Catching up On Blogs

I have been writing ideas down as I come upon them. Before school was out I came upon two I thought would be perfect for the blog as they had to do with I D 10 T.

I am a Math Coach. I work at two schools. Didn’t like having two schools at the beginning of the year but in the end I can live with it; like both schools, principals, and faculty.

It is interesting to see how the two schools are different and how they are similar. At one school the faculty works very well together at their grade levels, and they actually teach. At the other school, there are some who come to school just to get the pay check. Both schools break some rules to their advantage, which is fine because it benefits the teachers in some way.

We give a state mandated test every year in April. It is a pass/fail test in 3rd Grade for Reading and 5th Grade for Math and Reading; though parents can appeal the retainment and the students are passed on. In some schools this is recommended, so no student is ever retained.

At one of my schools a grade level did not do as well on the Math portion as it has in the past because of one classroom. I was quite concerned about the results and the teacher. I was very surprised. I had thought this class would do well. Come to find out, only 41% of her class finished the test. They are given 70 minutes to take the test, which is more than enough time. I proctored in a classroom that had no trouble finishing the test in this amount of time. The teacher made her students use their scratch paper (GREAT! they need to use it), but she never updated the amount of time left for the test, so many of her students were unable to finish. And then she justified it by saying a number of them wouldn’t have done well anyway. Yikes!!! 59% of her class did not pass the test! I would be in tears if something like that happened when I was teaching. Needless to say the principal was very upset, though the teacher had warned her as soon as the Math portion was finished that her class hadn’t finished. She’s a veteran teacher. She has been giving this test since it was put into place. What was she thinking!? Obviously, she wasn’t? Plus side, it was not a pass/fail grade.

The county implemented new Math assessments this year. One such assessment was a Performance Task at the end of every nine weeks. A teacher at my other school was concerned with the scoring of them as they are scored with a rubric, so she asked me to come in and help her score them. No problem. We scored about 5 performance tasks at one time about a week before school was out. The teacher commented on how poorly her students had done on all of them. My comment to her was, “If you had been doing them all along, at the end of each 9 week period, instead of doing them all at once, they would have gotten used to them and done a lot better. “ Her response, “Oh.”

It amazes me how some people think or don’t sometimes!

Catch of the Day

At The Register by John Fischer

Chandler and I have a new yogurt spot we like to frequent after I pick him up from school. It's one of those places where you serve yourself the flavor of soft yogurt you want from a row of wall dispensers and then you choose from a number of toppings and finally you pay for everything by the ounce.

One day recently my bill came to $6.63. I gave the young girl behind the register a ten-dollar bill and, as is my custom, I searched my pocket for change. If I have the $.63 in coin, I like to get rid of the change in my pocket instead of adding to it. So I pulled out my change and found I had $.62—a penny short. "Will you take $.62?" I asked. The girl nodded, took my $.62 and I waited, fully expecting four dollars back. Instead, she fished out exactly $3.99 and counted it all out into my hand.

"I don't want this," I said. "The whole idea was to get rid of change, not add to it." She looked at me like she didn't know what I was talking about. I opened my mouth to try and explain, but one look in her face told me it was useless.

"Here," I said holding out the $3.99. "I'll give you back this and we can start over. Just give me change for a ten."

"Can't do that," she said. "The drawer is closed."

Why would I bother giving someone $10.62 so they could give me $3.99 back? It defied logic, but then again, she was just doing her job… recording what I gave her into the computer and giving me back what the computer told her.

I walked away realizing I was not going to get anywhere with this and finally able to laugh over it. The temptation was to call her something dumb in my head, but that wasn't going to help anything. Further reflection led me to realize this happens a lot when people don't understand each other. They are both seeing the same thing in a different way. It's not that one is right and the other is wrong; they simply have two different perspectives on the same thing.

I've realized from this that I need to not always try and get someone to understand my point of view. Maybe I need to put forth a little extra effort and try and understand theirs.

