Conservatives are introducing bills to require video monitoring of classrooms. This would allow parents to critique all classroom presentations.
Could this practice be beneficial to public education?
Is public education required to conform to the opinions of student’s parents?
Is it possible that all parents viewing the same presentation would agree on any issue raised?
I wonder if the same parents will support this once the teacher shows video evidence that their children are not perfect little angels.
No. It will cause even more teachers to quit.
Only the extent that parents elect school board members who then approve curriculum. Anything beyond that is unhelpful at best.
Of course not. More to the point I would imagine that many parents would not agree to having their children monitored by other parents at all times. I know that I would be very likely to remove my student from a district with this policy if at all possible.
I will add that in MO at least, the State Senator supporting this is a strong advocate for private schools and “school choice”. I am suspicious that at least some of the motivation is to make public education less attractive in general, and thus make private schools more attractive by comparison.
First you’d have to convince me there’s some reason other than to prove that teachers are teaching CRT or reading banned books.
I’m not sure how a political party can even pretend to suggest they’re against government over reach but not allow the local school board to police their own districts.
And lets just think about how long it’ll take before the system is hacked and anyone who knows where to ask can get a link to view them. Whether it’s people that want to watch little kids (and I won’t be surprised if some of those people have legit access to the cameras) or stalkers (or both students or faculty) or whatever.
I really can’t see any upside to this.
I hope the teacher’s strike if this passes or gets close to passing.
How about we put cameras in the office of every politician that votes for it.
*ETA, I didn’t realize parents would be able to livestream it. That means it really would be open to anyone that wants to view it.
I honestly can’t see any good coming out of it. Can you imagine the wrath teachers will have to face if anything they do or say in class could be posted to reddit seconds later? The news would have instant access? The school getting a call because a teacher taught something this way instead of that way 5 minutes after it happened.
In this case, you’d only have two options for that. Move to a different state or move your child to a private school. Neither of which are feasible for quite a large number of people.
I’d only support it if all parents who want access to the video would agree to video in their homes monitoring how they treat their children. After all, children are far more likely to be abused at home than in the classroom.
Easy to do - 2 way TVs.
We love Big Brother.
Wait a minute—are those CRT TVs?
Huh?
If it’s good enough for Oceania, it should be good enough for Iowa.
I’m sure that if a significant number of teachers quit rather than be monitored this way, parents who supported the cameras will be eager to take on the task of home schooling.
Under strict home monitoring, of course. Some of them could be engaged in leftist indoctrination and we can’t have that.
Probably not. First, who is going to want to have Big Brother looking over their shoulder like that while they’re trying to do their jobs? Second, it seems like a tool of ideological enforcement rather than an actual pedagogical tool.
Then there are the community gadflies who basically seem to be retired people who view it as their sacred civic duty to be nosey and stick their noses into all sorts of stuff where they don’t really belong, in the name of transparency (I work for a municipal government and you wouldn’t believe all the hoops we jump through in order to make sure everything is transparent. It’s completely stupid to have to log what we do each day when we’re working from home during the pandemic, but apparently there’s some fear that these jerks will call some departments out for not having us appropriately monitored since we’re not actually AT work, so we have to log what we do, which we NEVER had to do in the office itself.
I can only imagine what these cranks would get up to if they were allowed to basically sit around and watch teachers doing their jobs, and none of it would be good at all.
Unfortunately in some states yes. For example here in Texas, the school districts are “independent”, meaning that they’re only beholden to the State, and to the voters. They are not associated with some other level of government like a city, county or anything else. So since the school boards are elected and all the higher level administrators are appointed by them, especially the superintendent, each school district is basically controlled by voters.
Usually it’s kind of a non-issue, but lately the right-wing types are making a very forceful push to get involved and push school districts in the direction of mandating/enforcing their specific ideological viewpoint. You see this with the various book ban efforts, and now this nonsense. All I can think of is that it’s part of some sort of coordinated effort to compel the public education system to either teach specific things, or more likely, NOT teach specific things like LGBTQ rights, racial equity, etc…
Here in my own school district (Richardson ISD), these assholes have managed to drive away a stellar superintendent who was getting rave reviews pre-pandemic for things like efforts to further racial equity and so on. But the political climate changed (a couple of conservatives were elected to the board, and another moderate resigned), and they thus felt emboldened to push her out for that and things like mask mandates. It is a disturbing development to say the least, considering that the district is NOT an overwhelmingly wealthy or white one; but due to their (IMO) idiotic “neighborhood school” concept, it does have de-facto segregation, and the parents at the wealthy and predominantly white schools are extremely politically active, and tend toward social and political conservatism. They push for what’s good for their schools and to hell with everyone else, generally.
