The Osaka, Japan school district is apparently going to start using RFID chips to track children. Here’s the story. Here’s another version. In short, tags will be in students coats or book bags. The tags will be monitored by devices at the school gates or doors.
Before you go running to buy raw materials for tin-foil hats, and before you call your broker to buy a bunch of RFID company stock, here’s what I think you need to know.
What this technology will do: It will track the tagged item as it enters and leaves the school. It may also note the time that the tagged item was scanned.
What this technology will not do: It will not tell “bad guys” where a child is; It will not tell parents or school officials where a child is; It will not prevent kidnappings; It will not locate missing children.
The shortcomings of this technology are: It depends on the child remembering to take the tagged item to school and remembering to take it home again; It assumes that the tagged item and the child are in the same place; It is an expensive alternative to a class roll call. Anyone expecting this initiative to reduce truancy or keep kids safe will be disappointed.
In other news, the headquarters of the National Enquirer and several other tabloids is now free of anthrax. I always felt that targeting this facility was a sign that the anthrax mailer must not be American born. Think about it. Most people do not take these “newspapers” seriously. However, if your native language was not English, you might look at the fact that there are several papers on every supermarket checkout produced by the same publisher and think to yourself “Aha! I have found the American propaganda engine!”
Just my personal opinion.