Eduleadership
Justin Baeder on principal performance & productivity
Anonymous Education Bloggers Must Balance Freedom and Prudence
Jan 29th
The Houston Chronicle reports on a number of teachers who blog, a trend that they describe as largely anonymous. Some teachers blog for “free therapy,” while others blog to defend public education, and still others use the medium to interact with other educators.
Of course, blogging about work is a complicated matter for those who work in the helping professions. Issues of confidentiality are paramount, which is why so many teachers who blog do not use their real name or divulge their location. However, simply avoiding names does not solve the problem. Some districts are considering implementing policies about online communication by staff:
Most Houston-area districts have remained silent on the issue of what teachers may post on their blogs, although the Katy school district issued a stern warning to employees last fall after some expressed concern about educators and students chatting online. link
Clearly, publicly badmouthing students, parents, or co-workers is unprofessional and ill-advised, even when blogging anonymously. However, blogs can be a healthy and responsible way to communicate online, provided that appropriate precautions are taken. The Chronicle article says:
“While the district does not have the authority to prevent district employees from subscribing to these types of applications from their homes or from exercising their rights to free speech, employees are held accountable for adhering to the state code of ethics for educators,” wrote Lenny Schad, Katy’s deputy superintendent for information and technology services. link
Whether or not you choose to blog anonymously, there are several factors to keep in mind:
- Domain registration – if you own your own domain name, the WHOIS record can reveal your identity unless you use private registration
- Social networking – if you use MySpace or similar online services, your network of “friends” or contacts can reveal your identity or location even if you don’t state them explicitly.
- Comments – if one of your readers knows your true identity, they can reveal it by leaving a comment. For this reason, it may be wise to moderate comments, so you have to approve each one before it appears on your site.
- Inbound links – if other blogs link to yours and use your name in the link, your blog can turn up in search results even if you never reveal your identity on your site
- District policies – if your district has a strict policy against personal use of school computers, blog only from home
- Permanence – most blogs are checked automatically by feed readers every few hours, and once something is published, it’s safe to assume that it can never be completely deleted
Social networking sites such as MySpace raise a host of other issues, such as the problematic nature of inadvertently linking to inappropriate material via contacts’ profiles. For that reason, I recommend blogging only on services that do not have extensive social networking features. Even if you do not blog about work, using your real name or work location on a social networking site will allow students to find you, which creates complications that are probably not worth dealing with.
Blogging, however, can be useful and enjoyable if done ethically and prudently.
See Freedom Writers for Free Jan 26 – Feb 1
Jan 25th
Teachers can now see Freedom Writers, which was mentioned in the previous post about the stereotype of the heroic urban teacher, for free from January 26 to February 1 at AMC theatres:
In appreciation of teachers across the nation who give endlessly and enrich so many lives, AMC and Paramount Pictures are offering teachers* an exclusive opportunity to see the highly acclaimed film “FREEDOM WRITERS” for FREE.
Dates: January 26 to February 1, 2007
To receive one free ticket to see the film, teachers must present a school-issued ID or pay stub and a valid photo ID.
Passes to school teachers will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last at participating theatres in the AMC system including: AMC Loews theatres, AMC Star theatres, AMC Magic Johnson theatres and AMC Cineplex Odeon theatres throughout the United States. Limit one pass per school teacher. Please arrive early.
*Teachers for grades kindergarten through 12 are eligible for this offer.
Heroic Teachers in Dangerous Schools
Jan 22nd
“Persistently Dangerous” Schools
According to an article in USA today, NCLB’s requirement that states and districts identify “persistently dangerous schools” has missed the mark:
The federal No Child Left Behind Act requires states to identify “persistently dangerous” schools and give parents the option of moving their children to other schools. But it gives so much leeway to states and school districts that only those schools diligent about reporting ever come close to making the list.
States can penalize districts by withholding money if they don’t do enough to improve safety.
What’s evolved, safety experts say, is a system where states have made it very hard for schools to be classified as unsafe and schools can report incidents as they see fit. Fewer than 100 of the nation’s 90,000-plus public schools have ever been slapped with the label since the law took effect in 2002. Although studies indicate school crime has been declining since the 1990s, many experts say schools underreport incidents. link
To further complicate the situation, states define “persistently dangerous” in completely different ways. In some states, the label is tied to the number of weapon-related suspensions and expulsions a school has in a year, while others include assaults and incidents that happen en route to and from school.
The lack of consistent reporting mechanisms, coupled with the pressure to avoid the “persistently dangerous” label, has made the NCLB requirement almost counterproductive. If schools report all serious incidents as they should, they increase their risk of receiving an extremely negative label, while schools that intentionally underreport incidents avoid that risk. Lawmakers are considering changes in NCLB’s reauthorization that would address this issue:
A U.S. Department of Education committee is exploring the issue and may recommend changes when Congress takes up reauthorization of the law this year. So far, members have debated whether to reword the “persistently dangerous” label to something less negative such as “safe schools option” so schools might be more willing to report incidents. link
Heroic Hollywood Teachers
Regardless of whether a school earns the “persistently dangerous” label, it is a challenge to work in a school with a high concentration of students who face difficult life circumstances, such as poverty. Even Hollywood has recognized that this important work is difficult.
Tom Moore, a 10th-grade social studies teacher in the Bronx, argues that movies such as Hilary Swank’s new film “Freedom Writers,” unfairly and consistently portray successful urban teachers as heroes. In his op-ed piece in the New York Times, Moore suggests that
the most dangerous message such films promote is that what schools really need are heroes. This is the Myth of the Great Teacher.
Films like “Freedom Writers” portray teachers more as missionaries than professionals, eager to give up their lives and comfort for the benefit of others, without need of compensation. Ms. Gruwell [the protagonist, played by Swank] sacrifices money, time and even her marriage for her job.
Her behavior is not represented as obsessive or self-destructive, but driven — necessary, even. She is forced into making these sacrifices by the aggressive neglect of the school’s administrators, who won’t even let her take books from the bookroom. The film applauds Ms. Gruwell’s dedication, but also implies that she has no other choice. In order to be a good teacher, she has to be a hero.
“Freedom Writers,” like all teacher movies this side of “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,” is presented as a celebration of teaching, but its message is that poor students need only love, idealism and martyrdom. link
Instead, writes Moore, teachers in struggling schools need to be supported so that normal people – not just a mythical cadre of heroes – can be successful with their students:
It’s no surprise that half the teachers in poor urban schools, like Erin Gruwell herself, quit within five years. (Ms. Gruwell now heads a foundation.)
I don’t expect to be thought of as a hero for doing my job. I do expect to be respected, supported, trusted and paid. And while I don’t anticipate that Hollywood will stop producing movies about gold-hearted mavericks who play by their own rules and show the suits how to get the job done, I do hope that these movies will be kept in perspective. link
Wise words from a practitioner who, though some may regard his work as heroic, is simply trying to be a professional and be treated as such.
