The Pissed Off Professor

Yeah Team!

Oct 23rd, 2007 by Shawn Hansen

Back in the beginning of October, Christina Mallon, a teacher at Williams Field High School in Gilbert, Arizona, was placed on paid administrative leave for performing a cheerleading routine during one of her classes.

The performance was captured by a student on his camera phone video recorder, and the student subsequently uploaded the video to YouTube. The publicity eventually led to the teacher’s suspension/paid leave while the routine was (and continues to be) played and talked about in the media.

What I find most disgusting and amazing about the whole event has nothing at all to do with the teacher or the performance.

No one seems to care about the student’s behavior: he recorded the instructor without her consent, and unless he had his camera phone in plain view, he most likely violated the law.

If he did violate Arizona law by secretly taping his teacher, the moment he uploaded the video, he violated federal law.

But the student’s misconduct isn’t the issue, right?

Let’s imagine for a moment we were back in the stone ages—you know: that long-ago time before the every-one-has-one cell phone. For this event to have occurred, the same student would have had to carry a video camera to class, take it out, and point it at the teacher—an act that would have been a bit harder to hide even with the smallest of camcorders. And let’s not forget, YouTube was born in February 2005, so as we traveled back in time, the video never makes it to millions of viewers.

I wonder: does Williams Field High School have a student cell-phone policy in place? If they do, I’m willing to bet my last month’s paycheck the student who recorded the teacher violated that policy.

But let’s not worry about the student’s misconduct.

While watching the report, the comments of several parents struck me: in a nutshell, they each said if cheering was what it took to keep the students’ interest, then they were all for it. Yeah Team. By all means, let’s leave it up to the teacher to entertain the children while said children are in the classroom—after all, learning for learning’s sake is just plain boring.

Then there were the students who made comments describing the routine as “a waste of students’ educational time” and “immature,” and several who argued “teachers get paid to teach us [. . .] not to cheer” and who complained students “are here to learn.”

Now, I’m confused.

If the students are all for learning, why do educators have to devise ways to keep them engaged?

If the students are all for learning, why are they playing with their cell phones in the classroom?

One other thing concerns me profoundly, and it’s another issue no one is talking about: the inherent copyright protection for original work and performance.

Just because a teacher delivers a lecture or performance in a classroom does not mean the information and/or performance is unprotected. In many cases, the lectures, performance, handouts, and course materials of an instructor are considered “derivative works” and are copyright protected.

It is entirely possible the recording and posting of the performance in question violates United States copyright laws.

But I’m sure the student didn’t know that.

Let’s go smaller: posting what amounts to the instructor’s original work and performance is a violation of YouTube’s policy (emphasis below added):

6. Your User Submissions and Conduct

B. You shall be solely responsible for your own User Submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. In connection with User Submissions, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use and authorize YouTube to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all User Submissions to enable inclusion and use of the User Submissions in the manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms of Service.

I’m going out on a limb here: I don’t think the star of the show gave her okay to be uploaded and featured on YouTube.

My refusal to allow cell phones into my classroom is a subject of much debate among my students: given I would never cheer in my classroom, I wonder what my problem is?

Posted in Education, Politics, Students, Teaching | 64 Comments

64 Responses to “Yeah Team!”

on 12 Jan 2010 at 9:10 am1��

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on 19 Jan 2010 at 10:57 am2��-��

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on 25 Jan 2010 at 6:32 am3��

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on 07 Feb 2010 at 4:26 pm4��

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on 09 Feb 2010 at 3:56 am5��

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on 13 Feb 2010 at 5:11 pm6��

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on 15 Feb 2010 at 8:14 am7��

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on 16 Feb 2010 at 11:43 am8��

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on 17 Feb 2010 at 7:08 am9�� ]

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on 19 Feb 2010 at 6:46 pm10��

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on 22 Feb 2010 at 2:21 am11Forex Inside

фантастика!…
on 22 Feb 2010 at 9:59 am12Руссология

“Прямо даже не верится”
on 22 Feb 2010 at 12:47 pm13��

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on 22 Feb 2010 at 7:51 pm14Кузбасса

Спасибо огромное!
on 23 Feb 2010 at 4:39 am15Архитектур

Интересно и позновательно, а будет еще что-то по этой теме?
on 23 Feb 2010 at 7:48 am16��

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on 23 Feb 2010 at 9:51 am17FilmFox

забавнo
on 23 Feb 2010 at 7:08 pm18Пауэрлифтинг

Красиво написано, мне понравилось.
on 24 Feb 2010 at 9:39 am19��

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on 24 Feb 2010 at 12:38 pm20скандал

мне нра) хорошая идея.
on 25 Feb 2010 at 5:03 am21RadicalPsychology

Благодарю!
on 25 Feb 2010 at 10:44 am22Apple

спасибо! хороший пост! занесу ваш блог к себе в ридер
on 25 Feb 2010 at 11:07 am23��

