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18 March 2006 finger-print surveillance in schools The Guardian recently carried a story about finger printing in schools: Guardian Online Story about fingerprinting in schools The use of fingerprint technology is becomming more prevalent in schools both for the apparently innocuous use of library registers and for the class register itself. First point: would adults tolerate being signed in and out with a finger-print? (Don't assume the answer is yes; of course once a generation has been through school conditioned to see this as normal perhaps the answer will be yes?). What is this about? This is about convenience for the teachers. They no longer have to go to the trouble of remembering a child's face, or name. They no longer have to deal with the emotions of a child not being present when the register is taken - it becomes a matter which is dealt with by the computer and a computer operator. This introduces a new layer of distance between the teachers and the students. It increases depersonalisation. It is part of the surveillance industry; companies are making a lot of money, no doubt, selling this depersonalising software into schools. Teachers like it because it takes away that troublesome aspect of the job; dealing with young people, and delegates that to a computer. The targets can be met without even having to speak to a child. It sends the message to children that they are an inconvenience. That they are not to be trusted. That they are not worth having human relationships with - even over the simple matter of borrowing a library book. It negates relationships and community. As such this new technlogical development is entirely in the continuum of mass education - as has been developed since the 19c Century. Relationships, community, and thus the individual are the stuff and the groundrock of real education. Mass education has never been about any of these. It is about training people to take their place in a materialistic work system. This hands-off approach to children is like throwing them to the wind. Some will adapt and become depersonalised corporate slaves. Others will fall over in spasms of pain. These ones can then be subjected to extra control and surveillance, which is also profitable, as we blame them and/or their parents for failings. |