Monday, February 22, 2010

New School Policy: All Students Must Dress With The Lights On (Now With Update)

OK so we've been sort of following this story because when we first heard about it we were all like, no way. Now, we've know our fair share of school administrators throughout the years and while as a class they aren't exactly what you'd call MENSA material, we figured even when you consider principals are stupid enough to think they can suspend a kid for making a Facebook page they don't like they're still smart enough to figure out electronically walking into a kid's bedroom whenever you felt like it would more than likely be...uh...problematic.

Well, now the FBI is involved and we're going to have to re-evaluate just how abysmally idiotic you have to be to qualify for an administrator's license.
Pennsylvania parents are suing their son's school, alleging it watched him through his laptop's webcam while he was at home and unaware he was being observed. The suit said that on November 11, an assistant principal at Harriton High School told the plaintiffs' son that he was caught engaging in "improper behavior" in his home and it was captured in an image via the webcam.
OK what's more stupid, thinking you can get away with peeping in on the kids, or catching one spanking the monkey, printing out the picture and sending it to the parents with a note expressing your concern that their son might be about to make himself blind?

Families were not informed of the possibility the webcams might be activated in their homes without their permission in the paperwork students sign when they get the computers, district spokesman Doug Young a spokesman for the Lower Merion School District said."It's clear what was in place was insufficient, and that's unacceptable," Young said.
Really? "Insufficient?" What was your first clue, the lawsuit, or the visit from the Special Agent?

Young said the district would only remotely access a laptop if it were reported to be lost, stolen or missing, or there was a chance that little hottie Becky Whitmore was nekked.

Young added that mistakes might be made when combining technology and education in a cutting-edge way, then let perverts and boneheads run the program.

The district has suspended the practice amid the lawsuit and the accompanying uproar from students, the community and privacy advocates. District officials hired outside counsel to review the past webcam activations and advise the district on related issues, Young said.  "We're very responsive to the needs of the community," he said. "Especially after they catch us."

The Pennsylvania case shows how even well-intentioned plans can go awry if officials have the IQ of a stale Krispy Kreme, privacy experts said. Compromising images from inside a student's bedroom could fall into the hands of rogue school staff or otherwise be spread across the Internet, they said.

"This is an age where kids explore their sexuality, so there's a lot of that going on in the room," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which is not involved in the Robbins case. "This is fodder for child porn."

Hey, just hang on there a minute Bucko. We all know that when teenagers send sexy pictures of themselves back and forth to one another, that's child porn, but when adults to it, that's sound educational policy in action.

Update: Yes, mom and dad, while you are at working trying to earn a living, these people are in charge of  your kids.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Not exactly Mensa material--Yes you are right. Sometimes not even close--even to that stale Krispy Kreme doughnut. Which is why I homeschool. I am tired to stupid people spreading their idiocy to the most vulnerable in our population. School Children [a captive audience].

And honestly, kids don't need to be on the internet. Sometimes it feels as if the internet is used as a proxy by lazy teachers who find the excuse of technology--convenient.

Reading books is better for your eyes. In a quiet classroom. Learning how to use a Dictionary and Enclyclopedia, and Thesarus--better than Wikipedia or Websters.com etc., Learn Analog first, Digital much later.

It totally removes the children from the venue of Web-Pedophiles, and texting, it improves handwriting skills, and it saves the district money that is not spent on steal-able laptops.

Back in the day people planted their kids in front of the tee vee as a sort of electronic baby sitter. We know that doesn't work well. Why would a computer be any better?