February 6

Post 8: Opinion Writing (OP ED)

An op-ed is an opinionated editorial essay. Content can range from anything as specific as your high school’s dress code policy to something as large-scale and controversial as the death penalty, as long as it is current and merits some debate. An op-ed picks one side of the issue and makes a clear and concrete argument in its favor.

You are going to read an Op-ed piece and then give your opinion on the topic.

  1. Should facial recognition be used in schools? If so, why? If not, what limits should be placed on its use?

  2. Have you ever used any kind of facial recognition technology — say, to verify your identity at the airport, unlock your smartphone, sort and tag photos online, or anything else?

  3. What are some of the potential benefits of schools using facial recognition technology? Robert LiPuma, the Lockport City School District’s director of technology, believes that if the technology had been in place, the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., may never have happened. Do you agree?

  4. What are the potential dangers of facial recognition in schools? Jim Shultz, a parent, argues that the Lockport City School District’s decision to use facial recognition has “turned our kids into lab rats in a high-tech experiment in privacy invasion.” How persuasive are his arguments against the district’s decision?

  5. Studies have shown that some of the most popular surveillance systems exhibited bias, falsely identifying African-American and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more than Caucasian faces and exhibiting a higher rate of mistaken matches among children. How worried should we be about bias and what Jason Nance calls the unintended consequences of facial recognition in schools?

  6. How safe do you feel in your school? What safety procedures are currently in place?

  7. “We all want to keep our children safe in school, but there are more effective, proven ways to do so that are less costly.”  School districts could, for instance, take smaller steps like upgrading entrances and exits, hiring school resource officers, and investing in counselors and social workers.

Do you agree? If yes, what safety alternatives would you propose for your school?

8.  Finally, would you recommend that your school use facial recognition technology? If it were used in your school, do you think you would feel safer? Why or why not?

 


Posted February 6, 2020 by jenniferths in category Uncategorized

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