How School Systems Can Spy On Bloggers

Maybe there are other ways to motivate school systems to get a computer to every desk.

Just think of the power and control that paranoid school administrators could maintain if they could track every word, and, which is what would be more important, be able to "verify" or "validate" the source of these words. Maintaining a strict learning environment without the distractions of negative ideas from students, parents, teachers and disenchanted administrators is paramount for those who see their world under attack.

Here is how one school system did it:

FBI Investigating School District Accused Of Secretly Activating Webcams Inside Students' Homes - cbs3.com: "Days after a student filed suit over the practice, Lower Merion officials acknowledged Friday that they remotely activated webcams 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing student laptops. They insist they never did so to spy on students, as the student's family claimed in the federal lawsuit."

"The Pennsylvania case shows how even well-intentioned plans can go awry if officials fail to understand the technology and its potential consequences, privacy experts said. Compromising images from inside a student's bedroom could fall into the hands of rogue school staff or otherwise be spread across the Internet, they said.

"What about the (potential) abuse of power from higher ups, trying to find out more information about the head of the PTA?" wondered Ari Schwartz, vice president at the Center for Democracy and Technology. "If you don't think about the privacy and security consequences of using this kind of technology, you run into problems."


"Blake Robbins told CBS3 on Friday that a school official described him in his room and mistook a piece of candy for a pill.

"She described what I was doing," he said. "She said she thought I had pills and said she thought that I was selling drugs."

Robbins said he was holding a Mike and Ike candy, not pills.

Holly Robbins said a school official told her that she had a picture of Blake holding up what she thought were pills."

Thinking Of Exploiting My Disabled Kid

The state fair will be gone soon, so it is too late for this year. But it will be back.

My 26 year old CHARGE son has taught me more than any one else has. At least, he has caused me to be taught by many more people than anyone else has.

So, he owes me.

I may have figured out how he can pay me.

Today, he and his mom were talking (sign language) and somehow the topic of birthdays came up. She came and asked me if my birthday, which is in June, is on a Saturday. I had to open up the little link on the bottom right hand of the computer screen, and after a minute or so of clicks, sure enough, I confirmed that my birthday is on a Saturday. So, we then proceeded to verify the weekdays of some more birthdays. Mom. Brother. Sister. Grandmother. Uncles. Aunts.

Not last year week days. The coming year birthdays.

He became interested in something else, so we quit asking, but there may be a gold mine in this.

We have always known that he has a Rainman kind of memory when it comes to dates. Now we see he seems to have an uncanny insight into future dates and the day of the date. Is it only for dates that he knows? Or, if given any date, can he tell us what the day of the week is, or was?

If this pans out, I can't wait to get one of those booths at the next Fair.

I am thinking of a script right now. "Step right up folks. See if you can stump the Wizard. A chance for you to win $100 by getting a ticket. Yes, folks, for this one time chance to win $100 for free, simply donate $5 to see this young man display his skills. Seeing is believing. If he misses the day, you win $100."

In the mean time, I will think about the school psychologist who told us my son had a 74 IQ. Something about standardized test scores protocol. Something about the psychologist being trained in assessing children and something about him being apologetic for the state of denial that my wife and I were in.

Maybe I could make money on pitting that school psychologist with another psychologist that said my son had "peaks" of intelligence in the 130's. I will be the first to admit that those must be some mighty sharp peaks, but I hear the view of the world is spectacular from those vantage points.

Defining the Meaning Of The Word "Cutting" When You are On The "Cutting" Edge

I don't know what is going on, but it sure makes the buds on my red bud trees blossom when I am asked to comment on issues within the HCDS. Two requests in two weeks is quite interesting.

Someone asked me to comment on the statistical interpretations of numbers regarding the use of money that our beloved local district EFFECTIVELY puts into teaching behavior. For those who are in the know, there is a huge difference between what is put on District checklists and what really happens on a school site. For those who are in the know, bean counters and courts usually go by what the paperwork says, not what the people who live and work in the trenches report as the truth.

How many of you have heard that behavior problems keeps students and teachers from being effective?

For those who are in the know, there is a push towards teaching behavior.

For K-12, we have this:FLPBS Home

For Early Intervention, we have this: TACSEI


And it is right smack dab in the middle of Hillsborough County.

One would think that there would be more participation within the County, as opposed to counties that are further away. Yet, when one clicks on the link and looks at the data, Hillsborough as one school that is committed to learning how to teach behavior, compared to other districts which some have several.