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on 25 Feb 2010 at 4:13 pm24SuperSportNews

Да, всё точно написано.
on 26 Feb 2010 at 1:44 am25Экономик

Очень интересно!!! Только не очень могу понять как часто обновляется ваш блог?
on 26 Feb 2010 at 7:31 am26��

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on 26 Feb 2010 at 8:27 am27Профилактик

Смотришь на ваш пост и мысли неприличные в голову лезут…
on 26 Feb 2010 at 2:22 pm28Строитель

А вы знаете, что свой ресурс можно продвигать статьями не только у себя на блоге, а ещё и публикуя их в специальных каталогах? Зайдите ко мне и посмотрите как это уже делают другие вебмастера. Напишите свою статью (можно взять за основу любой пост из этого блога) со ссылками и добавьте ко мне в каталог статей. ССылка на каталог у вас есть, ещё раз её указывать здесь не буду, ибо нет смысла. Регистрация по каталогам отмирает, ну или по крайней мере сдаёт свои позиции, а вот продвижение статьями набирает обороты.
on 26 Feb 2010 at 6:11 pm29Предсказатель

Забавно.
on 27 Feb 2010 at 6:16 am30CRM Vitaly

Огромное вам пасибо! а еще посты на эту тему будут в будущем? Очень жду!
on 27 Feb 2010 at 9:45 am31��

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on 27 Feb 2010 at 11:11 am32alconavt

Случайно увидел. Не ожидал.
on 28 Feb 2010 at 4:01 am33��

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on 28 Feb 2010 at 12:11 pm34Микро

Ваш сайт в опере не очень то корректо показывается, а так все отлично! спасибки вам за умные мысли!
on 28 Feb 2010 at 8:46 pm35Насос

Благодарствую, полезная вещь.
on 01 Mar 2010 at 1:01 am36Bentley

“Прикольно”
on 01 Mar 2010 at 5:58 am37Беларус

А Вы не задумывались о том, чтобы параллельно завести еще один блог, на смежную тему? У Вас неплохо получается
on 01 Mar 2010 at 10:21 am38BALMA

Я отметила отлично нацепила на голову тыкву и бегала по улице.
on 01 Mar 2010 at 5:18 pm39Анекдот

Спасибо за чудо))
on 01 Mar 2010 at 10:17 pm40Трипо

“этот вне конкуренции”
on 02 Mar 2010 at 3:02 am41salomon

Круто, что тут еще можно сказать.
on 02 Mar 2010 at 7:14 am42TranceParty

дяяя….старая темка, но ми тут нету^^ даже если не по картинкам смотреть))) нету и фсё^_^
on 02 Mar 2010 at 10:40 am43��

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on 02 Mar 2010 at 5:13 pm44Вкусный

Не знаю как остальным, а мне понравилось.
on 02 Mar 2010 at 10:07 pm45пиво

“замечательные посты”
on 03 Mar 2010 at 3:46 am46��

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on 03 Mar 2010 at 10:11 am47Роберт Рождественский

Классно всё: и картинка ,и информация
on 03 Mar 2010 at 7:22 pm48Академик

Очень интересно !
on 03 Mar 2010 at 9:50 pm49MacBook Air

Спасибо!, в цитатник!
on 03 Mar 2010 at 11:24 pm50valerush85

Very good news
on 04 Mar 2010 at 6:35 am51Болгарии

да,но это еще и не все…
on 04 Mar 2010 at 7:57 am52��

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on 04 Mar 2010 at 9:40 am53фотки знаменитостей

Чёрт возьми! Круто!Вы Сами ответили.Беру в цитник! Смысл жизни и всё остальное. Решено.Без шуток.
on 04 Mar 2010 at 7:09 pm54Доктор Кто

Смеяться не грешно, но признаваться в этом при чтении подобной информации по крайней мере удивило меня!:))
on 05 Mar 2010 at 5:09 am55Енот

Доброй Ночи. Только что по ОРТ показывали сериал 12. Каковы ваши ощущения ?
on 05 Mar 2010 at 9:49 am56��

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on 05 Mar 2010 at 11:14 am57Modalogia

попробуем понять между строк..
on 06 Mar 2010 at 4:12 am58MazaHaka

На таких громких заголовках и подобной шумихе можно делать и не такие успехи
on 06 Mar 2010 at 11:28 am59http://aloeland.ru/

ЕХ! какой старый боян!
on 06 Mar 2010 at 11:04 pm60Жан-Клод Ван Дамм

фантастика!…
on 07 Mar 2010 at 1:22 am61��

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on 07 Mar 2010 at 6:00 am62Виват

Трогательно)
on 07 Mar 2010 at 7:56 pm63Аниме

“Мне нравятся Ваши посты” Пишите побольше!
on 08 Mar 2010 at 5:33 am64webmoney за смс

Надежда на наслаждение почти так же приятна, как и само наслаждение. – У. Шекспир

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