Privacy in Schools

[Erttheking]

It depends, on one hand privacy is important, on the other hand high schools are filled with people at the point in their lives where most of them have not developed enough to make intelligent decisions 100% of the time but have the strength and capability to do some damage. Depends on the situation.

 

[henkalv]

It depends, on one hand privacy is important, on the other hand high schools are filled with people at the point in their lives where most of them have not developed enough to make intelligent decisions 100% of the time but have the strength and capability to do some damage. Depends on the situation.

[joking]Ah yes, I fully agree that a teacher who confiscates an ipod because somehow someone might call it is someone that I would not call developed enough to make 100% intelligent decisions. [/joking]

 

[twohundredpercent]

You just know some friendless, unlikable douche will support this.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Depends where you live. In the United States, the right of privacy for students under the age of 18 is non-existent and any personal belongings you may have with you during your time there can be confiscated, searched and even trashed by the faculty. Where a police officer would need a warrant to search your bags, your teacher could do it without a moments hesitation.

 

[Fatboy_41]

furthermore, punishing an entire group for the action of one individual is just plain idiotic as well. Credit should be given where due.

Actually, punishing a group for the actions of one is a pretty often used re-training method. The idea behind it being the individual's rely on the support of the rest of the group to get through whatever is going on. By punishing the whole group, that individual must decide between risking being alienated from the group or having a little moral fortitude and owning up to the wrong doing.

 

[LadyDeadly]

I'm pretty sure its illegal for some stupid assistant or principal to go through your messages without a viable reason.

I'd would've raised heck about it, theres no way in hades thats legal

 

[Hero in a half shell]

furthermore, punishing an entire group for the action of one individual is just plain idiotic as well. Credit should be given where due.

Actually, punishing a group for the actions of one is a pretty often used re-training method. The idea behind it being the individual's rely on the support of the rest of the group to get through whatever is going on. By punishing the whole group, that individual must decide between risking being alienated from the group or having a little moral fortitude and owning up to the wrong doing.

Divide and Conquer my friend, Divide and Conquer.

Unless you use the school's wi-fi connection for your data transfer this should be impossible with a password in place. If they are hacking your password then in many places they are committing a criminal offense (and are more technically inclined than any teachers I know)...

I'm starting to smell something unpleasant in this story.

Yeah, there is no way to simply 'get past' phone passwords... unless you're all using 0000 as your code. This would need a really really computer literate technician to pull off, (if it is indeed possible) and from my experience of teachers, well, let's just say Mircosoft Word may as well be the enigma machine.

And I've been on the other side of the classroom as well, phones are fricking annoying when you are trying to keep the attention of 30 people, and Black Betty [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R044sleOW6I] keeps erupting at full volume from some dingbats pocket.

EDIT: On topic, I suppose it is an invasion of privacy, but to be brutally honest I can guarantee you that the teachers are not in any way interested or concerned with your social life. They have far better things to do than search through 300 messages of "I'm on the toilet Lolz" to get any personal information you may have on it.

 

[MaoExE]

So I ask you Escapist, how do you feel about school privacy?

I feel you are pretty stupid to not have a password on your phone.

I also feel its pretty stupid to bring your phone to school if its not allowed.

I should have added that they get past the password on your phone.

And how exactly do they get past the password on your phone?

No idea, and that's what bugs me the most. I have no idea how, but they can. Because they'll tell you exactly when you sent/recieved a message. With a password, or without a password.

Unless you use the school's wi-fi connection for your data transfer this should be impossible with a password in place. If they are hacking your password then in many places they are committing a criminal offense (and are more technically inclined than any teachers I know).

I'm having a difficult time believing this.

Well most kids probably do use their wifi, but their proof on if you did it is based on if any of your messages match the time on it.

From the first post it seems the principal is the one who started the entire business. I suppose the assistant-principal just helped.

Oops! My mistake. I thought it was only the assistant-principal. I suppose either parents or publicity is the way to go then.

I'm having trouble believing this too. A single phone goes off in one class and its a matter for the two senior administrators of the school?

I'm starting to smell something unpleasant in this story.

Well most kids probably do use their wifi, but their proof on if you did it is based on if any of your messages match the time on it.