End of the Year

I have been absent from blogging for quite a while; got caught up in the end of the year work for Math and then Social Studies. Even though I am out for the summer, I have continued with my “second” job, helping out the S.S. coordinator. Now I don’t mind helping the man out; in fact he is one of a few people I cannot say no to when he asks for the help; but I never know what I am getting myself into when I do say yes. And yes, the extra money does help. Friends say stop bitching because I do get paid for it, but …. need to vent over the time it took, so I am bitching away!

At the beginning of the year he came to me and asked if I would give him a hand with Social Studies as he didn’t have any school specialist personnel like the Math and Reading Departments. He said he would pay me an extra $500 a month, total $5000 for the year. I, of course, said yes, and as they say, the rest is history; except one of the powers that be decided to change the way we would get paid, so I have not yet seen what was agreed upon. Hmm, maybe this month.

Back to venting. I have spent more time on the computer than ever before. I can’t type. I hen pick! A friend did give me a typing program to learn to type, and I told myself I would do it this summer. So far, it is still in the box. I have spent the whole year writing tests, going to meetings, S.S. fairs, and now rewriting the curriculum guide. Another person working on the guides asked me not too long ago if I was aware we were going to rewrite the whole thing. No! At the time he had only mentioned Unit 1 because he was not happy with it. Not a problem. I can do that! Then we hear he wants them all done, and by the end of the month as he is going on vacation. Me, too; so for the past 2 weeks I have been rewriting the 4th Grade Social Studies framework and curriculum guide for the county.

Now as I said before, I don’t type. I can cut and paste, but I am not necessarily good with formatting; give me the format, and I can almost work with it without too many problems, but when you tell me what you want without a template, I break out in a cold sweat!

I took the old 4th Grade curriculum guide and rewrote it the way he wanted it. It was a lot of work. Now keep in mind, I was on the committee to write these last year. I was on the 5th Grade committee, and I know we did a lot of work on it. He wasn’t happy with some grades, so everything is getting redone.

Since I am out of the classroom and working in Math, I do not know the 4th Grade S.S. curriculum. I had to go through the TEs with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything he wanted was in the guide; not only the core materials, but any additional materials, too; novels, teaching guides, websites; anything extra the teachers could use. The teacher working on the 1st Grade guide emailed me recently and asked if her hours were reasonable; 40 hours for only half the units; I emailed her back, “Yes”, I put in over 70 hours for the 8 units I did.

Ok, back to my typing. I know it slows me down, but so did the formatting; bullets for this, bullets for that, margins so wide, outside boarder (how?), take out text box (how? ). I did finally get brave at one meeting and admit I was not technologically savvy. He laughed because he knows I know more about it than he does! He laughed because he is getting a Blackberry; which does everything; and he won’t have a clue as to how to use it.

I did finish the 4th Grade Social Studies guides Thursday, sent them to him Friday, am meeting with him Monday, and going on vacation Tuesday. Let’s hope nothing more needs to be done!!!!!

IDOT SIGHTINGS

Just a little humor to pass along. Enjoy!

We had to have the garage door repaired. The Sears repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener. I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one Sears made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower. He shook his head and said, 'Lady, you need a 1/4 horsepower.' I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4. He said, 'NO, it's not.' Four is larger than two..
We haven't used Sears repair since.

My daughter and I went through the McDonald's take-out window and I gave the clerk a $5 bill. Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her a quarter. She said, 'you gave me too much money.' I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar bill back. She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request. I did so, and he handed me back the quarter, and said 'We're sorry but we could not do that kind of thing.' The clerk then proceeded to give me back $1 and 75 cents in change..
Do not confuse the clerks at McDonald's.

I live in a semi rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road. The reason: 'Too many deer are being hit by cars out here!' I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'
From Kingman , KS .

My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.' He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.
From Kansas City

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?' He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'Happened in Birmingham , Ala.

The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine. She asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, 'What on earth are blind people doing driving?!'
She was a probation officer in Wichita , KS

At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear coworker. She was leaving the company due to 'downsizing.' Our manager commented cheerfully, 'This is fun. We should do this more often.' Not another word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the-headlights stare.This was a lunch at Texas Instruments.

I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the sake of her life, couldn't understand why her system would not turn on.
A deputy with the Dallas County sheriff’s office, no less.

