Monday, April 27, 2009

There, We See That Word "Authority" Again

Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook


Can you believe it? Some kids figured out that there were a few reasons why teacher/student sex was something to be more than overlooked or given the secret high-fives. There has been more bending over one's back than seen at a nudie bar to sidestep this issue.

Even though one judge came right out and said:

PRO on HCPS: Ding, Lady Justice is Done: "Click Here:Judge defends probation for teacher in sex case - St. Petersburg Times:

'....He said from the bench that the victim, then 16 and borderline mentally retarded, according to prosecutors, was probably the more mature and less vulnerable of the two."


The important word for everyone to see in all of this is "authority". They are responsible for the law, also.

How Sometimes Trite Comments Obtain Stronger Content

If you have been following the case of Joel Chandler, then this case might interest you.

One article about the Venice case can be found here, with the below quote:

That guy filing suit isn't really the story | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader:


"'A Sunshine Law violation is a Sunshine Law violation, whether alleged by a convicted felon or a nursery school teacher.'"


You can do your own research to get up to speed, but I just couldn't help seeing the irony in someone using a nursery school teacher as it's intended representation right after we have this:

Tearful suspect in California girl's slaying appears in court - CNN.com:


"The Sunday school teacher's lip quivered and a single tear rolled down her cheek as the judge read special circumstances alleged against her -- that the murder was committed in conjunction with a kidnapping, the performance of a lewd and lascivious act upon a child, and rape by instrument."

Monday, March 16, 2009

Maybe It Is The Public Who Is Tired Of The "Untrue Statements"

Maryland Daily Record:

"SALISBURY — In her final State of the City address, Salisbury Mayor Barrie Parsons Tilghman warned residents of what she sees as a great danger to the city: malicious bloggers.
Tilghman said in her address Thursday that over the last five years, the presence of a small group of suspicious, mean-spirited people focused on the negative has grown, endangering the city's vitality.
Tilghman says some people are avoiding serving their city because it's not worth chancing the scorn of bloggers. But Tilghman says they need to stand up for the city........."


It seems like the establishment doesn't like the fact that technology provides a medium for differing opinions. It should be noted that "suspicious, mean-spirited people focused on the negative" may or may not be dealing with the truth to the same degree that "the establishment" may or may not be dealing with the truth. Each should be held to the same standard.

Here in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, there is a growing concern within the administration to develop some method to curb those "suspicious, mean-spirited people".

"I'm tired of hearing what a bad job we're doing," she said. "We do a great job, and people need to have more access to what we're doing."



Also, there was a message to The Gradebook to censor the public comments:
Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook:

"When talking to school board members from across Florida the other day, I heard many gripes that blogs, including ours, weaken our content by allowing untrue reader comments to remain published as if they were true. They also didn't like the hateful things that many readers say."


The local Hillsborough Association of School Administrators is working on how to stifle those "suspicious, mean-spirited people" too, found here on page two, second paragraph:

"....One topic could be the current trend toward circumventing the school
district’s Grievance Procedure and how to deal with visitors to School Board meetings who attempt to malign our administrators in public. Dr. Miliziano gave a brief history of the three-part grievance procedure and its purpose.


What about the public that is tired of hearing "untrue administration comments"?

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Psst - Hey - I Am Not Mentioning Any Names, But Joel Is A Troublemaker

For those who don't get the significance of how big public education is out of control, you must openly understand the significance of what is playing out on the "I Am Troublemaker Blog". You must move past the knee jerk reaction that is apparent from the outcry that has risen, and understand the vapidity of the arguments against his actions. Those who are arguing against him may have a valid reason and Mr. Chandler is on the record as recognizing those reasons, but it is fruitless to bark up a tree where there is no varmint.

I was drawn to this sequence of events because I am familiar with how the public school system abuses it's power and authority. At first glance, this was just another incident where the public school system simply ignores a nuisance on a whim.


After you read my comments below, check out this post:

A letter from Gail....


At first I was curious as to what happened to the rest of the letter. Having read enough of Mr. Chandler's writings, I assumed that there was no need for us to read the rest of the letter. Therefore, the message was already there.

I think I got it. It's like a school yard game where some kid says "I'm not mentioning any names, but Joel is a troublemaker".

Ms. McKinzie wrote a letter to "all school board employees" that clearly outlines that the Court agreed and entered a second Order that," ...... directed that Mr. Chander's name should not be used in internal communications from PCSB to its employees made under its exemption determination procedures".


If you note the date of the letter and then compare that date to the e-mail from a school employee found here:Norma’s Caper, one could easily assume that the employee e-mail was triggered by the Superintendent's letter.

If you read and paid attention to the Superintendent's letter, you can see where she actually made reference to the fact that the reason Mr. Chandler was requesting that his name not be associated with any direct communication is because the burden of determining exemptions is regulated by statute and not by the Court system.

