The Houston Chronicle has a great piece on blogging teachers -- ones that are much more education-oriented in their blogging than I am. It was interesting to see what some of the folks I read regularly have to say.

After long days of grading papers and disciplining rowdy children, a growing number of tech-savvy teachers are creating online journals to vent about the stresses of the profession.

Educators who have already embraced the technology — called blogs (short for web logs) — find themselves walking a fine, virtual line of conduct. They strive to entertain and inform, but can't violate their school districts' ethics policies or federal laws designed to protect students' confidentiality.

Most teachers who blog have opted to do so underground — refusing to cite their names, workplaces or other identifying details — to avoid potential professional pitfalls.

"School administrators tend to be pretty vindictive and they don't like people with different ideas from them. People who speak out are not regarded very highly," said Mike in Texas, an elementary school science teacher from East Texas, who started an online diary two years ago as a way of defending public education.

Though he often waxes about the value of the system, Mike in Texas has been known to rant about the "Mother of All Idiot Parents" or his boss, the "Clueless Principal."

"Some days I think I would like to have her job because I know how I would do things, and some days I wouldn't want that job for anything," he wrote in a recent entry. "Or as we say, some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue."

I don't blog about school very often, and I follow the trend above of not identifying anything about students. Indeed, other than talking about how I really do teach the best kids in the world, I say very little about them or my colleagues (about half-a-dozen of whom read my blog from time to time). I have had a couple of posts which indirectly identify my school and/or district (one noting the shooting death of one of our students, another commenting on a former student making good in professional sports, and a couple when the district has been in the news), but I agree with the comment about ethics -- I cannot be releasing confidential information, so I avoid the temptation of doing so by NUT writing about that part of my life.

Posted by: Greg at 11:21 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I've written more than once about the pathetic excuse for an educational institution that is Texas Southern University. It isn't that there are not good people there -- I acknowledge that there are -- but rather that the powers that be have run the place without any regard to principles of sound management or ethics. That is how the school finds itself in constant financial difficulty.

But for some reason -- I suspect a desire not to give offense to the African-American community by closing the historically black institution (it began some six decades ago as the Texas State University for Negroes, in an attempt to stave off desegregation at UT & Texas A&M) -- Gov. Rick Perry has ordered the Regents (who have shown themselves incompetent to oversee the operation of the school) to develop a plan to get the school on sound financial footing.

Startled by the depth of Texas Southern University's multimillion-dollar financial woes, Gov. Rick Perry has ordered its board of regents to start making "tough decisions" to fix the problems or resign.

"It can't be a Mickey Mouse deal," Perry spokesman Robert Black told the Houston Chronicle on Thursday. "It can't be a Band-Aid."

In private meetings last week, Perry demanded that TSU's regents come up with a concrete plan within 30-45 days to start fixing problems plaguing the university's finances this year.

Next week, the terms of three of TSU's nine regents expire, giving Perry the opportunity to name new members.

Perry also plans to announce a blue-ribbon panel that will develop a long-term plan for TSU, including defining its academic mission.

One fear, which the governor's office said it hopes to avoid, is that TSU would be merged into another university.

Houston Democrats Sen. Rodney Ellis and Rep. Garnet Coleman underscored the importance of protecting the historically black university and keeping it independent. They noted its long history in shaping Houston's black middle class.

"TSU is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It isn't just an institution I represent," Coleman said. "It's more than that. TSU represents some of the best of black Texas and black Houston."

Ellis said he is a graduate of the university, along with political notables including the late U.S. Reps. Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland and lawyer and former U.S. Congressman Craig Washington.

I know it would be nice to keep the school open, but we can do better by the students of this institution. It is walking distance to the University of Houston, and so I again suggest that the time has come to merge the two schools and place TSU in the University of Houston system. Just as Prairie View was merged into the Texas A&M system and saw great strides made in the years that followed, the same would be true of TSU -- and wasted duplication of services and positions could be eliminated, as I noted a few days ago.

The time has come to deal with the myriad problems at TSU by recognizing that this relic of the Jim Crow era is no longer viable. End it, don't mend it.

