Don’t Require Students To Have Their Cameras On

I am not a parent of a Westwood Public Schools student; however, I have reviewed the Fall 2020 Reopening Plan*. Both the Reopening Plan and the plan presented to the school committee August 6, 2020 require that students’ cameras be on during remote learning on Zoom. This is a bad idea.

Forcing students’ cameras to be on during remote learning is in direct opposition to the values of “inspiring excellence,” “shaping the future,” and “creating opportunity” that appear on the Westwood Public Schools website. If a student’s camera is on, they may show a living situation that is unequal to their peers, or they might have difficulty with connectivity issues due to the house’s broadband internet being shared with other people who live with them.

The plans from the Westwood Public Schools mention that backgrounds will be provided and that a student can speak with their teacher to not have to have their camera on during sessions. But why have a student start their relationship with their teachers by needing to discuss these issues?

UMASS Amherst Learning Technology professor Dr. Torrey Trust Tweeted an infographic that discusses the ways in which requiring a camera to be on is inequitable and some options of measurement. DESE guidelines only require that attendance be taken, not that cameras be turned on.

Are students aware of their peers’ socioeconomic class or household issues? I am not naive enough to say no. But why not create opportunity for all by eliminating the “cameras on” requirement?

*Have something to say about it and want it in the Patch? Here’s the link!