For those who are having trouble with the significance with that statement, I would strongly point out at this point that the the burden of determining exemptions along with the system's legal responsibility to address legal public records requests are not based on Mr. Chandler's public records request. But, all of a sudden it sure appears that way.


I write frequently on my other blogs about the arrogance with ignorance within the public school system. This just may be another example. Time will tell.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Tell Me It Ain't So

There must be some mistake.

Not the part about the plot to abolish the state's Class Size Reduction. It's the part about the local administrators spending money with no accountability.

Some one help me out on this one.

Ad Watch: Teachers union touts wrong budget premise - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"The deceptive plan could permanently increase class sizes, and provides no accountability to ensure local administrators spend the money in the classroom.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Politics, Business and maybe some Education

I may be losing the argument that public education is "Big business".

Maybe I could jump over to the wagon that carries the sign "Big government". The government "giveth", and the government "taketh" away.

Money talks, or maybe it is no money means shut up:


Crist vetoes cuts to teacher bonuses

No money, no bill



And the fact that a public school system is going to be required to keep the public informed is uh, uh, oh yeah, "suspension of reality" or something to that effect.

Florida bill would tackle teacher turnover:

"HB 355 would also require that Florida parents be informed of their school's turnover rate. And it would set up a new state program, the Florida Teacher Induction Initiative, to offer more support to new teachers."


The way numbers are obfuscated and massaged, we might as well play "For one million dollars, if you guess the number I have in my mind, you win."

Back in the day when I really cared and thought I could make a difference, one of the bits of information I provided to the HCPS Superintendent's Advisory Council on Special Education was all of the facts about the needs of support for new teachers and why a lot of them quit within three years. If you think it is bad for regular ed teachers, just think what it's like for SpEd teachers having to deal with those special kids and those special parents and that special paper work. No one seemed to care about the research already done, but "they" (the HCPS SACSE district people) did form a sub committee to do their own "research". They may even still have the "teacher recruitment/retention" subcommitte. Who knows.

I have been thinking. After my previous post about a Superintendent's contract, what I should have done, starting in 1990, was to have lobbied my school board to put an incentive clause in the contract about deaf/blind kids. Wished I had thought of that back then. I might not be such a malcontent now.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

There Is Money In Them Thar' Contracts




Click here for EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT FOR SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY - JULY 2005 -JULY 2008

Does anyone have a copy of the current contract? I don't want to provide misinformation that may lead to anger and ugliness.


It is interesting to see how these numbers interact with each other. I bet it is more interesting to see how the professional educators interact with each other when they are in control of manipulating one side of these numbers, which of course effects the number on the other side of the equation.


Has there really been an increase in the number of minorities that are participating in TIP and Key Scholars programs? Was there a sharp increase?

Would the discussion of these numbers have any connection with the discussion found here?

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Underground PR program

One way to keep the public out of the Public School System is to limit the public's understanding of the inter workings of the system.

Getting rid of bloggers is another way.



HILLSBOROUGH ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS
MARCH 2004 NEWSLETTER


"An email tree of personal home email addresses is being constructed so that politically sensitive information can be transmitted to our members without fear of transgressing on any state or local rules or regulations prohibiting such transmissions."

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Trouble Of Exposing The System

For some reason, I decided to follow the links connected to the below cited blog. After I read the opening statement, I do what I usually do with blogs of interest to me, and that is to go back and read the very first post.

It is about Joel Chandler and what happened after he made a Public Records Request. Apparently, he was following the law, and expected the School Board of Polk County to do the same.

Here is the link, and I selected a few comments that some may find interesting:


I am...


How it started:
In the beginning...

"....The meeting was conducted with all four of us present. The purpose of the meeting was to address the violations of Florida Public Records laws in my PRR from a couple of weeks earlier. I was polite but direct. I presented to Dr. McKinzie what I perceived to be a simple choice: either her staff acted out of ignorance or there was a deliberate policy of violating Florida law. She rejected both suggestions and rather emphatically stated that my experience had been an aberration and that it was non-normative. She assured me that it would not happen again."""""



***********
Almost a year later, to test the above assertion that the above event was what might be commonly called "an isolated incident", Mr. Chandler writes on his second post the next events. Which lead us to his third post:


The lawsuit...:


"Obviously, Mr. Conner acknowledges on the record that the PCSB knew that there was no basis in law for denying my request. Further, he admitted, on the record, that the only reason the PCSB did not produce the records was that they did not want me to have them.


I believe this is the “smoking gun” regarding the criminality of the actions of the PCSB and Gail McKinzie. They knowingly refused to comply with a legal request for non-exempt public records. They knowingly frustrated my efforts to see these records even though they knew I was entitled to them. Their actions were conscious and deliberate. It seems clear that with the benefit of counsel and months of planning they orchestrated a series of hurtles and roadblocks to my obtaining these non-exempt records."



