I was a teacher abroad for a few years, and I've got to say I've encountered no industry as stuffed to the eyeballs with b.s. as the education industry. I have no doubt that some teachers and some school boards are driving a negative view of American history and race relations that most parents really don't want their grade school children to hear.

And I agree with that--we should at least wait until high school before we start inducting youngsters into the Culture Wars. But putting a mic or a camera in every classroom is a bridge too far.

I did not mind getting surprise observations to keep me on my toes, and I did not mind that native teachers were in the classroom with me to keep watch and keep order. But giving every parent a chance to listen in on every lesson would be exhausting and restrictive. You would know that you had to be careful with every word you said and avoid creativity in lesson planning since any parent could second guess you at any time.

That's what they call a toxic work environment. And remember that a meaningful percentage of parents are neurotic or just plain nuts. Everyone knew who the most notorious parents were and dreaded being forced into a meeting with them. Now they would come armed with video evidence both real and imaginary of your misdeeds, incompetence or neglect to bludgeon you and your managers with--perhaps on a weekly or even daily basis. Ugh.

So if you lean conservative don't just go along with this idea because all the other conservatives are doing it. They're going to need to pay teachers a helluva lot more money to stick around after they pass a law like this!