Smart Thinking! School Protects Children From Internet Predators By Covering All Their Faces With Smileys

I’m not quite sure what the point of posting these pictures at all, would be, but hey! These kids are certainly protected!:

From This Is London co uk:

A primary school has been accused of being alarmist for covering up the faces of pupils on its website – apparently to protect them from paedophiles.

Bizarrely, the images have been altered with the type of smiley faces popular during the Acid House dance craze of the 1980s.

I guess I missed that one. Does anyone else remember an “Acid House Dance Craze” in the 1980’s? I guess it was big.

Headmistress Clare Reece said yesterday: “The public nature of the internet is an issue we feel strongly about.

“Not all parents want their children’s picture on there.

Does the Headmistress know that thousands upon thousands of schools post classroom pictures on their websites? If the parent chooses to allow it, they check the “yes” box on the permission slip, if not, they check, “no”. That’s all there really is to it.

Here’s an action shot:

“‘Ey Nigel, I like ‘ow you have your arms up like a cheeky monkey!”

“‘Ow do you know that’s me, you gormless git?”

Is it possible the Headmistress is being overprotective?

Frank Furedi, a sociology professor at the University of Kent, said the school was being alarmist.

“Every time a school takes silly measures, it says we see the world through the eyes of a paedophile.

“They think that any innocent picture of school children will somehow be subverted and manipulated.

“These pictures serve a very important purpose of giving children clear images of their experiences, something they can remember later in life.

“Depriving ourselves of these experiences is not only irrational but serves no purpose whatsoever.”

More pictures at the This Is London website.

UPDATE:

Dave in Texas reminds me that there is a precedent for this sort of thing. Even some grown-ups we know feel the need to protect themselves from internet predators in this very same fashion!:

Rosetta: