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I agree one hundred percent with this commenter. They are absolutely right – don't use the tone that I'm using on HN! I did not structure my HN comment from the

I agree one hundred percent with this commenter. They are absolutely right – don't use the tone that I'm using on HN! I did not structure my HN comment from the point of view of how to present it for public comment; and the tone if used verbatim will mark you down as "tinfoil hat crazy person who we should ignore", as the parent correctly points out. Definitely don't use the term "spyware". Try to assume the persona of a reasonable, slightly conservative, and concerned person who is worried about data privacy why public money is being spent on subscriptions to companies who collect a lot of it, but are not local or accountable. Highlight that you understand that choices are difficult, but that the school needs to do better and be more accountable to parents and students, especially in an age where personal data has become so important.

kqr 5y ago
Even better, contact other parents ahead of time and see if others are concerned. Expand your group of concerned people by following their natural networks and start collaborating on a joint proposal. Ideally you can collectively find a workaround (start by emailing IT, as someone else suggested, if that doesn't work, maybe schedule a meeting with someone more influential -- either way, the aggregate wisdom of your parent group will come up with more creative solutions than us at HN). Once you have a solution, craft a flyer and send to all parents: "This is what we saw as a problem, and this is what we did about it. Contact us if you want help." If all else fails, stand up together in the board meeting. Democracy does not require permission.