When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. 'Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'It's open!' His reply, 'I know. I already got that side.'
This was at the Ford dealership in Canton , MS

STAY ALERT! They walk among us... and they VOTE and they REPRODUCE

Memories of a Small Town

Two friends recently blogged about where they grew up; shared some childhood memories. So I figured, what the heck, why not;
here goes.
I grew up in the small suburban town of Dover, MA. It is located about 30 minutes southwest of Boston. I grew up there because my parents were given the land as a wedding gift by my father's parents; though one of my grandfather's sisters did argue she gave it to them as a gift. My paternal grandfather grew up in Dover. We lived next door to his family's house, where his sisters lived for years. The house is still there, but it is no longer in the family. We went to the same school he attended. It is also still there, but no longer used as a school. When we had a party line, one of his sisters was one of the operators.
Dover has a small quaint center of town. When giving directions to people from out of town, we would tell them not to blink, as they would miss the center of town. To this day, there is only one traffic light, and it is located in the center of town. The only sidewalks are found in the center of town. In the very center is the Town Hall. It used to house the police station, the library, as well as the town offices; a new library, police station, fire station, and post office have since been built. There is a volunteer police and fire department. The Town Hall has a tree they light every Christmas; red and white lights. There is the Drug Store; a few years ago it became a deli when the proprietor passed away. When we were kids, our dentist had an office over the Drug Store. He would give us wooden nickels to get ice cream cones there after our visits; one way to keep us coming back! There is one gas station (owned by a friend’s father when growing up, threw Christmas parties), a private school, a former public school, two churches, and a cemetery - where we would hang out on the stonewall for lack of nothing better to do. There is one small grocery store, Higgins; you really need to want to buy something badly to pay their prices; and attached to it, a package store (liquor store to some of you); that's where even today, you can catch up on the local gossip. The other place to do so is the American Legion. It is the local watering hole and used for many
functions.
There was not a whole lot to do in Dover; in the winter ice skate at Channing Pond, in the summer play tennis and watch baseball games or attend a little two week half day arts and crafts camp. Even though Dover didn't offer a lot to do, we stayed busy. We rode our bikes or walked everywhere. We knew everybody, and everybody knew us; which was not always a good thing if you were doing something you didn't want your parents to know about. Dover is still this way today. The per capita income is higher, the houses bigger and more expensive, but the population has not grown
a lot.
When I was growing up, Dover had a population of about 4,000; the census was done door to door; I know firsthand because my mother had my older sister and myself doing it one year to make extra money. Not worth it. Babysitting was a lot more lucrative! The population has not grown in leaps and bounds. It is still very
small.
Though Dover itself does not have a lot to offer, the areas around it do. Most people go north to ski in the winter; I did not learn to ski till I was in college. In the summer, most people head to the ocean; along the North Shore or down to Cape Cod. We spent my father's three week summer vacation (he was a sales rep for Raytheon) in Mattapoisett; not quite on the Cape, we didn't go over the bridge. My grandfather's sister Julia; we called Juju; had a house there. It was shared by three families, all related; we all got 3 weeks. Each summer a different one of the families would get the week of the 4th. It was a great place to spend the three weeks. We took swimming lessons and sailing lessons. We bowled at the local bowling alley. We hung out at the beach and at friends' houses. We went exploring to Cradle Rock. We got ice cream from the ice cream truck - we would listen with anticipation for the bell every afternoon. We went quahoging and scalloping. I hated this part. We had to bring enough quahogs home for my mother to make quahog chowder. I hated walking in the dark murky mud at low tide where these were found. We had to wear sneakers, so we would not cut the bottoms of our feet on the shells. I did like the quahog chowder! We spent hours in the sun. We survived many sunburns. My sister has returned since. I have not been back in years.
When I was old enough, I got "mother's helper" jobs for the summer. I worked on the North Shore and Cape Cod. I preferred Cape Cod. When I was in college, I got a job as a cook for a couple on the Cape. My summer jobs paid for my college education. When I was a senior in college, my parents bought and later built a house on Cape Cod. We spent a number of fun summers there. We no longer have the house, but I still enjoy going to the Cape.
Dover is close enough to Boston, we could take the train or the MTA into the city; to go shopping or to Red Sox games. We would go to Filene's Basement right before Easter to get our new Easter clothes! We could visit the many museums Boston has to offer. We are an hour from Salem, Marblehead, and Gloucester and about 30 minutes from Plimoth Plantation. We are also about an hour from
Newport, RI.
Dover has gone through many changes, though the center of town has remained the same. There are new subdivisions and bigger houses, but many of the people I grew up with have remained either in Dover or in the area. It is still a nice place to raise a family as my sister decided to do when she bought the family house. I enjoy returning to Dover every chance I get.