UPDATE: Tom Kirkendall over at Houston's Clear Thinkers offers a deeper analysis, reaching the same conclusion.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:38 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Texas Southern University has a checkered past, to say the least. Created to keep black students out of the University of Texas and its law school, it has never achieved the level of excellence folks might have hoped for it. Furthermore, it has been mired in scandal for well over a decade. Yet some – especially member of the black community, want to keep it going. Now, J. Timothy Boddie Jr.,the school’s interim president, is seeking to improve the school.

As we prepare to commemorate the 60-year anniversary of TSU, know that our commitment to provide quality educational opportunities as the second-largest historically black university in the nation is unwavering. We recognize that repairing our image and regaining the trust of our diverse constituency will not be a quick fix, but we are focused on achieving these goals. Let there be no doubt that accountability is the order of the day.

As we meet with members of the Texas Legislature during the 80th session, we will be presenting measurable plans to improve graduation and retention rates, repair dilapidated structures and create an environment where our globally renowned faculty and dedicated staff can provide our students with the tools and information they need to be leaders.

Moving the ship from dry dock to calm waters will require a collaborative partnership that includes the greater Houston community, alumni, business leaders and legislators. Join with us to take TSU to the next level of excellence. The time has come to right this ship and make accountability the order of the day. At the end of the day, our students, and our community, deserve this and more.

I’m sorry, sir, but your article is long on generalities and short on specifics. And more to the point, you and your supporters fail to note that TSU is walking distance from the University of Houston, a school with a sterling reputation and record of accomplishments. What clearly needs to happen is that TSU simply needs to be merged into the UH system, as part of the main UH campus. The results would be beneficial to students of both schools, and the elimination of service duplication would be much more efficient.

In short, TSU, rooted in racism and mired in corruption, is a bad experiment and one that has clearly failed.

End it, don’t mend it.

Posted by: Greg at 06:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Texas Southern University has a checkered past, to say the least. Created to keep black students out of the University of Texas and its law school, it has never achieved the level of excellence folks might have hoped for it. Furthermore, it has been mired in scandal for well over a decade. Yet some – especially member of the black community, want to keep it going. Now, J. Timothy Boddie Jr.,the school’s interim president, is seeking to improve the school.

As we prepare to commemorate the 60-year anniversary of TSU, know that our commitment to provide quality educational opportunities as the second-largest historically black university in the nation is unwavering. We recognize that repairing our image and regaining the trust of our diverse constituency will not be a quick fix, but we are focused on achieving these goals. Let there be no doubt that accountability is the order of the day.

As we meet with members of the Texas Legislature during the 80th session, we will be presenting measurable plans to improve graduation and retention rates, repair dilapidated structures and create an environment where our globally renowned faculty and dedicated staff can provide our students with the tools and information they need to be leaders.

Moving the ship from dry dock to calm waters will require a collaborative partnership that includes the greater Houston community, alumni, business leaders and legislators. Join with us to take TSU to the next level of excellence. The time has come to right this ship and make accountability the order of the day. At the end of the day, our students, and our community, deserve this and more.

IÂ’m sorry, sir, but your article is long on generalities and short on specifics. And more to the point, you and your supporters fail to note that TSU is walking distance from the University of Houston, a school with a sterling reputation and record of accomplishments. What clearly needs to happen is that TSU simply needs to be merged into the UH system, as part of the main UH campus. The results would be beneficial to students of both schools, and the elimination of service duplication would be much more efficient.

In short, TSU, rooted in racism and mired in corruption, is a bad experiment and one that has clearly failed.

End it, donÂ’t mend it.

Posted by: Greg at 06:42 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I cannot believe that the principal of St Francis High School (a public, not private, school in Minnesota) decided he just had to keep this picture from a school play out of the school paper.

I'm sorry -- it just is not that offensive. More to the point, it is a fictional depiction of speech that would, according to the Supreme Court, be protected by the First Amendment.

A northern Anoka County school-district superintendent this afternoon is defending the censorship of a student newspaper on the grounds that photo depicts the destruction of the American flag.

Several First Amendment experts say the school officials are overstepping the law, and at least one civil liberties group said it might be interested in taking up the studentsÂ’ cause.

A blue box, big and bold on the front-page of the St. Francis High School student newspaper, stands in for a photo that student editors say was unjustly banned by the school principal.

