Letter to the editor
To the editor:
I disagree with the new East Windsor Regional School District proposal to require identification badges to be worn by all staff and students in the district. Identification badges are not appropriate for the school setting.
In addition to posing a strangling hazard, it is unsafe for young children to wear their name and photograph on their person. Young children are not always aware of the potential danger of strangers and may not realize that someone is a stranger because that person has called them by name. In regard to middle school students, an identification badge would just be one more item for them to forget as they are adjusting to a new schedule, lockers and extracurricular activities. Also, the lack of maturity of the general middle school population will undoubtedly lead to flying identification badges and general disruption of the school day, as seen with the wearing of baseball caps. Similarly, in the high school, the identification badges may create many uncomfortable situations. Incoming freshman and shy upperclassmen may feel apprehensive about publicizing their identity to potential bullies who can use the identification badges as a way to connect a name to a face. Also, high school students may also go the way of middle school students and fling identification badges across classrooms and even use them as "whips" as they walk through the hallways.
While the identification badges will help teachers to identify students and draw attention to people who do not belong in the school building, the negative consequences of the identification badges far outweigh the benefits. The problem of rude students and unauthorized visitors will not be remedied by identification badges, because, undoubtedly, only the well-mannered "good kids" who show their hall passes and give their names when asked by a teacher will wear their badges to school.
Danielle Orron
East Windsor