Never Judge a Book by Its Cover

Many times we forget lessons we were taught as children. We get arrogant and judgemental before ever really getting to know someone. There's a saying we were taught when we were younger, "Never judge a book by its cover." How often do we hear this? Not necessarily on a regular basis, but often enough. If you haven't heard of Susan Boyle or seen her video (she has been on a number of the talk shows this week), you need to do so. This is the best example I have ever seen or heard of that supports this saying. Susan Boyle is a 47 year old Scottish woman with a big dream. The facial expressions of the audience and the judges before and after the performance are priceless. Talk about "you've got talent", this woman has it. Lots of luck to her. I hope her dreams come true, and she becomes a success.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il5TBgD9kHI&feature=related
I tried to download the video from youtube, but my computer skills are lacking in this area. If this link does not work, go to youtube and look for Susan Boyle. I highly recommend the video. She will amaze you.

Facebook

I heard on the radio, on the ride to school this morning, Facebook is causing problems with teenagers as far as it is taking away from studying. It is hurting their grades. I can understand that. I have tried for a week to get some school work done but end up on Facebook instead.
I was talking to a teacher after school, telling her I liked the wedding pictures she had posted on Facebook. She said she really enjoyed Facebook. I shared with her what I had heard on the radio, and she responded with, "Never mind the kids, what about the adults?"
I have to agree with her. We talked about how we have to limit our time on Facebook, or we would be on there all the time. I come home and make sure I get everything I need to get done before I get on Facebook or nothing would be accomplished. Then I try to get off by 8:00; 9:00 at the latest. I need some down time before I turn in for the night.
I, finally today, got back to exercising. Facebook is not what interfered with exercise (though I would like to blame it on that) - when I get off my schedule, it is real hard for me to get back on it; not disciplined enough. So, I figured I could kill two birds with one stone, get the exercise I need and take time away from the computer and Facebook. Now I have to have work and exercising done before I get on Facebook, and still get off by 9:00.
Maybe I can start cutting down my time on Facebook a little at a time, slow withdrawal! Worth a try anyway. Exercise done; not a lot of work, it can wait, off to Facebook!

What Nationality Would You Like to be Other Than Your Own?

Part 2

"Céad míle fáilte"

(pronounced: kayud meela failte')

"A Hundred Thousand Welcomes"!

