If You Are Looking For Some Responsible Blogging Discourse - Check This Out

I don't know a lot about the First Amendment. I am not a strong believer in Wikipedia, but I will start with it:

Talley v. California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a Los Angeles city ordinance which forbade the distribution of any handbills in any place under any circumstances if the handbills did not contain the name and address of the person who prepared, distributed, or sponsored it was void.

Talley is often cited for the proposition that identification requirements burden speech."

Let me know if I am off base on this one. I must say I am having a difficult time processing what I have read and heard recently regarding blogging. I can't grasp how such a concept can be proposed from such a public position. My concern is not who said it. My concern is that it was said by an official of the public.

I can't help but think that perhaps the daily reminders to these public officials to not speak out because of legal repercussions has somehow been twisted into "if we can't say what we think, neither can the public."


Anyway, the title says something about responsible blogging, so go here:


Blogger: Sound Off And Be Heard - Post a Comment

Freedom From Education - Connecting The Dots

The title of former Hillsborough County teacher William Wieser's book was not happenstance:

Death by Education: An American Autopsy by William Wieser (Used, New, Out-of-Print) - Alibris


In his book, he addresses the fact that writing his book was his last resort. He ran out of money fighting the appeals after he won in court.


Last night, a group of parents gave up their right to speak their opinions during their allotted time frame at the HCPS school board meeting. In the end, it appears they were snookered. For those school administrators seeking good PR relations, what could have been a phlegmatic announcement of a principal's transfer turned into an apparent soapbox for harangue. Why bother to concede one's position to have it carried out in that fashion?

Yesterday, there was another event that occurred over on The Gradebook, a local blog administered by the St. Pete Times. Read the public comments to gain understanding of the issues here:

Comments vs. content


This may be of interest to some:

Wrightslaw - Retaliation: School Administrators Develop an "Enemies List":

"The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) represents over 14,000 California school administrators. This group surveyed their membership to identify groups and parents who had been critical of schools.

The School Administrators Association organized the survey responses into a secret Enemies List. This document included the name of the group, and names of parents who were identified with the groups, and name of superintendant. There was a section for comments about the parents' subversive activities - what actions they took that earned them a place on the Enemies List.

Someone leaked the Enemies List to the press.

The Association of California School Administrators was confronted with their Enemies List,. The Association said they were just trying to identify 'disruptive' individuals and groups.

A copy that was circulated shows that the report is organized by district, with columns for the name of the superintendent, the name of the group, followed by names of the parents involved in the group. There was also a section for comments describing the activities of the groups and what they did to earn a place on the list.

Targeted parents were guilty of 'disruptive' acts that included questioning special education placements, filing complaints with the Office of Civil Rights, and objecting to the way Parent Advisory Groups were set up.

"The existence of such a list confirms the worst fears of many parents - that schools single out parents who advocate for their children. It further suggests an adversarial and repressive attitude towards these parents - a precursor to the retaliation reported by many."

Attack On Blogs

While I am patiently waiting for the 5:00 public comments of the Gator gang, I will provide this link for all to see that came up over on The Gradebook today. Thanks for the tip to the person who sent it.


Comments vs. content


I have been a long time reader of The Gradebook. Why would the system start with The Gradebook? Maybe because it would be an easier task to accomplish since "a reputable company" would certainly not want to seem accomodating.

Maybe it would be the beginning of the slippery slope.