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Teachers and Blogging

Posted by Waski_the_Squirrel on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 2:12:45 AM
I seem to be having another one of those sleepless nights. However, it's 11:30 right now. I'm generally doing much better on getting sleep! I suspect I'll have an abbreviated sleep, but still sufficient.

I'm tired enought that I won't try debating any major issues of education. Instead I want to look at the issue of teachers and blogging. I'm tired enough that I don't feel like looking for the article that sparked this.

What the article did was lay out why teachers blog and then look at some of the legal issues. For example, one teacher used her blog to "vent" about students, colleagues, and administrators. She was rather startled to find herself in some hot water over something she did on her own time.

Another teacher had started his blog that way and then (on a sleepless night) had an epiphany. He wondered how he would feel as a parent of a student in his class reading that blog.

Some teachers have had trouble because they discuss internal politics that the schools would prefer to keep silent. I began my blog that way by discussing the negotiations at my previous school. I doubt anyone could argue that I was exposing private internal issues, however. The story was splashed on the front pages of all the major papers in North Dakota and I was quoted by name. I even got hate mail from around the state! Perhaps, had I stayed in that district, there might have been some trouble over the blog, but I believe I was fair.

I think it would be quite different were I to blog on a topic such as hiring a teacher because of personal connections. This would be more like slander or gossip.

The article had very few recommendations for teachers. I'll close this blog by combining some of theirs as well as some of my own for my own blogs. Tomorrow I'll get back into "heavy-duty legislature stuff."

  1. Be anonymous (I'm not real anonymous. The link to this blog is on my personal webpage and my school webpage. I'm also teaching in a rural state. Anyone who tried could find me. I assume my readers know who I am. I do make sure not to compromise the identity of my school or any people I might reference. I might refer to "an administrator" or "a colleague" rather than something more specific.)
  2. Don't say anything you'd be embarrassed to have people you know read. (I'm pretty good about this. Some of my late night posts are embarrassing by their rambling nature. Overall, however, what I write here is what I say in person. Perhaps that's why I'm slow to make friends!)
  3. Never, ever, ever cite a student by name. (This makes great sense. There are some freaks out there who view the Internet as a shopping list for "cute kids." There is also the factor of working with the students after saying something terrible.)
  4. Never cite anyone by name. (This also makes sense. Unless a statement is a matter of public record, I should respect their privacy. The closest I've come here was the teacher from Squaw Gap, but I identified her no further than she did in her comment.)
  5. Never tell where you live and teach (It would be easier if I lived in California or New York. How many people in North Dakota don't know which school had its negoations splashed all over the newspaper? If I'm now in a remote part of Western North Dakota, which school is it? (not many choices) Although this does compromise my anonymity somewhat, it does keep me honest.)
  6. Don't vent (I know I sometimes sound like I'm venting, but it's usually after the fact. I posted my blog about negotiations in my previous district well after my public explosion that was  carried on the radio and printed in the newspapers. I'm much more sensible in writing than I am in speaking. I hadn't even planned to speak that night.)
  7. Have something good to say (I find it easy to despair and be depressing. Although some of my blogs are depressing, I try to balance it with hope, solutions, alternatives, and good things. I'm trying to do this in my life as well. A few years ago I scared myself with how depressed I got, and last year I came close to that. I really have to work sometimes to keep myself out of that.)
So there you have it, a late-night blog written by an insomniac! Now that I have these rules in writing, I have to work even harder to make sure I follow them. I do know I have at least two readers: my father and the entire teaching staff of Squaw Gap. I suspect there may be others as well!
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School Funding in North Dakota

Posted by Waski_the_Squirrel on Sunday, January 28, 2007 1:25:53 AM
School funding has been an ugly issue in many states. The fight North Dakota is going through right now is actually quite civil when compared to other states. The issues are the same, however. In any state, some schools have more money than others.

Like many states, North Dakota relies heavily on local property taxes to fund schools. There is also an additional state component to school funding that amounts to somewhere between 40-50% of the school budget.