The question "What nationality would you like to be other than your own?" got me thinking about my grandparents. As previously mentioned in Part 1, my maternal grandparents were straight off the boat from Ireland. These are their passport pictures.
My grandmother, Ellen "Nellie" Ahern, arrived in Boston on June 11, 1920, at the age of 23. She was from Killorglin, outside of Killarney, in County Kerry. My grandfather, Timothy Sullivan, arrived in Boston on November 20, 1920, at the age of 21. He was from Skibbereen, in County Cork. They came to escape the oppression and poverty in Ireland. In my grandmother's case, her father insisted she emigrate despite leaving a boyfriend in Ireland. The myth perpetuated in "the old country" was that America's streets were paved in gold.
They met by accident. My grandfather's sister Bridie and my grandmother worked as domestics in Brookline, MA. Grandpa knocked on the door to visit Bridie one day, but instead the door was opened by my grandmother. He had the wrong house. Love at first sight!!!! And the rest, as they say, is history. (Many thanks to my Aunt Helen for the background information.)
My grandmother had a sister in Boston. She also worked as a domestic throughout her life. Her name was Katherine; friends and employers called her "Kate" or "Katie". We, her great nieces and nephews, called her "Gogo". I don't remember how that came about. She lived above my grandparents when we were kids, so we visited with her often when we visited my grandparents.
My grandparents settled in an area of Boston known as "Mission Hill". It was an Irish community. The focal point of the community was the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mission Church. They raised four daughters there. Over the years I remember my mother mentioning people she would run into from "Mission Hill".
I have many fond memories of my grandmother, called Nana by her grandchildren. My older sister and I spent many nights with her. She would get up every morning, rain or shine, and walk to the 7:00 Mass. She would tell us to stay in bed until she returned. She would then get us up for breakfast. I remember the hot sweet tea and her Irish bread. I still drink hot tea, but now without the sugar. She made wonderful Irish bread, which I didn't know till years later was also called Irish Soda Bread. She would make it in any pan or can she had available; bread pans, coffee tins. We asked her for the recipe, but she didn't have one. It was a pinch of this, a handful of that. We couldn't write down the amounts because she didn't know the measurements. Her bread is long gone; just a memory of toasted with lots of melting butter and maybe jelly or sometimes with peanut butter spread over the slices lingers. Yum!
On her street, Calumet Street, in one direction, on a corner was a candy store. In another direction, down the street, on another corner, was a neighborhood grocery store. It carried everything from groceries to more. I remember a doll I especially liked in that grocery store. We would walked to both often. It is a wonder we didn't have more cavities from the candy store. Remember penny candy!?
We would play with some of the neighborhood kids. We were the novelty in her neighborhood. We were from the suburbs.
We used to kid my grandmother about her accent. She would just laugh and tell us we had the funny accent. We would ask her to say words in Gaelic. She would. I remember asking her to say a "cuss" word in Gaelic, figuring if I used it, no one would know what I was saying. She wouldn't do it. :(
Over the years, members of my family, including myself, have looked up members of my grandmother's and my grandfather's families back in Ireland. I was fortunate enough to look up cousins in Skibbereen back in 2006.
I miss my grandparents and the stories of the "old country" they would tell with their Irish brogues. We would ask my grandmother if it was a British soldier boyfriend she had left behind, as that was something not done in her day; dating an Englishman. We would ask my grandfather about the IRA, and I know I grew up thinking he had been a runner for them. What imaginations we had when we would think about what they had left behind, not knowing the half of it, the politics and the poverty.
I remember being asked as an adult if I was Lace Curtain Irish or Shanty Irish. I had to admit I was Shanty Irish but was not the least bit embarrassed about it. My grandparents came to America to make a new life for themselves and would be very proud of their surviving daughters and what they and their families and the third generation kids have accomplished.
I was named after my grandmother. My middle name is Ellen. So no, there is no other nationality I would like to be.

"Éirinn go brách"

(pronounced: Erin go braugh)

"Ireland Forever"!

What Nationality Would You Like to be Other Than Your Own?

Part 1
Not too long ago I did a 50 question survey on Facebook. The last question was: What nationality would you like to be other than your own? I didn't have to think twice about my answer: None. I was raised Irish Catholic. We, my 5 siblings and I, were brought up to be very proud of our Irish heritage. My mother's parents were straight off the boat from Ireland and settled in the Boston area. My father was 3rd generation Irish, and his family settled just outside of Boston. When John F. Kennedy became President, what more could we ask for!? I was only 5 at the time and still remember the excitement of his election. Ok, I am showing my age!
I was raised in a suburb of Boston, but still remember all the Irish influences inside and outside of the city.
One was the music. Irish music was very popular with my parents, not so with their children. We did not gain an appreciation of the music till many years later. Even though as kids, we would complain about the Boston radio station that played Irish music every Saturday all day long, when I was in Ireland a couple of years ago, I bought a CD of Irish music my father had listened to and loved. When the radio station wasn't playing Irish music, my father had the music on the reel to reel tape player he was so proud of; no 8 tracks, cassettes, or CDs existed at that time! When my brothers and sisters got married, the bands had to be able to play at least one Irish song. If not, my father and two uncles would get up; to the embarrassment of us all, cousins included; and sing a song or two or three ..... depending on the hour of the day and how much they had imbibed!
St. Patrick's Day was always a treat for us. We would go into Boston and watch the parade and here again, be serenaded by Irish music, both by the bands in the parade and my parents (neither were singers by any means). And yes, we would eat corned beef and cabbage for dinner!
I did try to learn the Irish Jig for International Night in high school, but my two left feet came into play, and I was never able to get the foot work right!
I enjoy what the Irish culture brings with it; the songs, the tales, the language, the land, the history. One of the biggest thrills of my travels was to be able to visit Ireland, and I hope to return there one day.
So no, there is no other nationality I would rather be other than my own.

