In this episode of “Gee, What could possibly go wrong?”… In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Summit Learning, a digital learning platform funded by the “left-leaning” Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, co-founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his philanthropist wife, Priscilla Chan, recommends that schools monitor parents’ online activity — from “critical comments” to public Facebook groups.
Nope, not Big Brotherish in the least.
As reported by Fox News, the platform is used by hundreds of schools around the U.S. and was developed, in part, by Facebook engineers — who knew? — who continued to work with the platform until Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s foundation entered into the partnership in 2017.
Summit recommended that schools should “listen to online conversations” from parents and provide instructions on how to do so. How was this little Orwellian tidbit discovered, you ask?
As Fox News reported, Fox News Digital uncovered Summit Learning’s recommendations in the internal portal that is not available to the public but to educators who use the platform. Again, try to control your shock and amazement.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative but did not receive a response.
And how are concerned parents reacting to the revelation?
As should be expected from any concerned parent, as noted by Fox:
Schools attempting to implement Summit have met pushback from parents concerned about students’ data security, among other aspects of the program. For example, after Cheshire Public Schools in Connecticut entered into Summit in 2017, parents’ “opposition” caused the program to be terminated, according to Summit.
The Cheshire superintendent acknowledged that the platform would have access to students’ names, emails and analytics on their performance.
Furthermore, research from The National Education Policy Center, which is housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, alleged that Summit’s contracts with schools “presents a potentially significant risk to student privacy and opens the door to the exploitation of those data by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and possibly by unknown third parties “for purposes that have nothing to do with improving the quality of those students’ educations.”
Summit Learning, of course, dismissed the researchers’ “incorrect” observation, telling Fox Digital:
Protecting student privacy is a top priority and something we take very seriously. [We] “don’t use student personal information for anything other than educational purposes. In certain cases, we may use de-identified information, (i.e. information that cannot be used to identify or contact an individual) to improve your experience on the Learning Services
“Educational purposes,” as developed by whom? “To improve your experience,” as defined by whom?
Pardon my skepticism, but parents — along with conservative America as a whole — are finally waking up to today’s reality of “education” in our public school systems.
The bottom line.
While the notion of schools and teachers monitoring conversations and tracking the online activity of parents should come as a surprise to no one, the irony is rich. If anything, parents should be able to monitor the conversations and online activity of teachers who teach their children. I say that mostly in jest; no one’s private conversations or online activity should be monitored. Period.
Does that mean it doesn’t happen? Rhetorical question.
However, every classroom in America should be fitted with a live TV monitor, visible to parents and anyone else while teachers are “teaching” and students are “learning.” It’s called accountability. Unfortunately, teachers’ unions, school boards, and many teachers themselves remain strongly opposed to the idea.
I wonder why?
Related on RedState:
National School Board Association Faces Backlash, as State School Boards Disavow War on Parents
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