Letters to the Editor

Bring in Big Brother

May 24, 2007 4:58 PM

To the Editor:

The process for improving and maintaining quality classroom teaching resides in the old process of administrative oversight. Prearranged or unannounced visits are of limited value to enhancing classroom instruction. They eventually become politicized and orchestrated as opposed to a sincere effort to instruct.

My solution to this is to install cameras with videotape capacity in every classroom. Before everyone yells “Big Brother is watching,” we should keep in mind that the classroom is public space and there is nothing to hide. In this manner, administrative observations are clandestine and with videotape capacity, there is an objective performance to assess and to analyze.

Perhaps positive teaching methodology can now be shared with the intention of emulating. The same can be said for the negative with the opposite intent.

The investment in such technology would be worth more than all the staff development days that I have attended!

Larry Hoffner, LaGuardia HS