Interested persons should read this blog and follow the links found in different posts.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Upcoming Advocacy Training

index: "Upcoming Advocacy Trainings
Click Here for further information.


Level One

Friday, February 20, 2009

6:00-9:00pm

USF in Tampa



Level Two Advanced Advocacy Training

Saturday and Sunday, February 21 & 22, 2009

8:00 am - 5:00 pm

USF in Tampa



Sponsored by: Families of Kids with

Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Inc."

Will "The System" Circle The Wagons Again?

While we wait on the truth, will the truth wait on us?


Legislature Needs To Know Who's Its Boss

Sherman Dorn: Sansom watch, January 4 edition

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Please, carefully read all of the points of Joseph 2.

Please, carefully read all of the points of Joseph 2.



Hillsborought School Board wants better PR

November 10, 2008
Hillsborought School Board wants better PR
The Hillsborough School Board is tired of getting bad press. It's time for a PR blitz.

Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero shared today plans to build an e-mail listserv, where parents can sign up to receive e-mails directly from the district on everything from transportation updates to the role of the School Board."



Comments vs. content: "December 09, 2008
Comments vs. content
When talking to school board members from across Florida the other day, I heard many gripes that blogs, including ours, weaken our content by allowing untrue reader comments to remain published as if they were true. They also didn't like the hateful things that many readers say.
Hillsborough board member Jennifer Faliero, who attended, later sent me an e-mail that said, in part:
'Two suggestions; the St. Pete Times establish policies governing the use of unregistered bloggers and force people to register and implement an approval process for live comments to be reviewed before going live. This can be done at home by a staffer for round-the-clock monitoring.

'The second involves you and taking a more active role in removing content you otherwise would not print.'
Faliero also wrote that some elected officials would be pushing for better laws regarding blog oversight.
'This is a policy issue which will spark lively debate; our private lives and futures are at stake and people are just fed up with the horrible things being sent out over the Net from reputable companies giving discontents a platform.'
Valid point? Let's hear it, all you commenters."


**********************


Fast backwards to two Josephs that became an influence to the world,


Joseph 1:
Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed. -Joseph Stalin

------
Joseph 2:
German Nazi Party member Joseph Goebbels became Adolf Hitler's propaganda minister in 1933, which gave him power over all German radio, press, cinema, and theater.


Listed below are the principles purported to summarize what made Goebbels tick or fail to tick. They may be thought of as his intellectual legacy. Whether the legacy has been reliably deduced is a methodological question. Whether it is valid is a psychological matter. Whether or when parts of it should be utilized in a democratic society are profound and disturbing problems of a political and ethical nature.

GOEBBELS' PRINCIPLES OF PROPAGANDA
Based upon Goebbels' Principles of Propaganda by Leonard W. Doob, published in Public Opinion and Propaganda; A Book of Readings edited for The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

1. Propagandist must have access to intelligence concerning events and public opinion.

2. Propaganda must be planned and executed by only one authority.
a. It must issue all the propaganda directives.

b. It must explain propaganda directives to important officials and maintain their morale.

c. It must oversee other agencies' activities which have propaganda consequences

3. The propaganda consequences of an action must be considered in planning that action.

4. Propaganda must affect the enemy's policy and action.
a. By suppressing propagandistically desirable material which can provide the enemy with useful intelligence

b. By openly disseminating propaganda whose content or tone causes the enemy to draw the desired conclusions

c. By goading the enemy into revealing vital information about himself

d. By making no reference to a desired enemy activity when any reference would discredit that activity

5. Declassified, operational information must be available to implement a propaganda campaign

6. To be perceived, propaganda must evoke the interest of an audience and must be transmitted through an attention-getting communications medium.

7. Credibility alone must determine whether propaganda output should be true or false.

8. The purpose, content and effectiveness of enemy propaganda; the strength and effects of an expose; and the nature of current propaganda campaigns determine whether enemy propaganda should be ignored or refuted.

9. Credibility, intelligence, and the possible effects of communicating determine whether propaganda materials should be censored.

10. Material from enemy propaganda may be utilized in operations when it helps diminish that enemy's prestige or lends support to the propagandist's own objective.

11. Black rather than white propaganda may be employed when the latter is less credible or produces undesirable effects.

12. Propaganda may be facilitated by leaders with prestige.

13. Propaganda must be carefully timed.
a. The communication must reach the audience ahead of competing propaganda.

b. A propaganda campaign must begin at the optimum moment

c. A propaganda theme must be repeated, but not beyond some point of diminishing effectiveness

14. Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
a. They must evoke desired responses which the audience previously possesses

b. They must be capable of being easily learned

c. They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations

d. They must be boomerang-proof

15. Propaganda to the home front must prevent the raising of false hopes which can be blasted by future events.

16. Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.
a. Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat

b. Propaganda must diminish anxiety (other than concerning the consequences of defeat) which is too high and which cannot be reduced by people themselves

17. Propaganda to the home front must diminish the impact of frustration.
a. Inevitable frustrations must be anticipated

b. Inevitable frustrations must be placed in perspective

18. Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.

