I try to live by this principle when it comes to teaching. Don’t say or do anything in classes you teach that you wouldn’t be proud to have made public in the news media. This is sometimes easier said than done, because after all, I’m human. I make mistakes from time to time. I’ve probably already made one today, and it’s only 5am as I’m writing this.

But I am reminded of this principle as I read the news out in California in which a student recorded the rant of a professor about president-elect Donald Trump.

Orange Coast College Student Threatened With Expulsion After Recording Professor’s Anti-Trump Tirade

Every student carries a mobile recording studio in their pocket. Yes, it is probably bad manners to record someone secretly. And it might even be illegal. But if you need lawyers to keep students from recording and sharing what goes on in your classroom, you are probably doing it wrong.