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Crime Education Privacy Idle Technology

Girls Bugged Teachers' Staff Room 227

Posted by samzenpus from the making-the-grade dept.
A pair of enterprising Swedish schoolgirls ended up in court after they were caught bugging their teachers break room. The duo hoped they would hear discussions about upcoming tests and school work, allowing them to get better grades. It worked until one of them decided to brag about it on Facebook, and the authorities were called in. The girls were charged with trespassing and fined 2,000 kronor ($270) each in Stockholm District Court.
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Girls Bugged Teachers' Staff Room More

Girls Bugged Teachers' Staff Room

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  • Reversed Rolls (Score:2, Interesting)

    by bsDaemon ( 87307 )

    Typically, I thought it was teachers bugging the Swedish "schoolgrils'" lock rooms or something. At least, that's what all those "feminist sexual exploration" films made it seem like...

  • don't.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by MickyTheIdiot ( 1032226 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:50AM (#33357204) Homepage Journal

    strong words in the staff room
    the accusations fly!

  • Isn't the first rule of Fight Club... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by lorenlal ( 164133 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:51AM (#33357224)

    ... never talk about fight club?

    Yet another case of someone not understanding that when you put something up there on the web... Everyone can see it.

    Nothing to see here... move along.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Mongoose Disciple ( 722373 )

      Really, it's just a modern iteration of the idea that if you commit a crime, don't f'ing talk about it!

      People have been boning that one since the Code of Hammurabi.

    • Yep.

      We didn't start bragging about nicking the tests a few days in advance until we were long out of school....

  • sold! (Score:5, Funny)

    by toxonix ( 1793960 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:52AM (#33357248)
    You had me at "A pair of enterprising Swedish schoolgirls"

  • Creative Cheating (Score:3, Insightful)

    by realsilly ( 186931 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:52AM (#33357260)

    The method was clever, and the girls are smart enough to use bugging technology, but stupid enough to not actually apply their knowledge and learn something. I hope the court system teaches them a lesson that they won't forget, because a slap on the wrist (tiny fine) just isn't going to cut it.

    • I don't know what kind of allowance YOU got or who's lawns/driveways YOU mowed/snow shoveled, but for me, during high school $270 was NOT "tiny".

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jedi Alec ( 258881 )

      For all we know they're 13 years old. Is it really worth it to really crack down on them or can we assume that both having to appear in court and the punishment their parents will apply on top of it are enough?

      What do you propose? Hard time? Bigger fines?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Kjella ( 173770 )

        No, they could not be 13 as the age of criminal responsibility is 15. The school they went to (I found a Swedish article) had grades 1-9 = 7-16, so 15-16 year olds.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Arancaytar ( 966377 )

      Also, stupid enough to go bragging about it on Facebook.

    • Ha. So the punishment should be harsher just because they where clever? Also, the trial is already over - they got a 160$ fine, and they got to keep the dictaphone they used.
      • Also, note that it was "dagsböter", a Swedish form of fine based on a person's daily income. This was Lidingö, so presumably they (their parents) had some money to spare - a normal person would probably have gotten an order of magnitude smaller fine.

    • Re:Creative Cheating (Score:5, Funny)

      by mwvdlee ( 775178 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:03PM (#33357458) Homepage

      I hope the court system teaches them a lesson that they won't forget, because a slap on the wrist (tiny fine) just isn't going to cut it.

      Indeed, these swedish girls deserve a spanking!

    • smart enough to use technology, not mature enough to realize that teachers have lives outside of school and probably don't spend time hanging around talking about how to torture students with exams.

      • Re:Creative Cheating (Score:5, Insightful)

        by boristdog ( 133725 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:13PM (#33357640)

        I used to be a high school teacher. You'd be amazed at how stupid the students think you are, and how amazed they are when they find out you have an actual life outside of school.

        Also, they think you can't hear or see 3 feet beyond the teacher's desk.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by TheLink ( 130905 )
          Heh if I were a high school teacher and had students that silly, I'd give them facebook quizzes to answer as homework/punishment...

          And they'd have to like it!

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by troll8901 ( 1397145 )

          ... how amazed they are when they find out you have an actual life outside of school.

          And with modern technology, the moment they see you, your precious moments will be recorded, shared and stored for eternity.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Kjella ( 173770 )

          Well, I can't speak much for the US but here in Norway almost all school teachers are public and you get very little reward for being good at it. So every year like clockwork there's an article about how low the intake requirements for teachers are, because most the bright people want to do something else. Personally I did end up taking one year together with people who would be math teachers before I got into the study I wanted and saw it first hand. And math is still one of the better subjects. Sure, you

    • That is generally the way of cheating. Unless you put a good amount of effort into cheating, in most cases, the faculty or graders will notice. They don't always do anything (it's always a hassle and administrations are often hostile to cheating cases), but they notice a lot more than students may think.