It looks like Hugo Schmidt Elementary has been learning to teach behavior since 2004.

FLPBS Model Schools: "HillsboroughHugo Schmidt Elementary - Gold"



It looks like Egypt Lake gave up on learning how to teach behavior. They made the list in 2004-2005. If you click on the link "implementation comments", it looks like it was too much work. In other words, they must have cut out.

FLPBS Site Redesign: "Egypt Lake Elementary (Hillsborough)"



So, we are left with one elementary school in HCDS that is on the chart by the entity that is providing the service. A statistical significance to most honest people. Let's see, one out of x number of elementary schools. Then there is one of y number of total elementary, middle and high schools. Then there is one out of the 3rd(?) largest school district with the state of Florida.

I am willing to bet that a school spokesperson will say that every school in Hillsborough County is trained in teaching behavior.

District Check mark.

Learning to teach behavior effectively takes more than a six hour workshop.


Reality Check mark.

With all of the complaints that I hear about ESE student's behavior impeding access to everyone's curriculum, you would at least think that all of our schools with special ed "centers" (not that Hillsborough segregates students by ESE Labels) would have total buy in to learning how to teach behavior.

Hillsborough spokespeople will say that Hillsborough fully supports inclusion.

District Check mark.

There are countless numbers of classrooms across the School District of Hillsborough County that solely contain students that have a specific ESE label, and you cannot find a typical student in that classroom.

Reality Check mark.

The school system seems to believe that "including the ESE students" means that the ESE students get to eat in their own little area within the lunch room at the same time that the typical students roam around the lunch room, or the ESE students get their own little area next to the typical students during P.E. time. Furthermore, this wrong-minded concept is perpetuated by - wait for it- paperwork. Well, everyone knows that, right there on the LRE form (Least Restrictive Environment) is the little check boxes that say that the inclusion needs of the student with disabilities needs will be met through their 20-30 minutes of lunch plus another 20-30 minutes of P.E..

The wrong-minded paperwork is destructive to the intent of inclusion under IDEA. Try this out. A child labeled with Downs syndrome has this disability more than 30 minutes day. According to the paperwork, if a child has a need for specialized instruction due to their disability for more than 30 minutes (or is it 15?), then they are taken out to the resource room. If a child has a need for specialized instruction due to their disability for more than 60 minutes (or is it 45?), then they are placed in a class that is designed to meet the unique needs of the student.

Many years ago, I learned to say in IEP meetings that my son was and deaf and legally blind all at the same time, all day long. I learned to say that so the really smart school people would quit (hopefully) telling me that my son received his hearing services during one class period and his vision services during another class period. One teacher told us that she was a hearing impaired teacher and that "Vision takes care of his other problems." Those endearing people made me who I am today.

Here is one for you, and if you can't do it, just pass it forward. See if you can get an honest answer on how many Down's Syndrome children are fully included within the Hillsborough County District Schools?

Not District check mark included.

Really included.

Then answer this question. If a student is labeled Down's syndrome within Hillsborough County, are they automatically segregated out of typical classrooms for more than 30 minutes, or is it 15, a day?

Classrooms - not lunch rooms.

Classrooms. Not P.E..

This means one has to go out and look to see where the student really is. It does not mean ask your ESE department to tell you how many of your Down's sydrome students are "included."

Remember, bean counters and courts rely on paperwork, not the truth.

I know. I know. Cut that out.

Bus Drivers Can Compute The Stress Level Going Down

Wi-Fi Turns Arizona Bus Ride Into a Rolling Study Hall - NYTimes.com: "Wi-Fi Turns Rowdy Bus Into Rolling Study Hall By SAM DILLON Published: February 11, 2010"

This school system seems to be matching their money with conventional wisdom as opposed to "we still do it the way we always did it" way. This school system appears to be willing to teach students vicariously by smartly manipulating the environment. This school system seems not to employ the "shut up and sit down" approach to dealing with student behavior problems.

School systems bitch and complain about student behavior problems. "Good Teachers" get accolades for "good classroom management", but when the classroom is at a loss for behavior that is conducive to learning, suddenly "behavior" is the sole responsibility of the student and their parent.

How many times have we heard that teachers/bus drivers are not "baby sitters?"

