28 Data Points: Biometrics in Michigan Schools?

Handout sheet given my child to bring home and fill out. ^ | 2008 | Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center

[Don Joe]

See full document (two page) at URL.

[Don Joe]

My child was given this sheet (two-sided) to bring home and fill out.

In my opinion this is an effort to collect unique biometric identifiers on the children, and on the families. There are 28 data points, which should go a long way toward building a unique profile. (An additional field asks for "essay type" (free form) entry of parents' opinion, which would not be as useful as the essentially true/false data in the rest of the form).

My wife is more of a "go along to get along" type person, and laughs at my concerns. When I mention the "Utah Facility" she says I am paranoid.

Well, if my concerns about massive data collection/profiling are "paranoia," then what would you call the motivation for the construction of a monumentally huge structure with facilities intended to store hundreds if not thousands of years' worth of data on every communication in the country?

But, I digress.

Since we live in the age of "consensus science" I'd like to know what is the consensus on this form, and the data collection it represents. Are my concerns warranted?

By the way, while searching for information on this topic, I learned that Michigan has passed a law "restricting" schools from performing biometric scanning. This type of data collection seems to me to be a largely viable alternative to scanning -- in my opinion, it seems to provide a large number of biometric data points, without stumbling over any legal tripwires.

By the way, the teacher/school/website that has the page online (at the linked URL) is unrelated to my child's school. I found it while searching for information on this topic. It is the only copy of the form I've found online -- this teacher (with the website) apparently posts her homework assignments online.

In closing, I find it curious that this document, apparently spreading across the public schools in the state (a teacher I know has informed me that her school also uses it), maintains such a low profile -- absolutely no searchable data on it that I've been able to find, other than the one copy that slipped into a teacher's online homework assignment.

[Noumenon]

Creepy. And none of their damn business.

[taxcontrol]

If it is truly BIO metric data, ask the school for their HIPPA policy and compliance.

[sparklite2]

I don’t see anything wrong with it.
But I gave up any notion of privacy
when the Patriot Act was passed.

[To Hell With Poverty]

WARNING: It downloads automatically. Very annoying.

[Slyfox]

I bet there is a third page with questions about the bumps on your child’s head.

[robowombat]

This sort of cr-p has been tried by the closet commmies before. Way back about 1950-53 a number of school systems tried similar data collection telling students in elementary schools to identify whether their parents were Rep, Dem or other and what was their church and how active and what did their parents feel about ‘foreign aid’ (back then this was a big red flag issue for the libs. People opposing it were very suspect, probably racist and fascist, etc.) This created a real uproar when it came out. I was firmly instructed to refuse to answer any such questionnaire and to tell instructional staff to contact my parents. I would do the same thing with this turd. Write a note of refusal attach it and send it back with the questionnaire. Do not cooperate. Commies then, commies now at work.

[PGalt]

Thanks for the information; advice. “It’s for the children.” /s BUMP!

[Still Thinking]

If you’re worried about it, lie. Not only do they not get YOUR information, it begins to poison their database.

[Smokin' Joe]

If you’re worried about it, lie. Not only do they not get YOUR information, it begins to poison their database.

When I was in grade school in the 60s an assignment was to provide a floor plan of our houses. After consulting with my parents, I drew up a very nice house and handed that in. It wasn't where I lived, nor may it have even existed anywhere, but I did not provide a guide to which room to head for to steal or injure family members, either.

Of course, my parents were leery of government intrusion then, and have been proven right on every count so far since.

[Pontiac]

The only data the schools need is the student’s home address, parents’ names and phone numbers, emergency contacts and who is permitted to pick up the child.

Any other data is voluntary.

Tell the school that the rest is none of their business.

[Gene Eric]

>> poison their database.

But subtly.

[Quality_Not_Quantity]

Actually, I’m more offended by the blatant gender-normative bias so obviously present in the questions themselves. ‘Father’? ‘Mother’?

What about Mommy #1, #2, etc.?

And nothing about race, either? How can we keep track of population trends if we can’t properly identify the children of the union of a Polynesian and Lithuanian?

/sarc

[Still Thinking]

And the goat. These days Nanny Goat has a whole new meaning.