Debate topic: cameras in schools

[danaeris]

Cameras archiving to hard disk on elementary school grounds (and possibly middle school), deleted at the end of every year, in order to deal with bullying etc. as a problem: Good idea? Bad idea?

You decide!

Comments

cameras

[admiralthrawn.livejournal.com]

This may let you prove cases of bullying, and catch other issues like vandalism. On the other hand, it may just push the problems to elsewhere; maybe the students will be bullying the wimps on the bus, at the mall, over email, or whatever instead of in the playground. This is also likely to be used against the teachers; now a parent can prove that you didn't pay attention to little timmy by getting the video to show you didn't call on him as often as on someone else.

It also sends an interesting message about surveillance to the kids. They aren't just learning what's in the lesson plan, they're learning what is acceptable behavior for people in power by watching the administration of the school. Are you sure you want to teach them that a government should continually monitor its citizens rather than place some trust in them? That's a powerful message to be sending...

[angel-thane.livejournal.com]

bad idea. Curtails freedom. Peopl ehave the right to not be watched constantly.

[kaidevis.livejournal.com]

That depends *entirely* upon implementation. Who has access to the pictures? On what basis are they analyzed? How often are they taken?

As a general thing, I think a bad idea but I can see where it would have certain uses. I just think there are better solutions to the problem. I remember being a child at a school with a large playground, but there were at least a dozen or so playground monitors (both teachers and volunteer parents) and that didn't stop *all* the bullying but it certainly did a pretty good job. That combined with giving the school the authority to punish (which has been castrated in the states) seems like a good (but not perfect) system.

I just see too many places a system like the photos could be abused. Society in general and your average citizen in specific doesn't understand how to use that sort of technology responsibly because it's "just technology" and becomes a tool that can be used very dehumanizingly. I've very rarely seen these things implemented well, but I still give them the benefit of the doubt. I generally think most people don't know how to responsibly and equitably use these things, though.

So yeah, depends on implementation.