Is Live-Streaming Classes a Good Idea?

When you have adults observing you at school, what do you do? Would you change the way you behave? Obviously, right? But, what happens when you’re being watched every day, every class, and every break during your school day? Would you still be on your tip-top behavior; or rather, can you still be on your best behavior? Would you still pass that note to a friend, or check your phone from under the desk? This is the conundrum students at thousands of schools face as their classrooms are live-streamed daily to the public. Though there are many downsides, I believe students would pay more attention in class, and teachers would be held accountable for their actions.  Live-streaming classrooms have a certain positive effect, especially in more formulaic subjects, though it depends on the school and environment. 

The idea of recording a classroom, and even publicly streaming it online may seem like a complete breach of privacy to many of us, but the school environment in China differs vastly from the environment in the US. According to the National Center on Education and the Economy, China’s curriculum still widely focuses on the passing of information from teacher to student; regurgitating information from textbooks onto tests, though they’re trying to shift it to a more student-centered approach. In addition, the primary goal of lower and upper secondary schools is to prepare for the 高考, gaokao, China’s college entrance exam, which determines which colleges students are eligible to join (NCEE). Because of the overbearing focus on exams and the tight competition amongst peers nationally, parents stress over how their students behave in classes. If their student doesn’t pay attention well in class, then they’re less prepared for other classes and their exams, stunting their future. In this environment, recording classrooms hold students accountable for their actions, as misbehaving could earn them a lecture from their worrisome parents and comments from netizens. In addition, Chinese citizens live in a society with mass government surveillance. According to Josh Chin and Liza Lin, journalists for the Wall Street Journal, China has    “a new social contract with its citizens: they give up their data in exchange for more precise governance that, ideally, makes their lives safer and easier” (MIT Technology Review). Citizens accept their surveillance on their streets – how far-stretched is surveillance in classrooms? 

Classroom surveillance will not change a classroom environment largely, as most of the public will forget or accept it in a few weeks or months, and students and teachers will do the same. There’s always going uproar when something so headline-worthy is posted online, but when the attention dies down, the only people watching the stream ultimately are going to be parents of the children. Even then, it’s going to be on occasion, for probably a minute or two because there is nothing to watch. It’s just teachers teaching and students learning and participating. 

The camera acts as a reminder to behave well and focus and it provides records to prevent unfair actions done by teachers. Parents can notice unfair treatment of students or other issues without the need to sit in on class if their student complains to them. If they visit the class, they will get an unrealistic view of what goes on in class daily, as the teacher will act better to their child if their parent is watching them. Similarly, surveillance can prevent bullying, as people can access recordings. When issues arise in the classroom, the camera serves as a neutral source to resolve conflict. 

Of course, there are downsides to classroom surveillance – but the negatives will go away with time, and the benefits outweigh them. While students may be discouraged from participating in class because of the livestream, they will realize that the point of the camera is not to catch their mistakes. There won’t be people watching their specific classroom intently unless there are problems, whether that be behavioral or among peers and teachers. The opposite could also happen, where students, wanting to please their parents, might start participating more. Subjects that are more information-based – like math and science – will benefit as students won’t fool around as much and focus on the lectures. Parents will also look at these classes more often, as they’re core classes. Most parents respect their child’s teachers to know what they’re doing and what they’re teaching is important for their child, so they will respect their choices in topics and activities when looking at surveillance. With issues on privacy, schools can unlist these livestreams from the public and only share them with parent accounts through school systems. Schools can also choose to only share recordings after the day ends, instead of live-streaming it. Since China is already a relatively safe country because of its government, the risk of intruders or people watching the cameras for harmful purposes is much lower than in other countries. 

Classroom surveillance is one idea for classroom management, and its risks and benefits depend on the location and environment of the school. In China, where these cameras are implemented, the usage of cameras is relatively safer and more accepted than in other countries. China’s curriculum stresses different values than America’s, so this kind of behavioral management works better for them. They allow worried parents to find solace; in that their child is diligently studying at school. 

Works Cited

"Shanghai-China." National Center on Education and the Economy, ncee.org/country/shanghai-china/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.

Yang, Zeyi. "The Chinese surveillance state proves that the idea of privacy is more 'malleable' than you'd expect." MIT Technology Review, 10 Oct. 2022, www.technologyreview.com/2022/10/10/1060982/china-pandemic-cameras-surveillance-state-book/. Accessed 26 Sept. 2023.