Tracking Our Future: At What Cost?

The issue of using RFID (radio frequency identification) in our schools is more than a little disturbing, especially when thought about on a larger scale. I feel as though once we make the ultimate decision to tag our children there is no stopping our government from implementing a law for everyone to be tagged. There will be widespread paranoia, well more than now.

This small device is used in the Fast Track systems in California for paying toll to cross bridges, by grocery and other stores to track inventory, by several credit card companies, and implanted in our household pets and wildlife to track their movement. So, what’s stopping the use of these chips from being imposed on humans? The answer is really nothing.

There are several schools internationally and in America using this particular device to track their students, even one in California (Brittan Elementary in the city of Sutter) has tried the system. Now, I do agree there are some advantages gained from using the system such as decreasing the rates of kidnappings, the ease of taking attendance (when there aren’t any glitches in the system), and knowing where the child is at all times, but there is too much of a risk of destroying privacy as we know it. After speaking with several students at a middle school in Vallejo, California it is pretty much safe to say that the use of these devices wouldn’t go over to well with them. One students says that it will make them feel weird while another student simply said they would refuse to wear it, and I don’t blame them. According to previous articles covered in newspapers around the country, some parents even feel a little uneasy about the idea of tracking devices and also worry about the health issues involved, which is a whole other issue. Then there is the issue of cost incurred by the participating school districts. It is estimated that initial start up can cost can range anywhere from $220,000 to $300,000 and then there is a maintenance fee that I am sure accrues over time, not to mention if something goes wrong. With the way some school districts are struggling right now, couldn’t that money be used in a more constructive manner.

My main concern is how this form of tracking constitutes a complete invasion of privacy, strips away civil rights, and takes away basic personal freedom. Even though children do not have the same rights and privileges as an adult, they do deserve that much. What’s even scarier is that according to an article published in the New York Times in November of 2004 titled “A Student ID That Can Also Take Roll” by Matt Richtel, advocates for the RFID tags say that they wouldn’t go so far as to track where students go after school, but they see the broader possibility of implanting these tags underneath the skin of children, so they won’t lose them. So what, are they going to be removed when the children graduate high school? Or maybe by then they’ll just have us leave them in, for safety reasons, of course.

The last thing to think about and that made me worry also was, doesn’t this give the feeling of the herding of cattle? That’s exactly what this world will become if there is a continuation of use of these tracking devices. As we have tagged our pets and the wildlife, we too will be tracked and by god knows who.

Michelle M. Jones

Sonoma State University