job, which is to watch some kids and make sure they eat.
This is a great example of how technology is slowly taking over our society. It may be a great way to save time and effort, but could also cause complications in the end. For example, how much does it cost to replace a damaged chip? If a child's tracking device is damaged during the day, it would most likely cause more chaos and more confusion to the teachers who can potentially start receiving mixed signals. At the same time this system could save the school money. However our government has not quite caught up with technology, causing even more complications. All these advances in the world can definitely benefit, but also have the ability to cause major damage. I don't know, maybe I am taking this too far?
This seems like an excellent way to keep track of the more adventuresome children that like to wander off but I am curious to see how the tracking device can tell if a child has consumed any food or drink. Will these devices eventually become a nation-wide normality? I bet some of the more neurotic parents will have something to say about that... But still, where is the limit? Is Big Brother always watching? Is this paving the way for everyone being monitored, either with or without their consent? I can see where this would be useful for convicted sex offenders or escaped convicts and parolees and yet I still ask my self, Where is the limit? Where is the line between monitoring and spying??
This seems great in theory, but definitely not foolproof. It would certainly come in handy for keeping up with little kids if one accidentally wandered off or got seperated from the group, but did they take into account that preschoolers are more prone to trips, rips and spills than any other age group? I wonder if these high frequency jerseys would work after being doused by a cup of juice?
ok this is stupid! its a waste of money and its way out of line for the school and government. its not that hard to write for a tesacher to write something down or to watch these students. It sounds like these teachers are trying to find a clever way to not do their jobs. parents send their students to school in hopes that the teacher will be there to watch them not to trck them on a computer. and i know that if I had a kid going to this school i would not want my child's teacher to be able to track them whever they are. That uniform comes home with them so that teacher can know everything! I find this unnecessary and a waste of money.
I doubt that there is a real need for these tracking devices. These kids are preschoolers, they should be watched by an adult at all times. If I was a parent, I wouldn't trust an electronic tag to keep up with my child. While it would save the school district money, it would probably result with the staff being reduced; that is, if the tags actually do help reduce the load on teachers. Fewer jobs is not what we need right now.
With all this said, I don't think the tags would work all that well. Taking attendance doesn't take long ; the teacher should be able to deal with the demands of caring for her students without a tracking device.
This idea seems like a very good one in terms of kids in preschool and kindergarten, but that's about it. When kids become older and are able to behave themselves, there is no need for this. Although it would be great for the school to be able to check who's absent and who is skipping class, it looks a bit horrid on a larger scale. Let's say that in two years every school in the nation will have motion trackers for all of their students and someone brings into question "Why is it only for schools?" "Why not anything else?" After this, industries and workplaces are starting to use these motion trackers for their employees, to see if they are skipping work, or slacking off somewhere in the building, no where near their desk. This could allow companies to become even more efficient than before, but wait, it's not done yet. Let's say every car gets a motion tracker that is controlled by the car manufacturers to make sure the people who bought their cars are on roads and not in a ditch or falling off a bridge. Soon, there will be surveillance for everything we can possibly imagine and the word 'privacy' will cease to exist. Although this seems highly unlikely and goes on a tangent from a simple idea, it is possible. Having all your actions being watched, now where have i seen this before...
I believe that this is a great idea from the school, because it will basically much help everybody. The staff will know where all the kids are, so if something happens to the child they could easily be found. Although I can't really see this going past kindergarten, I mean think about it, do you really expect these chips to be on high school students? But this may be a be a step in the right direction for other uses, like for the military and M.I.A soldiers or for autistic students.
I don't really understand what the purpose of this is. It sounds like it's mainly so that their teachers don't have to keep attendance or watch the kids at all times... but isn't kind of that the job of a kindergarten teacher? Also, it's not like kindergarteners try to skip class a lot or anything. I definately see more cons than pros on this one.
Although the concept of monitoring little kids with tracking devices is very appealing to me, I can definitely see where there might be some issues. For instance, what if they were to wear the wrong vest? What if the battery were to die? What if they were to take their vest off and leave it somewhere? And I know that the point is to save time but how long does it take for the teacher to make sure every student has their vest on and that the device is functioning properly? Does it take that much less time than taking attendence would? One issue I do not have with tracking devices though is that I don't mind the idea that we are "tagging" them like we would a puppy... In fact I find this to be a more preferable alternative to the little leash/backpack thingy that some parents use on their toddlers when they visit public places like the zoo.
I don't think this is really useful.
Why don't just do the old checking kids by paper and seeing?
What is the point of spending so much money to save 5mins?????????
They should spend the money some where else.
At first i though it will be stopping crimes. Help people to find their kids when they are kidnap.
So the teachers don't have to manually take attendance now, I mean God forbid they had to actually write this down or type it in a computer in the first place! And if you can't keep up with your students, then maybe you shouldn't be a teacher. Seems like a big waste of $50,000 that I'm sure could serve a better purpose.
