RIHLA #18

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The article was about the Anaheim Union High School District, in California, tested the Global Positioning System technology as a six-week pilot program. Seventh and eighth graders that have four unexcused absences or more are assigned to carry a handheld GPS device; it is about the size of a cell phone. The cost per GPS device ranges from $300-$400 each. Every school mornings, students get an automatic phone call reminding them that they have needed to get to school on time. The students are the required to enter a code five times a day, and this code tracks their location. Lastly, students are assigned an adult coach that calls them few times a week to see how they are doing, and to help them find effective ways to make sure they are in class on time.

My reaction was that it seems unfair for students to have to be tracked, and if there is even any privacy since students have to enter the code that tracks them, five times a day. However, as I finished the article, I agree with the partnership the school and the police have, because they inform parents about the GPS and also that students who skip school without a valid reason, is a crime. So, though it may sound like the police are trying to scare the parents, it is actually giving them the hard-core facts, and hopefully parents and students can learn from it. I love that the goal is to reduce the absence rate within the school district, but in the end everyone benefits since he students learn to adapt similar habits for getting to school on time.

This relates to class because we have learned about the purpose of maps, how to map, and the different types of maps. Although GPS is the advanced form of a map, the map and GPS both show us direction, location, and destination.

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