      You can, of course, put a lot of effort into it and do a good job of cheating, but then... why not study?

    • What did they think.... that the teachers would sit around discussing what questions they would include on the test, and maybe state the answers aloud? I've never hung out in a teacher's staff room, but I would imagine that if they talk about school matters at all (rather than who they liked on Swedish Idol last night, or whatever), they're complaining to each other about lousy students, bad working conditions, etc. These girls deserve to be left back because of how naive their plan was in the first place

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Seth Kriticos ( 1227934 )

      The most important rule when you do stupid crap like this is: you shut up about it.

      But I guess that what school is for: they are learning their lesson.. the hard way.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      Absolutely. If they want to spy on people, they need to get their teaching credentials and get a job in the U.S. Then they'll have carte blanche.

  • discussions about upcoming tests and school work, [...] It worked

    No it didn't. What they really learned was standard teacher gossip: which teachers were having affairs with other teachers, etc.

    • I don't know about your teacher breakroom, but as an actual teacher, the conversation is quite similar to what you'd find in a normal breakroom - which movies / tv shows are of current interest, stuff going on at church/volunteer organization x, crazy situation that happened over the weekend with family, and difficulties with a particular aspect of work.

      This last usually revolves around a student, whose last name is never mentioned to maintain privacy (and usually not the full first name either), and requ

      • Tests are never discussed in detail with the possible exception of English essays

        Unless they were taking English for foreign language credit, the Swedish girls would have been very confused. ;)

        • I would assume the same would hold true in Swedish breakrooms as well as American, but I could easily be wrong. Different cultures do have widely varying practices. In the case of breakroom talk, it has been virtually the same in every country I've visited or lived in (though I must confess to never having been to Sweden, so maybe it's different there).

  • Girls can't keep their traps shut.

  • Should this be called facebook-itis? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:55AM (#33357310)

    Why is it that so many people don't seem to understand the concept of "Things You Don't Discuss In Public" anymore? Do they not think that the world wide web is public? The whole point of Facebook was supposed to be getting in touch with people and communicating with them, yet the way many people carry on, it's like they don't realize the whole world is able to look and see a permanent record of what they're doing.

    The worst part is, this isn't even the stupidest braging I've ever seen done on facebook - one example I've seen was where one idiot was using lawsuits as a harrassment tool against someone they'd had a falling out with, and was constantly bragging on facebook about their next wonderful plan, and how "That idiot will never see this coming! There's no way they'll be ready for it!". Sadly, they had forgotten to un-friend the person they were suing, so their target received a steady stream of updates on what to expect next.

  • Maybe the case will be dropped? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by commodore64_love ( 1445365 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:57AM (#33357348) Journal

    Ya know..... the same way the case in Pennsylvania was dropped when the teachers were caught spying on the girls' bedrooms.

    Psyche.

    Spying == okay when it's a government employee. Some people are more equal than others.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by spun ( 1352 )

      Nice anti government rant. Too bad the facts don't fit. Here's the report from the independent investigation. http://www.lmsd.org/documents/news/100503_ballard_spahr_report.pdf [lmsd.org] The FBI investigated the case and found there was not enough evidence to convict anyone of criminal charges. Are you claiming the FBI is in cahoots with the Lower Marion School District? Are you honestly saying the FBI will not prosecute low level government employees because the FBI feels it is the right of any government employee t

      • Re:Maybe the case will be dropped? (Score:4, Funny)

        by krazytekn0 ( 1069802 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:25PM (#33357848) Homepage Journal
        But it's not trendy on slashdot to be logical about government and police practices!

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Hizonner ( 38491 )

        OK, let's just have a look at that report, shall we?

        "Activations" involving photographs on laptops issued to students were grouped into these categories:

        • "Stolen student laptops". AKA "playing cop and spying on people who probably stole laptops". 18,782 photographs, 17,258 screenshots. Probably no legal authority. If you or I had done it: probably given a pass because we were trying to identify a Bad Guy and legitimately had no idea where the machines were... however, it's also probably illegal. There

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jvkjvk ( 102057 )

        Umm, yes?

        I believe that if this case was, say, Best Buy, the FBI would have prosecuted with the exact same set of facts.

