The GEM Debate:
Should Big Brother Be Watching Our Kids Like THIS?

An adult’s biggest refrain could quite possibly be, “As a kid you’ve got it pretty good.”  And today’s article about kids wearing tracking devices doesn’t make me think any differently.

A San Antonio school district is rolling out a program where its students have to wear badges with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip. The chip allows them access to common areas in the school and failure to wear the badge could get the students penalized as heavily as being transferred to another school (which as we know can be more of a pain for the parent).  In some instances kids can’t vote for homecoming king and queen if they don’t wear their badge, but I think most of the truant kids are okay with losing that right.  The program is being used to increase school attendance which the district needs to get better funding for all students.

I say to the kids, “Get over yourselves!”  Some of the kids don’t want to wear it and that’s understandable, but I just left a job where, guess what, I had to have my ID on me at all times.  I couldn’t even go to the restroom without it.  Well, I could, but I couldn’t get back into my work area afterwards if I didn’t have my ID.  If I wanted to work from home I had to have a chip to make my security password work.  Yes, they wanted to know where I was at all times because they need that paper trail for the feds when they are missing computers, and they need body counts when a 40-plus storied building catches on fire, and I’m sure there are a myriad of other reasons.  Kids so want to be independent, but they don’t realize that that’s really a pipe dream.  It’s hard to fall off the grid.  If you don’t have a state ID there are things you can’t do including get certain jobs.  Heck, Joelle’s school (and lots of daycare facilities these days) require my freaking thumb print just to log her in and out every day and I couldn’t care less because it’s about safety. If you don’t have a kid in the school you can’t get in.  With this school program in Texas I would assume that not only does the program log you into the building, but without the ID it makes it extremely hard to get in, and that keeps truant kids from other schools from roaming your halls.

There was a side note about a California school district that not only logs them into school, but checks them in and out of the house everyday.  I agree with that, too.  Parents today aren’t always able to pay for care for kids and having another watchful eye albeit electronic makes them feel safer.  Eleven-year-old kids are able to get home, but there are days they veer off track.  A program like this puts their whereabouts in the parents hands as well as the school’s.  Good all around for me.

So what do you think?  Are schools going too far tracking students?  If there is a way to put more money into the school system without taxing you wouldn’t you want the schools to try it?  Let me know!

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Ella Rucker is a mother of a two-year-old girl and the guardian of two boys. She is currently working on dispelling the myth that being a “stay at home mom” has anything to do with staying at home. Ella moved from Ohio to New York City twelve years ago where she is currently assisting the head GEM and proving that sticking your neck out just might help you win the race. She loves to read about the “mental laws” and seeing them work in her life, but her greatest joy is laughing madly and wildly with her daughter who amazes her everyday. You can also find her writing for mochamanual.com or by following her tweets @ellalaverne.