MO SB 54 social networking law

crosspoted at SB 54 Social Networking law

I am appalled at the implications of the part of this law (SB54) dealing with social networking with students.
I applaud the part of the this law requiring mandatory reporting teachers having “inappropriate contact.”  It has been needed for a long time.  However, that is not all of it. It also says:

By January 1, 2012, every school district must develop a written policy concerning teacher-student communication and employee-student communications. Each policy must include appropriate oral and nonverbal personal communication, which may be combined with sexual harassment policies, and appropriate use of electronic media as described in the act, including social networking sites. Teachers cannot establish, maintain, or use a work-related website unless it is available to school administrators and the child’s legal custodian, physical custodian, or legal guardian. Teachers also cannot have a nonwork-related website that allows exclusive access with a current or former student. Former student is defined as any person who was at one time a student at the school at which the teacher is employed and who is eighteen years of age or less and who has not graduated.

Shouldn’t teachers always have appropriate communication with students?  Isn’t that already in school policy?  Is electronic communication any different that face-to-face communication?  I can talk one-on-one to a student in class, but I can’t text him?  We can pass notes to each other, but e-mail is out.  I can sit next to her at lunch and talk to her, but she can’t send me send me a message through our class Wikispace.  They can turn in a paper to grade, but they can’t turn one in to me using our online classroom in Moodle.  (Cut down those trees!  Say goodbye to paperless classrooms!)

I try to teach my students 21st century learning skills using web tools so they will know how to communicate with people all over the world…just not me.  I try to use Moodle, Google Apps, and Wikispaces with my class, now I have an extra hurdle to using it in my classroom.  I’d also like to use Voicethread,  Animoto, Schooltube, Kerpoof, Make Beliefs Comix, and others in my class.  Thanks for making it harder for me to teach my students to how to use social media appropriately.

Now for the implications behind this part of the law.  This law assumes that one bad male teacher, makes all male teachers perverts.  As a male teacher, I am offended.  Confirmation of this assumption came in a letter from Senator Cunningham’s office to a high school student:

Excerpt from email reply sent to Cameron Carlson by Senator Jane Cunningham’s legislative aide, Sandra Allen, on August 3^rd (was posted to the Facebook Page Students, Parents, and Teachers Against MO Senate Bill #54, Sec. 162.069):

“First things first – I need you to educate yourself to the magnitude of the sexual abuse of students by educators. It is of epidemic proportions both locally (Missouri) and nationally. Just a quick Google search brings up pages. Unfortunately, this heinous crime has gone grossly underreported because the school districts didn’t want to deal with it – now they have to or they will be held liable and culpable for the future abuses perpetrated by someone they just pass to the next district. Senator Cunningham recognized the need for these types of laws to protect innocent children from being taken advantage of by someone in authority.

Second, what I am hearing you say is that the 1st amendment gives educators, who by the way would be the only adults allowed, the right to any all unmonitored private conversations with minor children? If so, I find that extremely unnerving and a lot like the adult child pornography proponents. [emphasis added] 

No adult – teacher, doctor, police, judge, Senator, Legislative Assistant, mechanic, etc., etc., etc. has the constitutional right to private conversations with children under 18 without a legal guardian and/or parent present or that has not given written permission.

I also find it strange that it is the male educators who are the loudest critics – interesting don’t you think? The female educators recognize the need for these types of laws. The ones who have contacted Senator Cunningham have wanted to make sure they stay within the confines of the new law.

Sincerely,

Sandy” [source]

Innocent children have to be protected from their teachers? Male teachers are the equivalent of child pornography proponents?  If sexual abuse by educators is an epidemic, then what about the epidemic of sexual abuse by uncles?  There is an even higher incidence of sexual abuse by uncles.  Where is the law banning uncles social networking with their nieces and nephews?  Fathers have also abused their daughters, so they should be banned, too.  Other men have abused children, so they’re out.  Let’s not forget women, they have abused children, too, so no contact with children for them either.  The logic behind this skewed assumption is shocking.  The same office spitting this vitriol also produced this bill.  I am flabbergasted at these implications.

