Moving at the Speed of Creativity - Contentious school blog in Dallas area

Contentious school blog in Dallas area

Published by Wesley Fryer in blogs, disruptive-technology on December 5th, 2005

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The Sunday, December 4th Forth Worth/Dallas Star Telegram ran an article entitled, “Schools in quandary over bloggers,” which addresses issues that Miguel Guhlin has posted about along with others recently.

I think following comment in the article by Mark Smith, executive director of secondary administration in Keller ISD, is on target.

We really can’t discipline students for something that didn’t happen at school…That’s kind of like disciplining them for not cleaning their rooms.

I also agree with Frank Colosi, an attorney for the Fort Worth ACLU, who was also quoted in the article:

You cannot say, for example, ‘I will give up my right to vote in order to be a cheerleader”…It’s a big, massive punishment to the students, and the schools know that it is. They are trying to teach a lesson, when they need to learn the lesson that free speech is free speech.

Unfortunately, being the typically authoritarian organizations they are, some schools view their authority to censor and punish as being far more wide-reaching. If a student blogs at home or at school, if their blog content doesn’t reflect “high moral standards” or impinges on the reputation of an administrator, the student could not only land in hot water but also be kicked off an athletic team or out of a club leadership role. That is what happened in this Dallas-area incident, although reportedly the comment which caused problems was not made by the student who owns the blog.

This provides an excellent real-time teachable moment for both students and teachers on the importance of controlling access to your computer (even in your own home, as in this case) and the passwords with which you virtually “do business.” That does not just mean eCommerce: it also means accessing email and posting content to a blog.

As I have written before, blogs represent a disruptive technology. Educators need to be engaged in helping students safely and constructively use these tools. When they do, we need loud, visible press coverage about those examples. For now, sadly, much of what we hear about blogs and their impact on the educational environment is largely negative. Part of the responsibility for helping change that trend lies with us: the educators in the field.

One positive example continuing to receive press coverage is the Room208 blog and podcast in Wells, Maine. For more on this, check out these recent podcasts highlighting it, and share them with others.