Inside the box on the front-page of the new edition of The Crier: “Originally a photo was to be placed here, but was censored by the administration.”

The caption below hints to the sensitive issue that is framing the free-speech feud in the northern Anoka County school: “During the Fall Play Lead Actress Becca Bennett held up a prop, made from table cloth bunting, representing how a country could be torn apart by affecting the youth. The picture was removed off the wall in the PAC hallway.” (PAC stands for Performing Arts Center.)

Prop or not, the jarring photo — which the Pioneer Press will publish in its Friday editions — resembles the tattered remains of an American flag. The image is hardly unknown to the students and staff, since the scene was performed on stage and the photo itself hung in the school’s hall.

And I'll agree -- it is a jarring photo. However, clearly captioned there should be no problem with it.

But the principal and superintendent of the district view matters differently.

Neubauer did not immediately return a phone message left for him Ed Saxton, superintendent of Independent School Dist. 15, defended the St. Francis decision on the grounds that flag destruction can be offensive.

“It’s like a quote being taken out of context,” Saxton, a former principal of the high school, said. “That particular picture, although it’s a snapshot of what was in the fall play, standing in isolation, it could be taken in many different ways. It could be pretty offensive to veterans or people who serviced in the military. It’s kind of a community standards thing.”

Unfotunately for the two of them, the district has a policy that makes the paper an open forum, and has not exercised such editorial control in the past. As such, it is difficult to believe they can legally prevail on the issue, based upon past Supreme Court precedent.

However PrincipalChief Censor Neubauer is ready to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. He plans on filing a frivolous lawsuit against the paper for reporting and editorializing on his act of censorship, despite the information being accurate and he being a public figure in the context of the school.

One of the purposes of public schools is to instill respect for American values and governing principles. It appears, however, that Neubauer does not understand them himself -- and therefore needs to be removed from his position as the instructional leader of the school due to his obvious professional incompetence.

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Posted by: Greg at 02:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In New York, teachers will get the chance to evaluate their principals as part of a school reform package introduced by Mayor Bloomberg.

Allowing teachers to help evaluate principals has been a longstanding request of the teachersÂ’ union, and Mr. Klein seemed to be going out of his way to praise teachers a day after the mayor announced that tenure after a three-year probationary period would no longer be nearly automatic. Instead teachers will be rigorously evaluated.

“Because of our deep respect for our teachers, we’re looking for other ways to make sure that their wisdom becomes yet a more important part of each school’s culture,” Mr. Klein said. “Their views on how a school is being run are critically important, and we need to formalize the process by which those views are expressed and properly considered.”

Let's be honest -- as a teacher, I know which members of the administrative team at my school are getting the job done, which are dead weight, and which are actively destructive of the school's mission. The same is true of my colleagues. And while w should not have the overwhelming say in hiring and firing decisions, our input ought to be considered..

By the way, this article also points out one reason I am glad that I teach in Texas -- reading the whiny comments of the union official makes me glad that here in Texas we can choose from a variety of teacher organizations, or refuse to join any of them.

Posted by: Greg at 11:24 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Professor Thomas Klocek was fired by DePaul University, without so much as a hearing, for creating a hostile campus environment. How? By daring to debate with some Muslim students about terrorism outside of class in a common area. It seems that free inquiry and pursuit of the truth is trumped at DePaul by the notion that minorities must be protected from hurt feelings under all circumstances.

Well, Klocek is returning to DePaul on January 24, as a speaker on the issue of free speech at Catholic universities.

CHICAGOÂ…DePaul University suspended adjunct professor Thomas Klocek without a hearing for disagreeing with Muslim students over the Arab-Israeli conflict in an out-of-classroom debate. Since then, his case has brought scrutiny on DePaul from international media and academic community while causing division among the UniversityÂ’s own faculty and students. For the first time since his suspension, Klocek will return to the school that silenced him to discuss the role of free speech at Catholic Universities. The forum will also include DePaul professor and Klocek supporter Jonathan Cohen, as well as highly controversial free speech activist David Horowitz. The event will take place in DePaulÂ’s Cortelyou Commons at 2324 North Fremont Street in Chicago on Wednesday, January 24th at 7:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public. ...
The event is sponsored by the Young America's Foundation and the DePaul Conservative Alliance. Event organizer Nicholas Hahn, of the DePaul Conservative Alliance, says, “We have heard of a leftist protest campaign hell-bent on preventing the event from happening. However, we will press forward with the forum. Now, more than ever, DePaul needs to enter the free speech discourse.”

