just because we can, doesn't mean we should

Apparently the Gates Foundation is supporting research (to the tune of $1.3 million) to create bracelets that measure students brain activity, as a way to evaluate teachers.

Many teachers chimed in with ideas about how they would raise their ratings on the bracelet. One suggested she would pick students at random and scream at them; everyone in the class would have a faster heartbeat, not knowing who would be humiliated next. Another suggested that he would bring in gorgeous teen models to cause the boys to react positively. There were suggestions of soft porn and proposals to animate the class by discussing whose music was best or what happened at the latest sports event. One science teacher saw the bracelet as a wonderful hands-on project, in which students would take them apart and figure out how to re-program them.

-- Diane Ravitch. Read here for links to articles and the most recent information.