Should teachers know students have criminal backgrounds?

Originally posted 06/16/2011 on lubbockonline.com

Megan Ryan of the Houston Chronicle reports that a bill requiring teachers to be informed when a student has a criminal history is sitting on Gov. Perry's desk waiting to be signed. The goal is greater safety for teachers and for other students. I'm torn on this one. Juveniles are generally protected from exposure because there are a lot of crazy, dangerous and even violent things done by minors who straighten up and become model citizens. When you know someone has a history, there is a tendency to treat them different because of that history. So keeping the students criminal history secret makes it possible for them to be treated like any other kid instead of as a menace to society. But if the student has a violent history, don't the teachers have a right, even a need, to know so they can better protect themselves and the other students? Texas State Teachers Association spokesman Clay Robinson believes they do and that the information will make it possible for teachers to avoid dangerous situations: "If the kid needed help after class, you could call a security guard to stay with you or stand out in the hall," he said. "If you were walking to your car and you saw the kid lurking about, you might want to ask a security guard or another teacher to walk you to the car." How many students with criminal backgrounds get in altercations with school staff? How does that number compare with the number of students without criminal backgrounds that get in altercations with school staff? Is there enough difference in the numbers to warrant exposing students to fear and suspicion from teachers?

Dept. Of Transportation launches "Faces of Distracted Driving" site

Phone calls, text messages, screens in the dash. There was a time when it was kids and the radio. Now there's an army of driving distractions to pull our attention from the road. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced on his official blog today the launch of "Faces of Distracted Driving, a site devoted to the danger of driving while distracted.

There is a lot of information on the site, including a summary of state laws, a FAQ and statistics. There are also three stories of people killed by distracted driving with more to be added. It's sobering, and thought provoking. Just a few days ago I received a text on the way home and started to reply when I realized I was veering to the ditch. I straightened out and put away the phone, but I was seconds from being a statistic. I resolved not to text while driving, and these stories reinforced that resolve.

We often don't think about the consequences of our actions, and when we do, we think the worst won't happen to us. But it can. I don't know which scares me more, the thought of leaving my family without a husband and father or taking someone elses loved one away forever because I couldn't be bothered to pull over or get where I'm going before talking or texting.

Online Safety: Remember what your mother told you

It's not often you see someone saying the same things you would do to protect yourself "in the real world" apply in the virtual world, too. US CERT Cyber Security Tip ST05-014, "Real world warnings keep you safe online" uses some old sayings to demonstrate that very point: 

    * Don't trust candy from strangers - Anyone can post anything on the internet, so don't accept anything as truth until you've verified it. Watch out for spam and phishing emails - and remember that email addresses and URL's can be spoofed. Make sure you know where you're information is coming from.

    * If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - How many times have you seen an add on a page or a pop-up window proclaiming that you are the 1,000,000th visitor to a site? All you had to do was give them some information to claim your prize! How many emails have you received claiming to have millions just waiting for you to claim them? This type of scam predates email by decades. Don't let greed get the better of you. You're more likely to hit the jackpot on every lotto drawing for a month than you are to actually recieve money (or anything good) from one of these scams, or their cousins, the "let us scan your computer" popup.

    * Don't advertise that you are away from home - Autoresponders, the email auto replies you can setup for when you're away from your desk, are a wonderful thing. But don't give any more information than absolutely necessary. "I will be in training all week and will be able to answer email sporadically, if at all" is probably ok. "On vacation in Aruba from 9-12 to 9-24! Woohoo!" isn't.

    * Lock up your valuables - If someone can access your computer they may be able to access or steal personal information. Maybe even information you didn't realize was on your computer. Usernames and passwords, bank account information, all kinds of things that can either give them access to things you don't want them to have, or things that will allow them to figure our what you might use as a username or password and gain access to things you don't want them to have.

* Have a backup plan - Regular backups help recover from data loss caused by successful attacks, hardware failure, carelessness or accidents. They can also help you determine what kind of damage may have been done. Unfortunately, if a successful attack isn't discovered for a long time backups may be compromised, too.

Some other usefull CERT articles:

Using Caution with Email Attachments

Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks

Reducing Spam, Identifying Hoaxes and Urban Legends

Recognizing and Avoiding Spyware