Truth as the Ultimate Defense

The Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, is the story about a little boy’s view of the world, the purpose of human life and the relationships between people. The story presents some remarkably profound and idealistic views on human nature, and it’s something that I’ve treated as my Bible, as my holy text. It’s one of the reasons why I have such a deep respect for children, because I think they are, above all things, honest. Curious, yes. And though strong, it doesn’t parallel their honesty.

When the story about those third graders plotting to hurt their teacher dominated the news for a solid 15 minutes a couple of weeks back, my gut reaction was to blame the teacher. I mean, nine year olds don’t usually strike much fear in my heart. And as the story developed, with details of the plot uncovered, and various weapons and accessories discovered, I still blamed the teacher.

But not entirely. In fact, I don’t actually blame the teacher at all.

Unfortunately, we’ve experienced some pretty devastating events that have occurred on school grounds, the details of which I’d rather not get into. After extensive and thorough research and investigations, there’s been some light shed as to the reasons and motives behind those crimes. But when nine out of twelve students in a third grade class devise a scheme to hurt/kill their teacher, because one girl was scolded for standing on a chair, something is definitely wrong. It’s a situation where I don’t think a definite answer can be found.

And then there was this interview:

Sadly, YouTube didn’t have the interview in its entirety, and the only name we are given is that of the grandmother. Since I don’t think she plays too vital a role in this, I’ll relegate her to the position of non-participatory audience member. The attorney is upset by the fact that this little girl was disciplined in the same manner as the other students who were part of the scheme: the same little girl who admits to knowing about the plan, but not the exact details, yet she knew that the knife would be used to cut the tape. She also claims that her classmates didn’t tell her the details of the plan, but she knew that all they had in mind was to throw pies at the teacher.

Someone once told me that withholding truth is just as critical as telling a lie. (No, it’s not an anonymous source, I just don’t remember who it was who told me.)

Something tells me that this little girl is doing both.

This isn’t the situation where a lawyer needs to be involved. As honest as I had foolishly thought kids were, they are also as impressionable. Hiring a lawyer would just indicate that anything done wrong can be defended. And in teaching that kind of value, would it be a surprise if she ended up the type of person who abandons self-accountability?

I'm curious to know where the teacher is in all of this. You know their truth, now tell us yours.

A final word from that oh-so-wise man, Edward R. Murrow:
Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit.


Here's hoping you find it --
Peace out, truth-seekers.

This is Going to be Huge ... at least it better be.

A documentary is currently in the works about the “purgatory” where teachers are held after being accused of various degrees of misconduct. The period of time when teachers are suspended and await a lengthy adjudication process is spent in The Rubber Room.

It’s usually an ordinary office in an off-campus location where the suspended schoolteachers sit and do absolutely nothing, while being paid full salary. There is at least one Rubber Room in each of New York City’s five-boroughs, but since it is difficult to find anyone willing to discuss the issue, the number of teachers housed in these rooms can’t be confirmed.

According to the production company behind this project, Five Boroughs Productions:

Teachers assigned to a Rubber Room can spend months and often years there. Though they continue to collect their full salaries, they are not asked or allowed to perform work of any kind, instead sitting idle day after day. The annual cost of the New York City Department of Education's Rubber Room is estimated to be in excess of $25 million, with some estimates ranging as high as $40 million. In addition, there is a general consensus that this cost is rising steeply with each passing year.

More than just presenting the economic effects of the Rubber Room, the documentary aims to highlight the issues that make the Rubber Room a “controversial topic.” What I’m hoping will result from this documentary is a call for change in the politics of education, including, but transcending, the economic issues. It’s easy for people to see the fact that these suspended teachers are still getting paid salary. What’s difficult to comprehend, and what I hope the documentary goes into further detail, is the notion that these teachers do not feel lucky being disconnected from the world they love. Money, in this sense, has absolutely no value.

Based primarily on the trailer, the documentary (as of now) seems a little jagged, and lacks an overall cohesion. It isn’t until two minutes into the trailer that the issue of the Rubber Room is introduced. What the Rubber Room signifies encompasses what I believe are the reasons for the failure of the public school system. By introducing society to that issue, it makes it more accessible, and thereby easier to attempt to resolve.

