BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU AT SCHOOL
School district installs Web cams in hallways, classrooms

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Biloxi started installing the cameras two years ago, and now that the project is complete, there are more than 500 cameras in district schools, said Deputy Superintendent Robert Voles.

The cameras, which don't record sound, are contained in circular domes on the ceiling, giving a sweeping view of the classroom. Administrators can view the images on the Internet by entering a password.

Voles said the camera installation is a precaution, and that students and teachers have said they feel safer. The cameras were paid for with casino revenue received by the district, which has 6,500 students.

"They've been well received in the community," he said. "We have not had any problems or complaints whatsoever."

Click here.

I don't really know how this is going to make things more secure than simply having, say, a telephone in the classroom. Columbine type incidents of violence are still extremely rare, but the public schools' obsession with security continues unabated. Trust me, as a teacher, I believe in sensible safety measures, but this web cam thing is pretty extreme. These cameras aren't even being monitored in real time. How the hell are they going to prevent violence? Deterrence? It strikes me that such an intrusion can only add to the boiler room environment in schools that causes disaffected kids to freak out in the first place.

What these cameras amount to is yet another step in the direction of what schools are really about: authority and obedience.

If we truly want a safer school environment, what we need to do is actually address the problems that face America's children, rather than subjecting them to enforced conformity within an extremely confrontational climate. Of course, given the hidden agenda of schooling, such a suggestion is ludicrous. Schools exist to breed anger and fear, rather than hope and love.

It's all a pathetic racket.

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