A quick glance at the school district map reveals the problem. Since Townhall.com's link maker isn't working, here is the URL. Just cut and paste this and other links into your browser.

http://dpi.state.nd.us/resource/map.pdf

The obvious issue is that some school districts can tax a much larger land area than others. Compare districts with small land area (Williston, Surrey, South Heart, etc.) with those with a large area (McKenzie County, Divide County, Nesson, Bowman County). McKenzie county actually covers (and taxes) a larger land area than the entire state of Rhode Island. In addition, the land has different taxable values in different districts. An acre of land in Fargo, for example, is worth far more than an acre of land in McClusky.

A further complication is that some schools get money from their mineral resources. For example, Beach, Bowman County, Newburg, Westhope, McKenzie County, and Tioga have a lot of oil. Underwood, Scranton, Washburn, and Center all enjoy a lot of coal money. Those that enjoy the oil money go through cycles. At various points they have been quite poor. The Billings County District didn't have indoor plumbing in all of its schools until the 1990's. Now they have two buildings which I would consider palaces.

Another complication is that some schools gain additional students and get state money for them. Beach lies near the Home on the Range. This is a special school for students who have been placed there by the court. Beach is an incredibly wealthy school and one of the nicest buildings I've ever seen. Minot gets a lot of Air Force students, even though they are not in the city limits.

A final complication is that some schools have a lot of land but very few students. They can collect a lot of property tax per student. Examples of this would be Turtle Lake-Mercer, Nesson, Grenora, and most of Western North Dakota. Others suffer from many students but very little land. Examples of this are Williston and Surrey.

All of this led to a lawsuit. I want to look at this in another blog. The short version is that the lawsuit failed, but by a thin margin. A lawsuit was filed again recently. Rather than go to court, the two sides of the lawsuit decided to sit down together and work out a new way to fund schools. This is now known as Senate Bill 2200.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/bill-index/bi2200.html

This bill has some definite problems that also deserve their own blog.

There was a time when taxation and finance bored me. Now that I see how it affects me I have become far more interested.
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3-tier Diploma

Posted by Waski_the_Squirrel on Friday, January 26, 2007 8:56:51 PM
I've been away for a while. As junior class advisor, I've been busy doing our fundraiser. Now, that's over. I've turned it over to the FFA. Suddenly, I have free time. Strangely, here I sit at school writing a blog on a Friday night instead of out enjoying my newfound freedom! (OK, I am helping out the FFA advisor during her first night.)

I've been excited to write a few blogs. Although they have specific application to North Dakota, they may have an effect on other states as ideas that have been tried. Tonight I want to look at North Dakota's proposal for a 3-tier diploma.

House bill 1194 proposes 3 levels of high school diploma. For some reason, the link-editor isn't working tonight on Townhall.com, so I'll post the URL below for cutting and pasting:

http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/bill-index/bi1194.html

The three levels are called: Advanced, Standard, and Basic. They are essentially what one would expect, though the requirements are somewhat disappointing (on the low end).

I want to look at the concept of a tiered diploma.

Different students have different goals. A tiered diploma is a way to assist students in taking the classes that help them meet those goals. For example, a vocational-technical diploma may include an apprenticeship or specialized classes such as welding, programming, or other.  Students would get some real-world experience and a head start on the necessary training. An advanced diploma would be geared toward college-prep. A standard diploma might be geared toward a 2-year school.

Unfortunately, as they stand, the diplomas could be renamed: hard, less hard, easy. They are not geared toward specific career paths. The feature I do like about them is that they all agree that students need a minimum core education. This has been a strength of North Dakota education. Students are forced to take regular classes because most schools aren't big enough to offer "easy" and "hard" versions of the same course.

If the diplomas were geared toward specific career paths, I could give this bill a lot more support. As it is, I worry that too many students will choose the "easy" way out. I also worry that the student who is slow to "grow up" will take the easier classes and then be trapped by the diploma. Hopefully 2-year schools will enable students to get the background they need if they later decide to go on to a 4-year school.
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Excitement in North Dakota Legislation

Posted by Waski_the_Squirrel on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 1:40:25 AM
The words "excitement" and "North Dakota" don't belong in the same sentence.