        IF you think that is tin-foil had, i really will feel sorry for you.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by fermion ( 181285 )
      It is the expectations of kids versus the expectations of adults. Kids, being still developing adult humans, have a hard time seeing beyond themselves. They want to do what they want to do and don't expect consequences. Like when that 19 year old drove off the bridge today. He was probably going too fast and maybe could not take the curve. We cannot sue the engineer because the kid did not expect consequences. Suing a school or an engineer is not going to change behavior.

      The expectation of any teache

  • It's *cloak* and dagger, not just dagger. Remember that next time.

  • Scooby Doo (Score:3, Funny)

    by DIplomatic ( 1759914 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @11:59AM (#33357378) Journal
    So Facebook has become a Scooby Doo villain? How many stories have we seen recently that go "Plan X worked perfectly until someone bragged about it / posted pics on Facebook."?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Korin43 ( 881732 )

      No, Facebook is becoming the Scooby gang. "And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for me posting the details of my plan on that meddling Facebook!"

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mashiki ( 184564 )

      Nah people are still the villains. FB just makes my job easier in catching them, since they give me all the evidence.

  • Public Performance (Score:3, Funny)

    by ThatOtherGuy435 ( 1773144 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:06PM (#33357502)
    It's a good thing there wasn't any music being played in the break room, or the local branch of the RIAA would have had them crucified.
  • The best scheme only ever lasts as long as the weakest member's ability to shut the hell up about it...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by spun ( 1352 )

      Human factor? It's usually the dog who rats me out. Damn dog can't keep his fool snout shut. Take last week, he comes out chewing on some new Manolo Blahniks slathered in caviar and the wife says, "Where did you get those? Are you guys running numbers again?" and the dog is like, "Haha, running numbers? That's so last week, we're running an Internet porn site now!" and I'm like "dog... shut up dog. Ixnay on the ornpay, dog" but he's a dog, all he hears is "dog blah blah blah dog blah blah." Damn dog.

  • The first rule of spy club (Score:3, Funny)

    by MarkGriz ( 520778 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:10PM (#33357592)

    is dont talk about spy club

  • Unfair play (Score:3, Insightful)

    by bluhatter ( 583867 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:15PM (#33357678) Homepage Journal
    Some of you may recall the story about school administrators using laptop cameras to spy on its students ( link to article [csmonitor.com] ). In that case, no charges were could be brought against the school administrators. How is it that students doing the same to their administrators are treated as criminals, then? This world is so confusing.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by krazytekn0 ( 1069802 )
      The answer to your question is this really strange and I know, hard to understand, concept of.... Ready... Different countries sometimes don't have all their laws written exactly the same.... I know it's crazy huh? Never would have thought of it.

  • Back in my day ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by PPH ( 736903 ) on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @12:29PM (#33357906)

    ..., the girls slept with teachers to get inside information about exams.

    You kids stay off my lawn!

    • Re:Back in my day ... (Score:5, Funny)

      by troll8901 ( 1397145 ) <troll8901@gmail.com> on Tuesday August 24, 2010 @01:08PM (#33358586) Journal

      A student comes to a young professor's office hours. She glances down the hall, closes his door, and kneels pleadingly. "I would do anything to pass this exam."

      She leans closer to him, flips back her hair, gazes meaningfully into his eyes. "I mean," she whispers, "I would do anything."

      He returns her gaze. "Anything?"

      "Anything."

      His voice turns to a whisper. "Would you... STUDY??"

  • ...for teachers to bug students, but not for students to bug teachers?

  • I applaud both the girls' enterprising temerity, and the jusidical response to their "crime." Here in the states, they're just as likely to be called terrorists or sex offenders. Sweden again impresses with its enlightenment. Oh, except the whole Julian Assange thing. But aside from that...

  • Notice how the girls were charged with trespassing (usually a misdemeanor) and fined? No jail time or apparently even suspension. While I hope it would be the same here, my guess is our "zero-tolerance" laws would have the child booted from school for the rest of the year and brought up on a felony charge of criminal trespassing and aggravated privacy violations.

    Interesting to note that the article calls them a "pair of mischievous Swedish schoolgirls" and this from a Fox affiliate. When did we forget about

  • ... of what the electrical engineering building had where I was an undergrad. The ventilation system had weird one-way acoustics that propagated sounds from one of the men's rest rooms into the faculty lounge. One prof who let me in on the secret said that they found out exactly what their student's thought about various faculty members as the mid-afternoon poker game got under way.... "*tinkle* Gawd I can hardly stay awake in old Higgins' class. Totally incoherent. *flush*"

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