Its a great idea for the teachers and could really ease things up for them, but I want to know what the kids feel about these sensors. Personally, I would feel very uneasy if I knew someone was tracking me. Its like having a stalker that knows what your up to. I think the parents should decide whether or not to plant tracking devices in there children.
seems like an amazing way of saving time, and money. Technology is improving very fast! and I personally agree with Jessica Kaskie's question, are there really THAT MANY students running around, in preschool? That they need to waste such a large amount, $50,000? But I guess government is doing its job, it is providing the society, or in this case they are students and government just wants to ensure children's safety and their nutrition, but at the same time they will also save up large amounts of money with this system. But is this technology going to take away staff's jobs? meaning more lay offs for the school staff, and more people with no job. Great!
Although this method salvages staff a considerable amount of time, I honestly think it's a waste of money due to laziness. It's really not that big of a deal to check whether a child is present or absent, and just because a small amount of manual labor is involved, moving a pencil or the click of a button, really, I don't think it requires a federal grant to ease up the process. Theoretically, it's an interesting way to keep tabs on children in whatever situations, but I'm not sure the kids at this school are going to be wondering about dangerously off premises or something. I don't know, overall, I find it wasting a lot more time than just checking Here or not.
Wow, are we getting that lazy? I can't believe that we have stooped down to level were we treat children like pets and are to lazy to look after them. How hard can it really be to keep up kids. Sure there extremely hyper, but is it so bad they really need to spend 50,000 dollars to track them and know when they eat?? Why don't the teachers stop complaining, do their job, and WATCH AFTER THE KIDS!! Also the eating thing is stupid, you could always just use the money on good food and not poison. Then you wouldn't after worry about kids not eating.
This doesn't worry me as much as what is to follow. If we are already this lazy and this concerned with money and time due to taking care of children, what is the next step going to be? Completely getting rid of staff in favor of tracking devices and cameras? I wish I could say I'm surprised by this.
so how does it tell the people if the kids have eaten or not? does it have a sensor that just shoots into their stomach and analyzes everything that happens? and another thing what happens if it rains and the sensors get wet? dont they teach in elementary that electricity and water dont mix? this idea just sounds like an idea for people to be even lazier when it comes to taking care of kids.
so how does the sensor tell the people if the kids have eaten or not? does it slink all the way into the kids stomach? or does it attach to the food and then follow it all the way in to the kids stomach and then has some biochemical lock system so that when it touches stomach acid it disconnects? lol thats gonna be funny seeing a bunch of kids walking around with little chords and stuff hanging out of their mouths. another thing what happens if the sensors get wet? dont they teach in elementary that electricity and water dont mix? today a child was found dead outside a elementary school dead with some sort of probe sticking out of his mouth attached to a hotdog in his stomach, police are still trying to figure out who the child is or if its human because after a rainstorm the body mysteriously burst into flames... this idea is just another reason for people to have less work when it comes to kids.
I think that this is an overall "not bad" idea. I think the main problem people would have with this is that they look at it with their own personal perspective, wondering if they themselves would want to be tracked down. Of course we wouldn't want to be tracked down, we're older and think we can make good decisions on our own without someone guiding us along. But a child is much more vulnerable and needs guidance and protection. They would still be able to have freedom, no one is listening into their conversations or watching what they do. The only difference is that they'd show up as a little dot on a GPS unit so teachers know they're being fed and are safe at school and not being picked up by greasy old men. So many children could have been saved had something like this been around. What people have to realize is that our world is rapidly changing, and many lives can change if we improve upon our older ideas. That's how a society progresses, anyway.
As how economical it is, I say that $50,000 might do well in the long run. I'm sure the jerseys and tags can be reused a few times, and the other equipment will most likely last quite a long time. We also don't realize how much paper we use on things like taking kids attendance, so they are using their money more wisely and also working towards a better enviroment.
Beka Harris,
6th Period.
This is just asking for all sorts of issues’. I don’t really trust technology that much and to put trust on a chip that could malfunction at any time of the day with small children? No, they can just take their money and put it in places that it needs to be in, like hiring more teachers to watch these kids, because if there’s really that many kids then obviously get more people. Little children need positive adult influence not ways just to pass them off. And my dutiful comment about the whole eating food thing; wow.
I think that putting the tracking devices on the kids is not a bad idea but it would have been better if they were doing it for safety reasons rather than just because the teachers were lazy and didn't want to do all the work. i guesss it doesn't hurt that they were able to save some money too
Does it really take that long to take attendance in California? Even if you don't have an electronic system like LISD, calling roll, writing absentees' names on a piece of paper and hanging said paper on the wall takes maybe five minutes a day. I just don't understand why it would be so hard to keep track of your children for eight hours a day if it's what you're paid to do.
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