19. Propaganda cannot immediately affect strong counter-tendencies; instead it must offer some form of action or diversion, or both.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

HCPS - Ethical Challenges

Imagine one's life work is about to be undone because of one's position relative to their boss.

Imagine one who has towed the company line knowing that one's actions were not ethical but to do otherwise would be an end of one's career.

The other side of the coin are the employees who try to bring attention to the unethical actions, only to have their future handed to them in a pink slip.

I have for years said that a lot of good work done by employees of the District is undone by a few.

How close are we to seeing the truth?

Will the truth set us all free?

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

What Does The Media And Public Education Have In Common?

Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole | Coop's Corner - CNET News:




"'The complacency stems from having enjoyed a monopoly--and now finding they have to compete for an audience they once took for granted. The condescension that many show their readers is an even bigger problem. It takes no special genius to point out that if you are contemptuous of your customers, you are going to have a hard time getting them to buy your product. Newspapers are no exception.'" - Robert Murdock

Sunday, November 16, 2008

When PR Blitz Hits Public Voice Of Discontent

The countdown to the next Rumble At The ROSSAC is on.

The undercard will contain "Robert of the Rules of Order" vs. "The Voice of Authority Means Me". Professional decorum will be advanced by those who know how to invoke the rules to their advantage. Watch closely for a "call for the question". One Board member uses this tactic often, but it is unlikely that anyone ever noticed.

The main event of the night may well be the Tag Team fight between "The Bullies At The Helm" and the "Alafia Alliance Against Ellyn". At the moment, the AAAE has 52 members that will be around the ring ropes.

The Tuesday afternoon Rumble has had it's share of pre-rumble posturing. The Leader of the Dais has proclaimed enough is enough and has started a positive PR campaign to prove something. This action comes at the same time the AAAE has gained momentum and is ridin' in to town hell bent for leather.


When a stitch in time (last spring) could have saved nine, there are those who think this gator walk is a contrived performance to gain another national recognition title.

Hedge your bets for some last minute surprises.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Publius Would Have Given Anything For A Blog

For those who don't remember, Publius signed the 85 essays that were written and published during the years 1787 and 1788 in several New York State newspapers to persuade New York voters to ratify the proposed constitution.


Federalist Papers

I have been blogging over one and a half years. I have stated that public exposure is the Achilles heel of the local public education system. I have stated that the LEA will not be able to control information like it used to due to blogging and current media technology. In prior years, the only newspaper critique came from the St. Pete Times. In fact, the reason I started posting the newspaper links on my PRO site was to show the discrepancy between the Times and the Tribune. However, since I started that, there has been an increased number of articles from both papers, although you will still find more "negative but true" information from the Times, in my opinion.

It appears that others are catching on about blogging. I applaud them.

I also would like to say to those that are watching for the upcoming PR blitz not to think that it is only coming from one person. Read what I have written about how decision makers are not always the one sitting at the table.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Media Blitz - Truth or Propaganda

Hillsborough School Board wants better PR


Thanks to The Gradebook for the above link.

November 10, 2008
Hillsborought School Board wants better PR

The Hillsborough School Board is tired of getting bad press. It's time for a PR blitz.

Chairwoman Jennifer Faliero shared today plans to build an e-mail listserv, where parents can sign up to receive e-mails directly from the district on everything from transportation updates to the role of the School Board.

She said automated phone calls are in. Letters sent home are out. And stay tuned for exciting new programming for television about the positive things going on in Hillsborough schools.

"I'm tired of hearing what a bad job we're doing," she said. "We do a great job, and people need to have more access to what we're doing."

*

November 10, 2008 in Hillsborough County
The Gradebook



I am a bit surprised "they" haven't tried to silence the freedom of the press, yet. Or just stop televising their Board wars.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Sunday, November 2, 2008

It Is All About Trust

How many of us trust the rung above, equal or below us?


Administrators, ask yourself the above question.

Mid-level employees, ask yourself the above question.

Lower-level employees, ask yourself the above question.

Students - what does their behavior say about their "trust for the system"?

Parents - what does their behavior say about their "trust for the system"?


It is what it is. The tighter the system circles the wagons, the less the amount of trust. Look at the media. It has been increasingly critical because the obvious is hard to hide, despite how many wagons the system has.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Kurdell and Gorham Fiercely Debate Educational Issues While Defining Their Platform on Education

From The Tampa Tribune

Tone Getting Sharper In School Board Race

Well, I have a good title, even if was more image than substance. I have been well schooled.
Read the article anyway.