There is an interesting concept. Calling a adolescent or a teenager a "baby" tells a lot about the person doing the calling. And maybe there lies the problem. My experience tells me that calling a child a baby seldom advances the child. It may be a cathartic expression of my frustration of not knowing what else to do, but it doesn't help the child learn for tomorrow how not to repeat what went wrong today.

Hey, there is another interesting concept: "a cathartic expression of my frustration of not knowing what else to do."

I bet the bus drivers in the above school system, the one where they placed the Wi-Fi system, had said "I don't know what else to do", regarding the student behaviors.

"I don't know what else to do" is a red flare signal complete with an auditory alarm that tells me I had better bring in resources to figure out "what to do" or else I am failing my job.

Computers are where kids are at today.

Meeting the students where they are at is a hell of lot cheaper on the system than calling them babies, no matter how much authority and power you think you have.

Computing The Obvious

My uncle was a sage. He had wisdom nurtured by attention and respect for reality of what he experienced.

Over thirty years ago, one of the many insightful concepts he told me was to do something that I enjoyed if I wanted to be successful.

I have heard that many times from successful people. My wife doesn't go to work. She goes to do what she loves to do. For those who are interested, ask around about what child care center in Hillsborough county is known for inclusion. With a track record of success.

Which brings me to a question du jour. What do kids enjoy today? Computers. Everyday.

What? Some kids don't have computers at home? You mean the same kids that don't have football uniforms at home? You mean the same kids that don't have text books at home? You mean the same kids that don't have hall passes at home? You mean the same kids that don't have cars at home? The same kids that don't have culinary tools at home? The same kids that don't have condoms at home?

Educational institutions bitch and complain about the competition they have to engage students. Educational institutions bitch and complain about the lack of buy-in that students, and parents, have with what the educational system offers. Educational institutions bitch and complain that kids spend too much time on computers. ???!!!!!!

Facebook. Computer. Twitter. Computer. You Tube. Computer. Direct link to kids. Computer.

Yet, the United States educational system continues to tell the public what is best for the public. The US educational system is as arrogant as the the US government. The arrogance has even made it to the point that the educational system and the government controls the climate. Or weather. WTF.

What do think would be the outcome if educational systems hooked up with what computers hook up with students with.

Nike supports quadratic formulas. Abercrombie supports sentence structure. Hollister supports geometry.

What did you say? Students have to learn the way we did to maintain the integrity of the education institution?

Here I am, an old man close to 60 years old who learned computer programming using punch cards. I learned BASIC and wrote a payroll program for my company back when I had a Radio Shack computer with a cassette tape storage system. And yet today, I operate a blog and have no clue how it is done. I don't have to prime the pump to get water. I don't have to walk up hill both ways to school, carry a hot potato to school and eat it cold for lunch. But I am engaged with a computer.

Education systems have plenty of money to engage students. Do they spend the money wisely? Compute that.

Renee Whaley, 66, blazed a trail for disabled students - St. Petersburg Times

While I owe a lot to many that helped me advocate for my son, this lady was the first person I spoke to that showed me that there was a road that must be traveled.

Renee Whaley, 66, blazed a trail for disabled students - St. Petersburg Times: "Renee Whaley, 66, blazed a trail for disabled students"


After the IEP meeting in Dec. of 1996 at Mann Middle School where I realized what a scum-bucket entity I was up against, I started desperately looking for resources to deal with the insanity. I reached out to my network. I was given the name of an attorney, which I found out later was the Whiteheads's attorney. I was given the phone number to the OCR in Atlanta. These gifts were anonymous from those who worked within the system and knew the truth.

My sister from Seattle sent me some books. One book was written by Barbara Bateman:Special Needs Education Advocacy Books (not sure is this is her first book). Another book was a legal reference to IDEA.

I realized that the school system played by a different set of rules, not honesty. It took me a few years to realize that being honest with laws was not a strong suit of the system.

I digress.

Somewhere in the first quadrant of 1997, I was honing my advocacy skills. One of the necessary requirements in parental advocacy is to know how to access your child's records. Needless to say, it is not as easy as it sounds. Those of you who follow the local blogs should understand how the paperwork game is a vicious animal and will bite you if don't handle carefully.

Closer to the point.

As a practice run in accessing my child's records, one day I went to my eldest son's high school at East Bay. I simply walked in and asked to see my son's cumulative file. Since he was in "gifted", (save that topic for another crock of simmered stew), I knew that he was supposed to have a written plan to address his status.

