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VIOLATION
OF PRIVACY Invasive Questionnaires
In 2002, Ellen Makkai, a former teacher, warned that bizarre and offensive
questions were being asked of students and that anonymity was not always
guaranteed. �Notification and permission slips [consent forms] are so
vague, no one suspects what�s happening,� said Carole Nunn, whose complaint
prompted legislation in New Jersey that requires public schools to obtain
prior written parental consent before administering surveys that ask students
personal information.
The following comprises just some of the types of invasive and behavior-manipulating
questionnaires currently in use:
�Health Enhancement
Survey�: 10-year-old students at one Montana elementary school
were asked personal and degrading questions such as, �How hairy do you
think your parents� private parts are? How fat do you think your parents
are?� And for the boys: �Circle the picture that shows the size of your
penis.� For the girls: �Circle the picture that shows the size of your
breasts.� One girl became distraught, shamed and humiliated by the questions
and her school grades subsequently dropped dramatically.
�Do you know yourself?�:
During an Advanced English course, students are asked to complete a questionnaire
as part of their curriculum. Two of the questions are, �Do you know yourself?�
and �Tell us the most embarrassing thing or the biggest secret you have
that will make us never look at you the same again.� For the first question,
students are required to respond in a journal that is graded by the teacher
and to publicly discuss their response in class. For the second question,
if students reply, �No comment,� the teacher reminds them that they are
graded on their participation. Students are asked to also discuss the
problem or secret in class so that other students can offer their experiences
or solutions.
History
Class: In an advanced history class in 2004, students
had to complete a 195 question survey covering self-esteem, self-perception,
interests, and �high-risk� behaviors�-with 20% of the survey covering
parents and family. The information sought included: Each parent�s/stepparent�s
religious affiliation (including denomination); Parents marital
status; Age of student if/when parents separated; Years of marriage;
Yearly income of each family member; Cost of home (or rent per
month); If the father is �positive� at home about his job; If
the student has �positive feelings� about various family members;
Amount of time spent at a separated or divorced parent�s home;
Whether parents� relationships with each other are �happy and
satisfying", Whether the relationship between parents and
child are "happy and satisfying", Whether parents make
their child feel "special" in the family.
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