I know I have taken this argument to the extreme, but when you take a recommendation regarding one-to-one electronic communication and make it a law, the implication needs to be seen to their logical ends.

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Letter to the Editor of the Joplin Globe

I am tired of politicians and their commentators using public education as a whipping boy. Thomas Sowell slung mud all over public schools in his June 7th editorial. He said, “If the schools waste precious time indoctrinating children instead of educating them, that’s the children’s problem and the country’s problem, but not the teacher’s problem.”

I disagree. It IS the teacher’s problem. Teachers are in charge of their classrooms, but writers like Mr. Sowell, who doesn’t know split peas from chile about what teaching is like in a public school classroom, is all to ready too flick spitwads at teachers. Those who are farthest from the classroom (politicians and commentators) seem to be the loudest critics, and you don’t hear nearly enough the other side of the story.

People want to talk about “bad teachers,” and there are a few, but for every one of those there are 10 more teachers out there working their absolute hardest to pull the absolute best out of their students. They don’t teach for the money, they teach for the kids.

However, public schools do need to change. The public school system was set up in an early 20^th century industrialized world, and has resisted change ever since. Which means the schools are producing 21^st century graduates ready for a 20^th century workplace. Mr. Sowell was right that “American children lag behind children in other countries that spend far less per pupil than we do.” Other developed and developing countries are producing graduates ready for a 21^st century world and are leaving us behind.

What do we do? Some have suggested private school vouchers or charter schools with mixed results. Who do we turn to? Ask the experts, not the politicians. Classroom teachers are the experts who work with students everyday, and know what they need. They have been using their best teaching strategies to teach this current generation of children in factory-shaped buildings with an assembly line of yearly grade levels with bells to tell us when learning starts and stops. We have have dynamic, creative teachers of all shapes, colors, and sizes that are still being stuffed into square, box-like classrooms preparing children for a workplace that is so diverse that some of the jobs they will have haven’t even been invented yet. Can you measure that on a bubblesheet achievement test?

Mr. Sowell asked “Why are teachers so bold?” I say they are not bold enough. Teachers need to reshape public education into a system that works for kids, not forcing kids to work for the system. This reshaping involves you too, public citizen. You have a stake in this, too. Teachers are the solution because they are the ones closest to the students. However, most are not forward enough to tell how schools should be unless you ask them because they are so busy taking care of their students. Don’t beat up on them. Ask them. They’ll tell you about the real problem and even offer some solutions.

James Sigler

President, Carl Junction Teachers Association

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Career Ladder Letter to the Editor-Joplin Globe

The Career Ladder program in Missouri in pays teacher to spend their time outside the school day tutoring students, contacting parents, planning after-school activities, planning new and engaging units of study, etc.  Funding for the program is in danger of being cut this year because of a tight budget.  Senator Gary Nodler is my state senator and the chair of the Finance Committee that budgets the money.

The Joplin Globe wrote this editorial.  In Our View: Too much talk over Career Ladder

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I wrote this letter to the editor in support of their opinion.  Voices: Forward-fund Career Ladder program

It so happened that it appeared on the same page as Senator Nodler’s response to the same editorial.  Guest columnist Sen. Gary Nodler: Career Ladder’s problem not a technicality The Cheetah Girls 2 video

I thought our two articles gave a good, well-round debate about the topic, presenting both sides of the issue while agreeing in principal.

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Obama Practices Social Promotion

Read this Article by Gary Stager at HuffingtonPost

There has only been one Secretary of Education

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who was a teacher…EVER. I am surprised that Mr. Obama would pick someone who is more of the same disastrous high-stakes testing

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.  Darling-Hammond would have made a much better secretary than Basketball buddy Arne Duncan

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.  Kids don’t learn from test. They learn from deep, thoughtful teaching.  However, the President-Elect doesn’t even trust teachers enough to hire a teacher to lead education in America. I am disappointed in the choice.  In his fervor to bust unions apart, our new leader may also bust public education into tiny pieces.  All to the detriment of our kids.  You are right on, Gary.

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