Rep. Bob Good Wants Cameras In Classrooms

The congressman from Campbell County stated that parents and guardians should be able to “dial in at any time and see what’s happening in the classroom.”

Earlier this week, Republican Rep. Bob Good (VA-05) spoke at a Campbell County School Board meeting in the hopes of trying “to encourage parents and community members to actively engage in our government school systems” to “hold accountable those whose focus is on radical leftist indoctrination.”

In other words, he was suggesting that there should be cameras in public school classrooms, and that parents should have a say in what their students are learning in public schools, and if they aren’t happy about it, they should speak up. 

During the July 25 meeting, Rep. Good noted that it was his first time addressing the board, despite being a Campbell County resident. He then went on to discuss how over the past few years, parents and guardians have seen what their children have been learning in school “more closely” because of remote learning. “Some folks don’t like to hear me say [this]. I’ve been an advocate for the last few years since the ‘China virus’ first hit our shores two-and-a-half years ago, for cameras in the classrooms,” he said during his three minute remarks.

The idea of having cameras in classrooms and available for people to livestream did not sit well with his Democratic opponent, Josh Throneburg. After hearing Good’s remarks, Throneburg made a public comment on Twitter. “This is a HUGE privacy and safety violation. Parents might not want their children’s faces broadcast to the whole world.”

Good did not discuss how privacy issues would be addressed in his remarks to the school board; only that he thought there was a way to do that so that children’s privacy would be protected. He likened cameras in classrooms to police body cameras, “to make sure there’s accountability.”

In addition to the privacy concerns, Good did not discuss how some of his constituents in the 5th District might not have access to quality broadband, because he represents an area where there are rural regions still trying to get connected to the internet.

He also said that “what happens in the schools does not necessarily reflect the conservative values that make up the majority of our communities.” With those remarks, he brought critical race theory back into the picture, which is not something that is taught in Virginia’s public schools.

“While no school in Virginia probably has a class that says ‘critical race theory,’ it’s that indoctrin—that ideology that permeates what is taught or the narrative or framing of an issue. It’s a dishonest racial narrative; it’s an anti-American narrative; it’s dishonest about our history. So parents and family members have to be involved and take responsibility. I encourage you to do that.”

At the end of his remarks, he also made it a point to say that wearing masks is “paramount to child abuse,” even though masks have been proven to help reduce COVID-19 case numbers.