I would say only in the highest level of issues- like “schools should provide lunch”, but they’d differ on whether it should be free for anyone, what should be served, how much it should cost, and so on.
Seeing how it’s controlled by a school board elected by the people I’d say it’s required to confirm to their opinions to some degree.
This is going to be a boondoggle if it goes through. But I’m going to put this into the “be careful what you wish for” category. The people who introduce this bill might find it biting them in the butt when liberal viewers tune in and find ways to piss off conservatives in court.
In the 90s it was a problem in Plano when some groups started lobbying the district to include intelligent design in the curriculum. If there’s one thing the right is good at it’s getting their people elected into various local and state positions like school boards.
But there are people who vote for the school board who are not student’s parents.
Since I am a tax payer and a voter, shouldn’t I get to watch these videos as well?
Education is beneficial to three parties, in decreasing order. The child, society, and the parents. And yet, we put the parents, those who receive the least benefit from the education as having the most say.
As a tax paying member of society, I think that my opinion carries just as much weight as the parent’s. If they don’t like that, then they can pay for their kid’s education theirselves.
I can tell you this: My wife quit teaching last year because of stuff like this. It’s frankly shocking that anybody wants to be a public school teacher nowadays, with the way they are constantly disrespected by parents, politicians, administrators, and (a certain segment of) the general public.
Let’s video monitor top restaurant kitchens.
Could this practice be beneficial to culinary arts?
Are culinary arts required to conform to the opinions of customers’ parents?
Or a CPA’s office, or doctor’s office, or lawyer’s office, or any other professional.
As a public school teacher I am constantly told by people, “I could never do your job.” while they tell me how to do my job.
I will say one thing. No one would ever fucking watch them.
Parents love to talk about their kids’ education in the abstract, but virtually none are actually willing to spend much time on it. Everything I teach is posted on Google Classroom. Parents have full and complete access to literally every assignment, and every piece of work their student has turned in. But I’ve yet to talk to a parent who has actually looked at any of this. Even kids that are struggling. They want me to report to them about missing assignments, or call to confirm of their kid has really turned something in, when they could just go look themselves. They could see exactly what was being taught, and asked of their kid. But they don’t want to put that much time into it, really.
Helicopter parenting, survelliance edition. I wonder what drives it.
With some of these parenting trends, it’s easy to see where they came from - a generation that grew up relatively poor may have a tendency to lavishly overspend on their own children so they will not lack the things that the parents lacked, and wished for - and as a result, you get a generation containing rather an abundance of spoilt little brats.
This one though, I dunno.
Maybe? I’m not a fan of the idea of putting cameras into the classroom. This is part of the “be careful what you wish for” I was talking about. Are parents going to be comfortable if/when anybody in the district can monitor the classroom?
That’s democracy for you. The idiot’s vote counts just as much as the genius’ vote.
I don’t believe they ask you if you’re a parent before voting in the local schoolboard elections so feel free to participate. But it’s one of those elections that most people don’t care about which is one reason why it’s so easy for it to get hijacked by a special interest group.
Most won’t, sure. But there’s going to be one or two people that are just looking for the teacher to say *anything * at all that they can object to.
So, the other parents aren’t going to slog through 8 hours a day of lessons, but they don’t have to, the few dedicated whistleblowers will point them to the exact moment when the teacher said something that may make someone feel uncomfortable.
I’m not in favor of putting these cameras in either. I’m just saying that if they are, they shouldn’t be limited to the parents, they should be available to all those who support the school.
Unfortunately, we are putting more weight on the voice of the parent. Their “vote” counts for more.
Now sure, at the ballot box voting for the school board, we are counted equally, but at a school board meeting, I will be dismissed, while a parent will be heard.
This is very true, and around here, they are also held in off years, meaning that most people don’t turn out, really just the people who are most dedicated to some cause or other.
Which is why I make it a point to vote in those contests.