Big Brother hangs around
Wow! Another week and another Google Alert. This time, its about having cameras in the classrooms in the United Kingdom. Wonder if this trend will hit up the United States?
A group in the UK called Class watch sets up cameras in classrooms and uses this as a basis for professional development. So far, they have been set up in over 100 schools and used for in class surveillance. They state that this is not an action of Big Brother existing but of trying to help teachers improve their performance in the classroom. Also, it can catch any abuse of peers as well. However, Civil Liberties advocates tend to disagree with this approach and see it as an invasion of the learning environment. Some at the UK Teachers Union feel these clips can be edited to make the teacher out to be the bad guy. Some at the PTA National Headquarters here in the US feel that if a demand comes in, this could be occurring in US schools at some point.
One thing I have to say is I do not agree with an invasion of privacy. As Americans, we do have our right to privacy. However, since the birth of the Internet, haven’t we lost a good bit of this privilege anyway? At the same time, having cameras in various locations has helped to catch criminals. Cameras do exist on some school buses now and in hallways. So, having them installed really should not be a big issue. One thing it would catch is any abuse that peers are giving to each other. A lot of this happens in the classroom and right under a teachers nose yet it goes undetected. This form of abuse is hard to prove because 99% of it is done away from authority. It sure would help in catching a lot of what is occurring and what parents and students bring to the attention of school personnel. The biggest problem I see is when school personnel will take these and edit them or conveniently loose them. I know that has happened in the past.
As for Big Brother, he has been hanging around for a long time. He has not entered our homes as of yet but he sure is out there in public places. I doubt he is planning to leave the building anytime soon.
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A group in the UK called Class watch sets up cameras in classrooms and uses this as a basis for professional development. So far, they have been set up in over 100 schools and used for in class surveillance. They state that this is not an action of Big Brother existing but of trying to help teachers improve their performance in the classroom. Also, it can catch any abuse of peers as well. However, Civil Liberties advocates tend to disagree with this approach and see it as an invasion of the learning environment. Some at the UK Teachers Union feel these clips can be edited to make the teacher out to be the bad guy. Some at the PTA National Headquarters here in the US feel that if a demand comes in, this could be occurring in US schools at some point.
One thing I have to say is I do not agree with an invasion of privacy. As Americans, we do have our right to privacy. However, since the birth of the Internet, haven’t we lost a good bit of this privilege anyway? At the same time, having cameras in various locations has helped to catch criminals. Cameras do exist on some school buses now and in hallways. So, having them installed really should not be a big issue. One thing it would catch is any abuse that peers are giving to each other. A lot of this happens in the classroom and right under a teachers nose yet it goes undetected. This form of abuse is hard to prove because 99% of it is done away from authority. It sure would help in catching a lot of what is occurring and what parents and students bring to the attention of school personnel. The biggest problem I see is when school personnel will take these and edit them or conveniently loose them. I know that has happened in the past.
As for Big Brother, he has been hanging around for a long time. He has not entered our homes as of yet but he sure is out there in public places. I doubt he is planning to leave the building anytime soon.
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Add a Comment
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Comment by Elizabeth Bennett on November 2, 2009 at 12:02pm -
Hi Lindsay, thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. Whether someone agrees or disagrees, it is always good to get feedback.
I know it sounds paranoid and ludicrous to think that schools would take video tape and destroy it. I use to feel the same way until I was helping parents who had children who were being abused in the schools. I had learned of this actually occuring from more than one party and one particular place. Parents were telling me this was happening. I started realizing that this was actually going on. It "sounds" ludicrous but its a reality that is happening now.
Having cameras in public places is common now. When I was refering to privacy, it was invading privacy in the home. I think that crosses a fine line.....but they are everywhere now. They do help in catching illegal activity.
As for losing privacy on the internet, if you go to sites like this: http://www.zabasearch.com/ then you can, for a fee, look up anyone and any background info you wish to have. They may only have email addresses, however, this can provide any info people wish to have almost.
Again, thanks for commenting and have a good week....
Take Care,
Elizabeth
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Comment by Lindsay Branscombe on November 1, 2009 at 5:57pm -
I think you are absolutely WRONG to think that this is an invasion of privacy. First of all, they already do this in the US. They always video tape a few weeks of every teacher's first year for review. This is important on so many levels. Its not as intrusive as having a moderator inside of the classroom stressing out the teacher while they are under review.. and its a good solid accounting of what is happening inside of the classroom.
If the only reason you think this is a bad idea is because people might "edit" the footage or possibly "conveniently" loose it is just ludicrous. If everyone had that frame of thought, we would have no police offices because one office might frame someone..
Students are in school to learn - how in the WORLD could a stationary camera effect that at all? Also, the internet age has not removed the right to privacy, people choose to take away their own privacy by choosing to post their lives online. I know plenty of people who do not exist online other than one email address that is given to individuals that they know.
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