During the past week, North Dakota has started what passes for excitement and I've been too busy with semester exams to write anything about it.

I need to go to bed. However, I want to quickly outline what is coming. In North Dakota, the Legislature meets every 2 years. This is one one of those years.

The legislature has several exciting bills before it. There is a bill regarding school funding. It has the potential to provide massive disruption to schools in North Dakota. Another bill suggests a 3-tiered diploma system. This has the potential to do either great things or great harm to the academic quality of education.

Another bill (which comes up every 2 years) suggests eliminating elementary school districts. Perhaps this will be the year the legilature eliminates them or it may be put off another two years.

This is just a taste of what the legislature has in store. It will be even more exciting to compare the perspectives of the NEA and the North Dakota School Board Association to the various bills being proposed. Both post a newsletter online that describes their reaction to the various bills. Both have quite specific perspectives.

For my own part, I just got done assisting in the writing of the state's new science test.

So many topics. It's going to be a wild ride, and I need to get to bed (and get up early tomorrow to finish grading tests.
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Saving Money by Spending

Posted by Waski_the_Squirrel on Sunday, January 07, 2007 4:32:10 PM
Recently, I purchased a digital camera. (Which is my excuse for not blogging at all this past week.) I decided to take a wander around my school and film it for some family members who are unlikely to see it any time soon.

Although the footage was discarded (I can either watch where I'm going or film, apparently), it did make me think about something that is often ignored in discussions of school building and education. That topic is maintenance.

It is not a "sexy" topic. People don't get excited about what type of floor wax the janitor uses. There is rarely table-pounding and shouting over replacing a drippy faucet. It's just one of those things that happens. Nevertheless, maintenance has a direct impact on the quality of education, the life of facilities, and the school budget.

Quality of Education
The "broken-windows theory" states that if a window is broken, there are likely to be more windows broken. If there are no broken windows, there are unlikely to be any in the future. In my own classroom, I find that if I wipe off the tops of the desks, I get very little writing on them. If I don't keep them wiped, the writing explodes.

This relates to education because students are more likely to care about something that looks cared about. Something this is cared about is important. It creates an environment of responsibility. If the school doesn't value itself (by being clean and well-maintained), then why should the students value it?

Life of Facilities
Anyone who has owned a house or a car understands this. If I replace my faucet that dribbles down the side, then the counter underneath will not have water damage. I'll replace a (relatively) cheap faucet or even a gasket inside so that I don't later have to replace an expensive counter.

In schools, if something is slightly damaged, the students will damage it further. All one has to do is wander a classroom and watch them expanding scratches in desks or expanding holes drilled in the desks. They will even further loosen an already loose faucet.

On a bigger scale, consider the janitor who needs to put "treatment" into his hot water heating system. If he does not, he saves money, but the ions in the water will corrode the pipes and cut their life in half. A little expense in the short term saves a lot of money in the future.

Even simply waxing a floor or mopping a floor extends its life. The wax is damaged rather than the floor. Mopping removes the grit that chews up the floor.

School Budget
Take the example of the heating system I used above. When the school needs to replace its heating system, it usually knows because pipes have been bursting around the building and flooding classrooms. This damages floors, furniture, books, computers, and other materials. Furthermore, plumbers must be hired to fix the damage. When the school finally decides to replace the system, they discover that it is horribly expensive and either raise taxes or cut something. Most schools with hot-water heat were not built so that the system could be easily replaced.

The result is that the school spends a fortune that could have been put off for another 20 years. Judging by the school's history, they are likely to not learn their lesson and continually pay this expense more often than necessary.

If they cut the janitor's time, he waxes and mops the floor less often. Linoleum ends up being chipped or cracked and must then be replaced. Meanwhile, the damage to that one tile allows the surrounding tiles to be more easily damaged.

Maintenance is a vital part of the school. It provides the students with a good educational environment, it saves money in the long run, and it extends the life of facilities. Too often, schools cut maintenance for short-term savings. Schools often see janitors as simply cleaners. However, with a good janitor, a school can save a lot of money and see its scores rise.
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