If you are in the Chicago area, pleas try to attend – we have seen how vile and violent leftists will go to any extreme to prevent the airing of views with which they disagree. Supporters of free speech need to be in attendance to support the right of Klocek and Horowitz to speak.

Posted by: Greg at 11:32 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Charles Murray is right on the mark on this point – one I’ve argued for years, and even offered to my students.

A reality about the job market must eventually begin to affect the valuation of a college education: The spread of wealth at the top of American society has created an explosive increase in the demand for craftsmen. Finding a good lawyer or physician is easy. Finding a good carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, glazier, mason--the list goes on and on--is difficult, and it is a seller's market. Journeymen craftsmen routinely make incomes in the top half of the income distribution while master craftsmen can make six figures. They have work even in a soft economy. Their jobs cannot be outsourced to India. And the craftsman's job provides wonderful intrinsic rewards that come from mastery of a challenging skill that produces tangible results. How many white-collar jobs provide nearly as much satisfaction?

In other words, what is needed is more focus on vocational, not collegiate, education for some some students for whom the college prep curriculum is not appropriate or by whom it is not desired.

And it isn't like these kids are not going to have a good life when the get out into the world just because they lack a college degree.

I cannot help but think of one of my former students, a kid I’ll call Juan (mainly because his name was, in fact, Juan). Juan took a summer job at a local window place. His job? Fetch and carry for the window installer, the basic work that used to be the lot of an apprentice in an earlier age. Back in the shop, Juan began watching one of the guys doing stained glass projects for some of the up-scale houses in the area. He would stand a few feet away, and ask questions during lunches and breaks. After a couple weeks, the craftsman offered him a chance to try his hand at cutting and piecing some scraps of glass. Juan had a talent for it, and soon was assigned to help wit the art glass. As summer came to a close, he was offered the chance to stay on as after school help – as an apprentice glazier. Juan drops by school every now and again, if he needs to pick up his younger brother. At 25, Juan makes more than I do, working in a field he loves. And he doesn’t have a college degree – just a couple of art classes to help him learn more about design.

Most importantly, Juan loves what he does. What more could I hope for him – and all my other students?

Posted by: Greg at 01:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Because after all, placing the George W. Bush Presidential Library people might become confused if the school is associated with something other than the promotion of Bush Derangement Syndrome and left-wing ideas in the classroom.

Intimates of President Bush have singled out Southern Methodist University as the likely site of his presidential library, but faculty members, complaining of being bypassed, are raising sharp questions about the schoolÂ’s identification with his presidency.

In a meeting Tuesday, faculty members complained of a lack of consultation over the emerging agreement and all but demanded answers from the universityÂ’s president, R. Gerald Turner, on the relationship that would develop between the university and the library.

“There’s been a lack of transparency from the beginning,” said Tony Pederson of the journalism faculty, urging the university’s administration “to be more forthcoming with detailed information.”

Cal Jillson, a political science professor, called for “more rounded information” because, he said, “this train is leaving.” He said there could be a final decision on the library before the end of the month.

Rhonda Blair, the president of the faculty senate who convened the meeting even though many professors were still away on winter break, said she would pass on the questions to Dr. Turner on Wednesday.

The session grew out of the uproar after an op-ed article in the student newspaper, The Daily Campus, by two professors at the universityÂ’s Perkins School of Theology complaining about the library selection process.

One history prof wants to know what it would take for the University to "walk away from the deal. Frankly, I don't care -- I would urge the site selection committee to walk away from the SMU location. Either Baylor or the university of Dallas would be a better choice -- or the committee could take a step towards raising one of our local institutions, the University of Houston, to the first-tier status it deserves among state universities here in Texas by placing the presidential library in the largest city in the state.

Frankly, if SMU profs don't like the political implications of locating the Bush 43 library on their campus, the library should go somewhere it would be appreciated.

Posted by: Greg at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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