The first reaction was something to the effect of "Please wait while I get someone to help you." I waited. While I waited, my thoughts were remembering what I had read about how the system makes it difficult for parents. After about a 20 minute wait, I was finally met by the Guidance Counselor of my son.
She asked what I wanted and I said I just wanted to see his file. She asked what for, and I, with my recently found knowledge, politely said I just wanted to look at it to see what was in it. I knew that I didn't have to have a reason, but instead of giving the system something to label me like being an asshole, I played the game.

The Guidance Counselor and I went into a room with the file in her possession. We sat, and she asked me what specifically did I want to look at. I knowingly, with a bit of assertiveness in my voice, replied that I wanted to hold the file. She hesitated and then handed it to me. I opened it and saw that on the left side was my son's identifying records. On the right side, right on top, was a piece of paper that immediately got my attention. True to my new training, I didn't flinch, and continued through the file. When I had made it to the last page, the counselor asked me if there was anything else. I calmly replied, "yes, I would like a copy of that first page."

I thought I perceived an anxious look on her face. My thoughts were that since I seemed so calm and assured, she was not willing to challenge me. She left the room.

Minutes passed.

My mind was racing. Would they destroy that paper while I just sit here? Should I have insisted that I go with her to copy the paper? Now that I know that it is true that "they" have marked me, what else is there that I don't know. Suffice it to say that this was just one more moment that created the person that I am today.

After another 20 to 25 minute wait, the counselor returned with the Principal. The Principal politely asked me what it was that I wanted. Maybe I had forgotten. No, I made the same request for a copy of that page, which I identified as to content and author. The principal acknowledged that I may have a reason to be interested in that particular page, but that I should be reassured that her administration was looking out for the best interests of my son, and that is how I should perceive this situation.

I continued to be polite and agreeable, and again asked for a copy to be given to me.

She asked me what was I going to do with the copy.

I replied that it was part of my son's file, and I simply wanted a copy of it.

The Principal instructed the counselor to go make a copy. Again I wondered, will it be destoyed? Within a few minutes, the copy appeared. I thanked them, and left.

That same night, I went to a meeting at Chamberlain High School to attend a meeting the District was having where they were providing propaganda to parents about special ed laws. This was the third or fourth meeting that I had attended in this series, and they were prepared for me. They isolated me with a woman District personnel to keep me occupied so I wouldn't challenge what they were spewing.

That night, I had had enough, again.

The aforementioned paper was written by the guidance counselor to all of my eldest son's teachers. It effectively told the teachers that Mr. Hancock would be asking them questions about his son's Educational Plan (EP), and that they, the teachers, should be knowlegeable about the plan and not to give Mr. Hancock any false information.

Thank God, at least one parent wasn't going to be given false information.

The next day, again in search of help in how to deal with this insanity, I drove to St. Pete and met Ms. Whaley.

She knew the truth, as she had lived it for years. I was just beginning to see the truth, and she helped put a framework to the truth.

The article says that Ms. Whaley knocked down doors. I will attest that knocking down doors is nothing to the bulldozers that public school systems use.

Ms. Whaley frequently told the story of a school person who said that they could not name one redeeming quality about Renee's son. An all to common attitude of too many school employees that undoes all of the hard work of the professionals, and parents, who understand the challenge.

Too many people think that Renee and her ilk are overbearing. What too many people don't realize is that Renee, and her ilk, are fighting for their most prized children. And this fight is against power with ignorance.

I personally know all of the people mentioned in this article. If more people knew what all of the kids that are involved in this article have accomplished because their parents "knocked down doors", maybe there wouldn't be so many damned doors.

Put Me In A Room With Your Experts, and Let's Have At It

Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook

I am a parent that graduated from East Bay High School, Hillsborough.

I am a parent who was a seventh in my class.

I am a parent who was in NHS.

I am a parent who was I'st chair trumpet player.

I am a parent who was I'st chair, undefeated, chess team.

I am a parent who was a member of the student council.

I am a parent who was the Drum Major.

I am a parent who lettered 3 years in baseball.

I am a parent who was a senior notable, voted "Most Likely To Succeed."

I am a parent who graduated from college.

I am a parent who is a recognized business owner of 33 plus years in my community.

I am a parent who is the president of a corporation.

I am a parent who was taught not to trust the local school system because of the countless numbers of lies they told me over a span of 20 years.

I am the parent of a disabled kid.

What else do you have?

Posted by: Bring It On | October 24, 2009 at 06:06 PM