Considering I’ve criticized the budget of the New York City Public School System, or lack thereof, as a major factor in its overall collapse and failure, I humbly respect the opinions of the teachers presented at the end of the trailer who refer to the Rubber Room as an “abominable waste.” The trailer ends with the same teacher saying: “What a horrible secret that the Department of Education is keeping from the public.”

Mitchell's vocabulary lesson of the day:
[educate] from the latin educare meaning: "to lead out of." In this context, educators are seen as leaders of students out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of knowledge.

Hoping that the New York Public School System won't end up being a cyclical confirmation of a continuous crossroads between the blind leading the blind, I'm relying on this documentary to shed some light, and drop some knowledge.

Peace.

Way to go VA

Gene Fishel is a Virginia assistant attorney general who recently gave a presentation to a High School about the dangers of disclosing personal information over the Internet and agreeing to meet “Web acquaintances” in person.

While Texas and Illinois are among other states that have passed Internet safety education laws, Virginia is the only state that mandates public schools to offer Internet safety classes for all grade levels.

Judi Westberg Warren, president of Web Wise Kids, a nonprofit group funded by the federal government and corporations such as Verizon and Symantec to provide schools with no-cost Internet safety lessons for 11-to 16-year olds, said that other states are considering similar legislation. She admits, however, that “such efforts are overdue as the Internet’s technological advances have enabled criminals to reach more victims.”

According to a 2006 study by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,

13 percent of Internet users ages 10 to 17 had received unwanted sexual solicitations. Four percent of those youths reported being asked for nude or sexually explicit photographs of themselves.

More important than just mandating these Internet safety classes, Virginia has also created initiatives that help schools educate parents on internet safety, such as encouraging families to use filtering software as well as putting their computers in parts of the house where they can be easily seen.

Director of the Virginia Department of Education’s office of education technology, Tammy McGraw, has worked with schools to integrate Internet safety lessons into existing coursework.

MySpace, that social networking abyss,

agreed with 49 states to create a task force to devise ways to protect youngsters from online predators and bullies. Texas opted out because of concern that the program lacks a way to verify users’ ages.

I'm pretty surprised that such programs and initiatives have not already been implemented in schools nationwide. I'm even more surprised by Texas' choice to opt out of the agreement with MySpace to create a task force to instill Internet safety.

What I've come to learn in my old age, is that common sense isn't very common.

Yes, it will be difficult and awkward to teach students about the dangers of Internet safety, just as like it will be difficult and awkward to teach students about the technicalities and dangers of sex -- because they'll think they know everything about it. They are, of course, wrong.

And as our society is relying more and more on the Internet, and all the wonderful things it has to offer, we must also highlight all of the dirty things that lie waiting in its dark corners.

But yeah, way to go Virginia!

Peace.

Maybe There's Something in the Water

Dear Georgia,

What is wrong with your kids? First, it was those little gremlins who attempted to attack their teacher.Now it’s fifth-graders attempting to poison their teacher?

Three fifth-grade girls put two and a half Tylenol pills in their teacher’s tea. Apparently, Dana Fox did something very upsetting to these girls: she rolled her eyes. According to the students, they said Miss Fox was prejudiced against them for being black.

Even more bizarre is, despite the girls being charged with aggravated assault, the fact that they remain in the classroom. They were scheduled to appear in court last week, but the case was delayed. As such, they are attending class with the teacher they attempted to harm.

It may seem silly that the girls used Tylenol in an attempt to poison their teacher, but the intent of harm is clearly present.

I'm not too sure if there is a scientific term for the “trickle-down effect.” Georgia, your laws and regulations are clearly not effective. The ineptitude of the state is blatantly reflected in the ineptitude of these young ladies. How can you let three girls who attempted to poison their teacher remain in the classroom? I commend Miss Fox for staying, but I can only imagine the ambivalent emotions she must be feeling – ambivalent in the sense that she must be angry and disappointed, but at the same time, fearing a repeat incident and hoping for the better. I wonder if she now has to cater her lessons as not to insult these girls again.

Stay strong, Miss Fox. That headache will soon subside.

Sincerely,
Mitchell.

