Steven H. McCown wrote:
Actually, the only parents who are that "out of the loop" are those who
either choose to be or don't concern themselves enough to ask. A little
"how's my son doing?" to the Scoutmaster would give a better picture. Most
Scout Masters are excited to talk with parents. Posting minor children's
information to the internet and trying to secure it with software that isn't
secure won't really cure that.
Yes, ideally, if the parents were on top of things then the
scoutmaster's job would be easy. In the scout handbook there is a place
for recording and tracking everything and the "ideal parent" would make
sure that is up to date. There would be no need for scout tracking
software and this discussion. Ideal parents wouldn't be asking "how's
my son doing?" because they would know. They actually know better than
the scoutmaster and other YM leaders. However, out of the 30+ YM we
have I would say there are only about 5 that have ideal parents. With
the less than ideal parents we have to be more proactive, however.
As for the $40/year and writing a new software package, that's great, I
support it. My only complaint is with posting minor children's information
(as discussed on this list) to the web. Legally, the church will have to
provide an opt-out mechanism (in several countries besides the US).
There are ways to deal with this...
(1) Minimize the amount of personal information. While it would be
nice to have pictures and other personal information about each scout it
is not necessary. In fact, the name of the scout doesn't even need to
be recorded. Simply just assign them a number.
(2) Let them opt-out. If a parent doesn't want their son's information
on-line then, by all means, let them opt-out. Let them track their
son's progress. Like I mentioned above some parents do better than we do.
(3) Have security minded folks like yourself do a complete security
audit of the code. If there is a security problem then find it and let
the developers know.
People keep mentioning parental involvement and parental tracking. Here's a
thought, it might be valuable for tithing payers to monitor their charitable
donations and compare their records to the church's. If only FIS was online
accessible (with appropriate security to only monitor ones own donations),
then we could all go online with a great tool to assist in financial
planning. This would ease a busy person's burdens and make it so they never
had to go ask the ward clerk for a printout.
Why is that unreasonable (to all but the most devoted techies)? Because
it's money. Whenever money is involved, people get real sensitive. Why
don't people share the same concern about children?
Like many other people I track my bank account on-line. I pay my bills
on-line. I track my stock portfolio and make stock trades on-line.
Millions of people do this. The school puts my kids' grades on-line
along with all the other students in our school district. I actually
like to be able to look at my kids grades any time of the day or night.
This keeps me in the "loop" about how my kids are doing in school. I
applaud the school district for doing this. If I had to call all seven
of my kids' teachers every couple of weeks to find out how they are
doing in each of their classes then this would be a full-time job in itself.
I am more concerned about the paper that goes into my garbage than what
people can find out about me on-line. I invested in a very good paper
shredder and use it constantly. I once picked up some papers than had
blown out of my neighbors trash can into my yard. To my surprise it was
his bank statement. I am more concerned about the financial clerk that
enters my donations into FIS. Once I had our financial clerk in a
former ward mention to someone else in the ward (and not the bishop) the
amount of a donation that I had made. I started paying my tithing
directly to the church office rather than to my ward. Of course, the
main reason I do this now is the fact I use stock (and other "gifts in
kind') to pay my tithing.
In short, I have almost three degrees in computer engineering (I dropped
out of my PhD program before I finished my dissertation to start a very
successful internet company) and view myself as a very devoted techie.
I don't find the idea of dealing with money on-line unreasonable. I
don't find the idea of my kids' grades being posted on-line
unreasonable. If the Church decided to put my donation information
on-line to make my tax preparation easier then I would use that service
as well. I find on-line services very useful as a responsible parent to
do my job and to have more time with my family.
IMHO,
-stacey.
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