School surveillance tech does more harm than good, ACLU report finds

Daryl76679@lemmy.ml to Technology@lemmy.ml – 128 points –
School surveillance tech does more harm than good, ACLU report finds
theguardian.com
8

Today on "things that were obvious even before science proved it"...

What "good" were they supposed to sccomplish?

They train the children to know and accept that they will be watched closely by anonymous strangers for their entire lives.

This is exactly what I was about to say. And that is not a new thing; the school district I graduated from in the 90's had securicams in all the halls, and they were pretty up front about why (in the same way as "You won't have a calculator in the Real World!")

Well-connected Surveillance Industry CEO's get great bonuses every time a new school district signs up for their rock that keeps tigers away.

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Chad Marlow, a senior policy counsel for the ACLU’s national office and the report’s lead author, said that from a research standpoint, these claims are impossible to prove and are misleading to school officials and administrators.

Although school shootings and suicides are rare events, they are every parent’s worst nightmare and the fear is very real, Marlow said.

The ACLU commissioned YouGov to complete a national survey on student’s perceptions towards surveillance tech in their schools.

When it comes to education technology surveillance in their schools, students reported heightened anxiety, unease and fear.

“It’s going to make it less likely that students are going to reach out for help,” said Amelia Vance, the president of the Public Interest Privacy Center.

The ACLU report also offers recommendations to school districts and state level decision-makers about which tools are proven to work.


The original article contains 622 words, the summary contains 140 words. Saved 77%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

How about instead of surveillance, we invest in STEM education? Put all that computer equipment into classrooms and teach kids to use them. Focus on lower income areas that have less access to such things at home.

If they're worried about kids getting into fights, the solution should be to make class more engaging and collaborative, not to turn schools into prisons. I'm convinced that if bullies genuinely like school and like working with other kids, they won't beat up other kids.