WALSH: We Have Cameras To Monitor Police Officers. Now We Need Cameras To Monitor Teachers.

If you want to take a trip and cannot bring your precious poodle along for the journey, you can always hand him over to your local dog boarding facility. And when you do, you’ll likely find that they offer what has become nearly ubiquitous at these sorts of places: a live webcam. Through this function, a customer is able to tune in any time and see how their pooch is being treated and cared for by the staff. Or they just might be curious to know what little Fido is up to and how he’s getting along with all of the other slobbering, mangy beasts. There are many potential reasons why a dog owner might want to have this kind of access, and it is hard to imagine any real downside to granting it. 

Everyone agrees that there is probably too much surveillance going on in our society today, but most of the bad sort of surveillance is the kind where we are being watched, often without our knowledge, by people who have no right or reason to be watching us. On the other hand, most of us agree that surveillance can be good, and has a place, when it enables us to see what is happening with and to something we care about, like our dogs. Or our money, which is why nobody complains about bank tellers being closely monitored. Daycares — human daycares, I mean — have cameras for this same reason. It is not that we actively distrust the staff at the dog boarding place, or the bank, or the daycare. It is just that these people are handling very precious cargo, and transparency and accountability are therefore urgently important. You would certainly be quite suspicious of a dog boarder who steadfastly refused to put up cameras, or a daycare facility that wanted to grant its staff more privacy in their interactions with your toddler. “You don’t need to see what’s happening here. You can trust us!” Nothing would make you distrust them more than hearing that.