Smiles all round: Cann Hall Primary deciced to cover pupils' faces online with 'smileys'
Posted on 03/05/2008 12:22:53 PM PST by Stoat
Furious parents today attacked a "politically correct" primary school for covering pupils' faces on their website with "cartoon smileys" - to protect their identities.
Teachers took the bizarre decision after deciding mothers and fathers would not want their children being recognised on the internet.
But parents described the decision as "PC gone mad" and demanded the "raver-style" faces be removed.
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Smiles all round: Cann Hall Primary deciced to cover pupils' faces online with 'smileys'
However, the headteacher of Cann Hall Primary School in Clacton, Essex, defended her decision.
Clare Reece said: "The public nature of the internet is an issue we feel strongly about.
"Not all parents want their children's picture on there.
"You can't say what is going to happen with any of those pictures." Scroll down for more...
Not so proud: The football team have their faces covered to stop people recognising them
The images - which included a line-up of special award winners - were originally uncensored when published in the 420-pupil school's newsletter.
But when uploaded to the school's website, the names and achievements remained - but their faces had been covered up with the garish smileys.
Censored pictures even included action shots of the athletics tournament and a rugby team line-up.
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Sports day: Originally these pictures were published uncensored in a paper newsletter
On the front page of the website, the school says they guarantee the content of the site is "child friendly".
It added: "In order to protect our children, we have made the decision not to include any photos of our pupils on this website."
But the decision is out of step with other local schools who all appear to put images of their pupils unaltered on their websites.
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Outrage: Parents have described the bizarre decision as 'political correctness gone mad'
The unusual act has split locals, with some claiming the decision was political correctness at its worst.
One said: "PC gone mad yet again or the school is afraid of being sued by parents with too much time on their hands."
But others supported the idea, with one mum-of-one from Colchester saying: "I wouldn't want my child's face on a disgusting site."
Mrs Reece added: "We have no problem with the pictures going out in the newsletter or in the local paper as long as parents have given permission but the internet is much wider."
A spokesman for Essex County Council said: "The council advises schools of the national guidelines relating to photographs of students. However, individual schools are free to adopt their own policies on the issue."
Department for Children Schools and Families guidelines say schools must get permission to publish photographs of pupils on websites or prospectuses.
And a related BBC article, which doesn't show any pictures at all
She could use this one for the muzzies.........
The headmaster made a good decision.
In NJ during the time between when Megan of Megan’s Law was abducted and murdered, and the passage of Megan’s Law, a child predator used a school website to window shop for his next victim.
It’s illegal, a misdemeanor, in NJ to distribute pictures of children through official government publications without written consent of a guardian now, but the law is rarely if ever enforced. There is a NJ State Board of Education approved waiver form out there that is used as a template by school systems, libraries, etc.
LMAO!!
I’m noticing also that one of the pics features a ‘frowny face’.....perhaps that particular student had caused some form of unpleasantness?
Freudian slip?...........
Regardless of how one may feel on this issue, I'm wondering if it might have been a better idea to simply post no pictures at all that feature children in any way?
When they post the pictures but then cover up the faces with these garish smiley faces, it mainly serves to call attention to their policy and away from the activity or achievement being highlighted in the accompanying article.
Uhhh, those faces look mighty white to me. I suspect racism.
ROTFLMAO!!!!!!
That’s a weird choice of symbol - isn’t the smiley face in Britain a sign for a drug party?
Hopefully it will one day lead to reduction in stupid decisions by dumbass little busybody wonks. So far, that hasn't really happened yet, but I still hope.
That’s just strange looking.
If it were done to be silly, I’d say whatever. But for PC reasons... I don’t know. Kind of a strange way to go about it.
It takes about two seconds to add password protection to a website. That solution would address the problem you describe and still allow parents and kids to enjoy the pictures.
I have no doubt that a floodgate of lawsuits has been opened, and we can soon expect to see the school being sued for failing to provide 'cross-cultural smileys'.
<<<<banging furry stoat head on desk
I hadn't been aware of that, but this line from the article seems to support what you say:
But parents described the decision as "PC gone mad" and demanded the "raver-style" faces be removed.
It seems that in their efforts to protect the children, they have (perhaps inadvertently) cast them in a negative light. It seems that this action on the part of people charged with teaching young people has also highlighted how out of touch they are with things....
To more accurately reflect Britian 2008, they should have put Pete Doherty faces on the boys, and Amy Winehouse faces on the girls...
So, that means they have to have smiley faces with burkas. How do you know they’re smiling?
It could have been worse, they could have all had bill clinton’s face on them.
Hopefully it will one day lead to reduction in stupid decisions by dumbass little busybody wonks. So far, that hasn't really happened yet, but I still hope.
I've noticed that stupid people usually assume that everyone else is as stupid as they are, and are then shocked when their idiocy is highlighted and mocked. But oftentimes they don't seem to learn from such experiences and continue to do what they do.....
And it's true, in the internet age the dumb people are handed a particularly loud bullhorn with which they are encouraged to broadcast whatever they do to the entire planet, with the only apparent check on their actions being embarrassment (which Leftists are generally immune to).
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