Comments on: Recording teachers

By: maggie798

maggie798 — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:57:53 +0000

The issue of voice recording seems to exist in some very grey area. At minimum, I would expect that a waiver for all students in the classroom would need to be signed for any student to use a voice recorder in the classroom. A student may tape the classroom proceedings, but a teacher has no control over what happens with the recording. It is the property of the student recording it. The other students (and parents) in the classroom can exercise their right to not be recorded by declining the waiver…which pretty much does away with the voice recording in the classroom if any one student/parent declines. It may be because of this that your child’s school has declined the use of a Smart Pen unilaterally.

As a teacher working to obtain National Board Certification, I needed to video several classroom settings in which students were interacting. To protect the rights of the students, a waiver was required from all students so that I could submit the video (with audio)to be reviewed by a small group of educators for the purposes of evaluating the work. Students who declined would have to be removed while the taping occured. It worked fine for 2 tapings, but on a day-to-day basis would not be realistic.

By: Maria

Maria — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:03:39 +0000

If the school is american and overseas who are they rule by??
They wont let my daughther use the smartpen (middle school,)but it does help her because she gets distracted very easily and notes are not completed.

By: Keith

Keith — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 07:54:54 +0000

I happened upon this site in trying to get an answer to the “challenge” posed by one of my son’s teachers who said “if any student tries to record this class, I’ll sue them to get the tape.” In reading the Evens case cited earlier, it appears that the court, while saying that teachers have no expectation of their lectures not being made public, didn’t say that 51512 wasn’t still enforceable – only that it didn’t preclude tapes of classes, however made, being used in disciplinary proceedings. So, did I read it correctly and principal/teacher permission is still required to record (in this case, audio) or not?

By: maggie798

maggie798 — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:03:23 +0000

Sorry. It’s the teacher in me. I spotted several typos after I posted. Just had to acknowledge their presence.

By: maggie798

maggie798 — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 20:01:02 +0000

We are in a rapidly advancing technological arena in the classroom. This right to record was broached just last week in my school system after a parent requested that her non-disabled child be allowed to utilize a Smart Pen in the middle school classroom in which I teach. On the face of it, it sounds like a wonderful thing to do. One kid. One pen. The technology specialist on our system said, “Sure. Give it a go ahead.” I cringed mightily. No guidelines were given whatsoever. The system, with one go ahead has approved the use of voice recorders for all students without any sort of protocol. I think it is lawsuit waiting to happen. There are so may things that could go wrong as voice recorder use (in the hands of middle school students who may use their power for evil and not good) picks up. Students taping students and posting it for public consumption? Students taping me for public consumption? Okay, not a big deal unless they spend a little time doing some editing to make it something it is not. The system has failed to be proactive. I have duly recorded my reservations. I think that may be little protection when things go wrong ….

By: thegreenwagon

thegreenwagon — Sat, 15 May 2010 15:41:19 +0000

I have been advocating classroom cameras for years.When discussing this issue with educators I have observed a remarkable degree of hostility.Why? Classroom cameras are a double edged sword. They can show evidence of student misconduct but they can also show teacher misconduct. The National Education Association website “Legal Issues Concerning Acadmic Freedom” tells us how they and probably most teachers feel about classroom monitoring. In the section ” Academic Freedom model Contract Language”it states- …”No mechanical or electronic device shall be installed in any classroom orbroght in on a temporary basis which would allow a person to be able to listen or record the procedures in any class.”

By: Chris Craft

Chris Craft — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Now this is an ironic statement, “Maybe someone more legally savvy than me”. Unless I am mistaken (joking with you here) you have a J.D. degree, as well as a Ph.D, right? So the only ones more legally savvy than you would be attorneys practicing in this very area of law? Do any of them read your blog?

It used to be my understanding that most states allowed recordings provided one person was aware, although that was in a conversation. I would posit that the typical lecture scenario would fall short of that conversation definition and potentially fail the test of legally permissive recording. I would also presume there to be some sort of good faith measure, if a student is genuinely recording to review, that’s one thing, but can you imagine the mal intent of some other students?

Just thoughts…

Chris Craft

By: Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Hi Chris, yes, you’re correct on my degrees. I do lots of stuff unrelated to school law and/or privacy law (e.g., school technology leadership!), so you’re also correct that someone who lives and breathes this very area would be more knowledgeable than I am about this issue. Right now I’m operating off some basic legal principles and haven’t researched this too deeply…

The ‘good faith’ argument is an interesting issue. Thanks for raising it. Can we say the student’s intent here was not in good faith? I’m not sure we can…

Classroom speech between teachers and students may or not be ‘conversational.’ The bigger question for me is whether it’s ‘public’ speech like speech out on the street or in the park. Unless they’re private, schools are public institutions accountable to the public. I don’t know of any rulings on this issue (but I haven’t looked either).

By: Bud Hunt

Bud Hunt — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Scott,

I sure hope you’ll answer this question — one that you suggest in the comment above –
Are classroom public spaces or private spaces? I’m not talking about specific private schools — but public school classrooms. Is the work that I do with my students public, or private, or a wicked-strange hybrid of both/neither?

I’d really, really like to know as definitively as you might be able to tell me.

By: A Mercer

A Mercer — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 05:00:00 +0000

Not ALL states allow surreptitious recording, as we all remember from Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp (Maryland didn’t). In particular, my state of California bans it and I was warned in a union training not to ever do it.(I’m guessing that someone tried to catch out an administrator in a lie that way, and found themselves in even more trouble). I don’t think the district is on shaky legal ground at all about the recording, but they could be on shaky ground in re: how this teacher got away with teaching this way so long.

This is funny because I was remembering a really crusty (and awful) Poli Sci professor who was asked if he could be recorded by a student with a mild (but identified) disability and the prof refused (he was an expert on China, and I think that made him a bit paranoid). This was about 1985. I’m wondering if he could get away with that under IDEA now?