Peace.

When Time Out Just Won't Cut It

Nine third-graders have been caught plotting to attack their teacher. Third-graders. They ranged in age from eight to ten years old. 8, 9 and 10 year olds – mad because the teacher had scolded one of them for standing on a chair. The depth of their planning is unbelievably detailed. Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said that

the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a crystal paperweight, bind her with the handcuffs and tape and then stab her with the knife.

The plan involved a division of roles, in which the students acted out a specific purpose, in which “one child’s job was to cover the windows so no one could see outside … Another was supposed to clean up after the attack.”

Brilliantly mad.

I think it’s important to note that these children have learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder, delayed development and hyperactivity. But this can’t be a valid excuse for the horrendous plot. Considering the technicalities of the scheme, it seems apparent that these children knew and understood full-well the purpose of their actions. They may not have a complete grasp of the potential results of their actions, but it’s extremely fortunate that it won’t be tested and realized.

I’ve been, and continue to be, an advocate for students. Which is why I am concerned with the bigger picture: how could it have gotten this far? Where exactly did these homicidal ideations come from? The purported target is a veteran educator who claimed that the children involved weren’t known as troublemakers, and they “were considered pretty good kids.” So what happened? What triggered this rapid diminishing of innocence, which was ultimately replaced by evil? Being scolded is only part of that picture. There has to be an underlying reason as to why these students wanted to harm their teacher.

Despite the horrific potential of the scheme, we can’t forget that these students are children. They are 8, 9 and 10 year olds. Placing them in jail or juvenile facilities won’t be very effective. Discipline in the form of more intensive education should be the way to transform these kids into successful members of society. There needs to be a reform in the education of children with learning disabilities. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s fair to give up on these children so quickly, after one incident – albeit an awful one.

Peace.

I NewsTrust.

I like that the aim of NewsTrust is very direct: helping people find good journalism online. With that, however, arises the question as to what good journalism entails. And an answer is provided, which is the main attraction to NewsTrust. Members of the community not only suggest stories, but also rate them in terms of “core journalistic principles such as fairness, evidence, sourcing and context.” The website does a great job in that the members weed out irrelevant stories by applying the principles used in the rating to determine its worth. The organization of the website makes it user-friendly: more than just highlighting the most significant stories, members also have the option to focus their news search in the specific categories.

At the same time, however, because NewsTrust relies heavily, if not entirely, on the participation of its users for significant news, there’s room for neglect in certain areas. I understand that breaking news can’t happen in every category every day, but I think the news articles posted can be updated more frequently. Moreover, I can't help but to ask who the primary members of the organization are: that is, who is suggesting and rating these stories, and why exactly should I trust their judgment? But as of now, I've only read comments from very intelligent people who not only take the news seriously, but are also concerned with the integrity of journalism.

In terms of aesthetics, the website could use more visual aspects of images or video. I find that I am essentially inundated with text upon first glance, and it’s not very eye-catching.

Lastly, and by no means is this a minor flaw, but the website in itself doesn’t always run very quickly. And with very little images, what exactly is loading that I have to wait for? Damn my impatience.

Peace. & chicken grease?

Take it to the Streets, (pt. deux)

Notice: This blog is by no means advocating underground hip hop artists, nor endorsing any of the presidential candidates. And this is not the path I want to take my blog, but Joell Ortiz is worth listening to.



He is a free agent rapper from Brooklyn (BROOKLYN!) who spits rhymes about the rawness of the ghetto. Unlike other Hip-Hop "artists" -- and that's a term I use loosely -- who glamorize the industry, Ortiz is taking it back to the streets.

And with it, a political agenda:

Joell Ortiz - A Message to Obama | Hip Hop Songs > HipHopDX.com

With mainstream artists like The Blackeyed Peas, Common and Mos Def showing support for Obama, it was only inevitable for the little guys to follow suit. I'm curious to see how much weight the supporters hold in this election. Also, I'm curious to see whether Ortiz's support of Obama will effect his record sales

Especially with the contradicting viewpoints within the Hip-Hop community.

And just like Spitzer ignoring the advice offered by the Streets, we'll see how these lessons affect Obama.

Stay tuned.

Peace.