The thought of a computer program being able to read emotions sounds very interesting at first. It almost makes a person feel like he or she are in a science fiction book set in the future. Though it may be interesting, that does not necessarily make it right. The truth of the matter is that though a computer program measuring how someone feels may be interesting, it is an invasion of privacy and teachers have no need to know a student's emotions while in class. The new technology, Facial Action Coding System, is not valuable to be used in a classroom because it is an invasion of a student's privacy and is not necessary.

The Facial Action Coding System is not valuable to be used in a classroom because of how invasive it is to a student's privacy. The text explained that the technology was able to determine that in the Mona Lisa painting the person being painted was 83 percent happy, 9 percent disgusted, 6 percent fearful, and 2 percent happy. No one should be able to know to that great of a detail what another person is feeling without that person's premission. If a teacher wanted to know the emotions of his or her students, simply asking them how they feel is enough. Using that technology in a classroom crosses a boundry of privacy that many students would not be comfortable with. Many students would not feel at ease and safe being in the classroom knowing their emotions are being read.

The Facial Action Coding System is not valuable to be used in a classroom because it is not necessary. In the text Dr. Huang, who works with the Facial Action Coding System technology, says that most human communication is nonverbal, including emotional communication. Students and people in general are already communicating their emotions to the level that their emotions need to be communicated. When someone sees another person smiling, he or she knows that person is happy, or if someone sees a person frowning, he or she knows that person is sad. The text says the technology could recognize when a student is becoming confused or bored to support that the technology could be beneficial in a classroom setting. But the truth of the matter is, if a teacher wants to know when his or her class is becoming confused or bored, all he or she would have to do is ask. That is why most teachers ask after a lesson, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Not only that, but a teacher would not have to know if a student is happy or sad in the first place. The responsibility of a teacher is to teach and to ensure the students understand. A teacher does not need to know if his or her students are happy or sad. A school would be wasting its money to pay for a system that is not of necessity.

It is evident with all of the facts stacked against it, that Facial Action Coding System is not valuable in a classroom setting because of its invasiveness to student privacy and the lack of a need for it in a classroom. From the fact that knowing exactly everything students are feeling would make students uncomfortable, to the fact that a teacher could ask a student if he or she wanted to know how that student is feeling, it is clear this technology lacks value in a classroom setting. School administration and the community should ensure that this kind of technology never gets put in any classrooms. This would be a waste of money for the school corporation because of the lack of necessity for it. It would also make many students uncomfortable, which could in turn make it harder to learn.