Also, sorry if I mislead you, I mean that the principal is okay with the matter. Not that he himself took part. And yes, if one phone goes off and they don't discover whose it is, the entire class has to cough up their phones. One of the assistant-principals was called up to collect them. The other was the one who figured out whose phone went off.

 

[Astoria]

They have no right to go through your phone. If it's against the rules and you get caught then they can take it but that's it. It stays in a teachers desk untouched until you are allowed to collect it. You need to complain about this to someone, no way this is legal.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

One guy in my class, chose to have the guts to do this. He said, "I don't have my phone so it wasn't me." And the assistant-principal made him empty all his pockets, and picked up his back-pack searched through it, and took his IPod.

**blinks**

I was about to give this whole thread a miss as "one more reason to not allow my kid(s) to take phones to school when I got to this bit.

Why did they take his iPod? iPods don't ring! Unless they're against school rules (you didn't say either way) how does that make any sense?

Also, I don't see how it was guts to say "I don't have my phone" if he didn't have his phone on him. Seems to me he was being respectful by not having his phone at school - so why was he punished with an iPod confiscation? Again, unless they aren't allowed on school. which you never specified.

If it was my kid, I'd be calling that principal for a little chat.

 

[chadachada123]

If you live in the US, contact the ACLU. And tell some local newspapers and such.

Frankly, this is pretty dang hard to believe. If this is a US public school, it's absolutely illegal and would be stopped almost immediately after it gets out into the news, barring an inner-city school or something. I know nothing of non-US schools or private schools, though.

 

[S_SienZ]

Ah 1st world problems. When I was in school the only electronics you were allowed to bring were calculators and watches. Anything else (including radios for music lessons) required a permit.

 

[Monkeyman O'Brien]

How about you just dont take your phone to school? You are there to learn. Not to fucking socialise.
So if your phone is not at school then they cant go through your shit. Easy fix.

However I thought in the states it was a crime to even open someone elses mail so wouldn't going through someone elses email and shit also be illegal?

 

[applesandoranges]

edit

 

[krazymouse]

Well, if everything is true, they have just broken about a couple laws there. Bring it up to the Principal and if he doesn't respond, take it to the local newspaper, and trust me, your teacher will lose his job REAL quick.

 

[Cazza]

Actually, punishing a group for the actions of one is a pretty often used re-training method. The idea behind it being the individual's rely on the support of the rest of the group to get through whatever is going on. By punishing the whole group, that individual must decide between risking being alienated from the group or having a little moral fortitude and owning up to the wrong doing.

The problem like that is not everyone would know who's phone went off. Maybe only the people sitting right next to the person and they are most likely friends that wouldn't tell everyone. That only works if enough people know who it was to spree through the whole group.

It's another thing if that group decides to alienate that person. When I was in school my group of friends got the group punishment a few times. Each time we knew who it was. We laughed called them an idiot and nothing more came of it. So in that way the peer punishment never happened which is what that method of punishment trys to do.

 

[BushMonstar]

First Thought: Your problem for having phones in class
Second Thought: What the hell is wrong with these people, searching through one's phone and Facebook and stuff (Which, as I gather from the story, has jack-shit all to do with who's phone went off), and if this gets out, they could have some rather angry parents coming their way.
Third Thought: They took an iPod, which isn't a phone. If I remember correctly (I don't know if they've updated this in later models), the iPod couldn't emit sound without headphones.

 

[Aussie502]

Heres a fun one. Someone was showing me something on her phone and i got caught with it. So doing the whole i am a good friend thing i remove the battery and give it to the teacher. Apparently thats grounds for suspention.

How is that grounds for suspension in any way? I would go crazy if I got suspended for that. What's the harm in taking the battery out? The teacher must have been pissed they couldn't read your messages.

 

[Emperor Nat]

As far as I'm aware it's illegal, both in the US and the UK, to read someone's emails or private messages without their permission. It's an invasion of privacy, simple as.

 

[requisitename]

I'm pretty tech savvy and as far as I know, there's no way they can pull the passcode/lock code for your device off their wifi since it has nothing whatsoever to do with wifi. Also, why would the school let you use their wifi if they don't want you using your phone? And how could they get your facebook/email/etc. passwords if you were using 3/4g since that has nothing to do with their system?

I have to say I find this a little hard to believe. Not that they'd be asshats and take everyone's phone because someone's went off.. but that they were able to get into them like you're saying to look through your stuff.