Ever joked about putting a chip in your kid to keep tabs on them? Well, joke no more. In Brazil, this watchdog tactic might soon become a reality for a school district struggling to reduce truancy.
Computer chips known as "intelligent uniforms" will be embedded in the shirts of the student uniforms, to track a student's every move for both parents and schools.
About 20,000 students aged between 4 and 14 in the city of Vitoria da Conquista will be wearing the microchips in their clothing by next year, according to the BBC News.
"We noticed that many parents would bring their children to school but would not see if they actually entered the building because they always left in a hurry to get to work," said Coriolano Moraes, the city's education director.
Not only will parents receive a text message when their children arrive at school, they will get further texts if the child is late after 20 minutes, stating "Your child has still not arrived at school."
The whole idea of tracking chips isn't new. Japan initiated a similar program several years ago, and the U.S. ultimately abandonment plans due to the privacy concerns. This after the FDA approved the Veri-Chip for humans, to be embedded underneath the skin.
Apparently the uniforms require no special care, and the chips are said to be 'tamper proof.'
Do you agree with the idea of 'tagging' children, or is it a violation of their basic rights? Should they learn lessons about responsibility and punctuality the old-fashioned way, through trial and error?
In a tale that sounds an awful like an American Pie sequel, 18-year-old Minnesotan student Mike Stone already has a memorable prom tale to tell, well before anyone pricks a thumb on a cheap corsage.
After being shot down by several potential dates, Stone turned to Twitter, where he allegedly invited 600 different porn stars to be his guest at the ceremony. As you do.
You would think porn stars have better things to do with their time (like visit an elementary school as part of literacy week). But L.A. 'actress' Megan Piper was game, since Stone had promised to pay her airfare. Of course Stone was tickled as Stifler, until his principal caught wind of the deal and banned 19-year-old Piper from attending.
According to the Huffington Post, Piper herself was less than thrilled. "I kind of wanted to go,” said the porn star, who'd never attended her own prom. Even less thrilled were young Mike's parents, when the principal informed them of the proposed date.
Since then, a Twitter campaign -- #Porn4Prom -- was earnestly started up for Stone's cause. Even his parents are now on board. (I guess they would rather see their son attend prom with a porn star than not at all.)
In a statement defending their stance, officials claimed that due to “activity that may be disruptive,” Piper’s visit to the school would violate current policy. Disruptive how, exactly?
"It’s not like they’re going to have sex there or make a movie. I bet if his date were someone like Mariah Carey, though, they would have paid to fly her there,” said Diven Stone, Mike's own mom.
Ironically, if Stone had kept a little quieter about his date, officials would have been none the wiser (that is, unless they recognized Piper -- in which case questions would be asked, eyebrows raised). And Piper and Stone would have got dolled up and danced the night away like two utterly average teenagers.
In recent times celebrities have accompanied civilians to events (and have been applauded for doing so). Do you think Mike has the right to ask whomever he pleases to the prom, or is the school right to protect itself against a prospective spectacle?
Don and Betty Draper may have graced our screens once more with their outmoded glamour. But it seems their names are no long in vogue as their dapper styles.
The two most popular names of the era have fallen furthest from favour since 1940, according to this name study in conjunction with the U.S. Census 1940 release on 2 April. Although Donald ranked the 9th on the most popular list that year, with Betty nabbing fifth place, she no longer makes it into the 1,000!
"Baby names are like period pieces," says leading genealogist and spokesperson for FindmyPast.com, Josh Taylor. "Some [names] recall a particular era, which can make them useful clues when researching family history. Indeed, you can roughly guess when someone was born simply by their first name. In such cases, names can be to genealogy what carbon-dating is to archaeology."
This, despite many famous real-life Dons and Bettys—including Donald Trump (or 'The Donald' as he refers to himself) and America's golden girl, Betty White. Interestingly, the boy name which snagged the top spot in 1940—James—still holds classic appeal, just managing to stay in the top 20, while that for a girl, Mary, dropped more than a hundred places.
Will you be sad to see these names go in lieu of the Jacobs and Isabellas? Or will the power of Mad Men, now in its fifth series, lead to a resurgence in these names?
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