Teacher recorded bullying student

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/26/11395270-autistic-boys-father-why-hasnt-teacher-been-fired-over-bullying?lite

You may have all heard about this a couple weeks ago, but it's worth a bit more discussion I think. Rather tan discuss bullying, which is something I pay to talk about separately, I'd rather discuss the ethics of recording in a school.

No-one wants big brother watching, and I fully understand that. But schools are public buildings. As a teacher, I'd actually feel MORE comfortable, not less, if I was recorded in class. MY worry would be cherry-picked words or phrases taken out of context, but with the device recording constantly, contest could easily established. It would go a long way towards protecting both student and teacher.

Maybe I'm just paranoid. I spend an inordinate amount of time in New York City, and I tend to listen to NPR pretty regularly. Daily in fact. Over the past few months there have been several teachers in NYC brought up on charges for, shall we say, "inappropriate relationships" with their respective students. I have no intention on speculating on their guilt, but I find myself now really judging both sides of issue. What if one of the accusations is false? How much damage did that really do? Whether or not the teacher is guilty (again, no speculation here), his career is over the second the accusation came out. That kinda terrifies me.

Could my career, or any of ours for that matter, instantly end at the whim of a slighted or attention seeking student?

Of course the argument can rightfully be made that such situations are extremely rare, but rare =/= non existent. Years ago, when I was still a churchgoing uber-catholic, I knew a priest in a nearby parish who was accused of inappropriate contact with one of the alter servers. Disgusting really. But what is your first, most visceral reaction to that accusation? It's outrage, and rightfully so. Your first instincts are to protect the youth. And that's exactly what happened. The church got inundated with hate mail and threats, as did the priest. There was a full on police investigation...

...Once the pressure turned on, the kid recanted. He was mad at being passed over for an honor in the parish, and immaturely lashed out with the accusation. He admitted it openly. But damage done. Career over, respect lost.

Would cameras prevent these things from happening? Probably not. People with that compulsion are pathological. But would there be any benefit from it? Is it ethical? Would you want it in your classroom?