The Whole World Wide Web is Watching!

It is people like this that brought about ID10T. What are people thinking? This is an article NEA sent out in a recent online newsletter. It is pretty long, but then again there are that many idiots out there!

The Whole World (Wide Web) is Watching

Cautionary tales from the 'what-were-you-thinking' department.

Way back in 1974, California teacher and aspiring actor Lou Zivkovich famously was fired for posing nude in Playgirl magazine. His response, as reported by Newsweek, "I didn't murder anyone."
Nowadays, thanks to advances in technology, you don't even need a major publisher to get fired; just post your racy photos, sexually graphic writings, or wild party stories on a personal Web blog. You'll be amazed by how quickly tech-savvy students can disseminate your postings to their friends and your employer.
Here's a roundup of some of the recent horror stories:
In Virginia, high school art teacher Stephen Murmer was fired after posting photos of his "butt art" on the Web, which were viewed by scores of students. The budding artist applied paint to his posterior and genitalia, which he then pressed onto canvases. With the help of the ACLU, he sued the school district last fall claiming a violation of his First Amendment rights.
Band director Scott Davis from Broward County, Florida, was dismissed after school officials viewed his MySpace profile that included his musings about sex, drugs, and depression.
A Colorado English teacher lost her job after composing and posting sexually explicit poetry on her MySpace site. Police were even called in to investigate.
Nashville teacher Margaret Thompson was removed from teaching after posting "racy pictures" of herself, along with candid photos of her students, on her MySpace profile.
Florida middle school teacher John Bush was terminated because of "offensive" and "unacceptable " photos and information on his MySpace page.
Massachusetts teaching assistant and Massachusetts Teachers Association member Keath Driscoll was first suspended and then fired for his MySpace postings including "sexually suggestive" photographs, videos of drinking alcohol, and references to women as "whores." MTA took his case to arbitration and won almost a complete victory. In a decision dated March 24, 2008, the arbitrator ruled that Driscoll should not have been fired and ordered him reinstated with back pay, seniority, and benefits. The arbitrator did conclude, however, that Driscoll had engaged in misconduct that warranted some form of discipline, which he determined to be a three-day suspension.]
But the clueless award goes to Atlanta-area high school football coach Donald Shockley, who was forced to resign in early 2008 for storing on his school computer photos of his assistant principal dressed in lingerie and posing in sexually suggestive ways. The photos were discovered by a student whom Shockley had asked to work on his computer and who then posted the photos on the Internet and sent them to other students at the school.
In October 2007, reporters for The Columbus Dispatch conducted an investigation of MySpace profiles posted by Ohio teachers. The newspaper quoted one 25-year-old teacher bragging that she's "an aggressive freak in bed," "sexy," and "an outstanding kisser." Another teacher wrote on her page that she had recently "gotten drunk," "taken drugs," and "gone skinny-dipping."
In the wake of these reports, the Ohio Education Association urged all OEA members to remove any personal profiles they may have posted on MySpace or Facebook. The Association also warned members that such profiles "can be used as evidence in disciplinary proceedings," which could "affect not only a teacher's current job but his/her teaching license" as well.
But what about free speech? Don't school employees have the right, on their own time, to blog about their private lives without fear of losing their jobs? Probably not.
It's the general rule that school employees can be disciplined for off-duty conduct if the school district can show that the conduct had an adverse impact on the school or the teacher's ability to teach. And it wouldn't be too difficult to make that showing if the teacher's blog includes sexually explicit or other inappropriate content and is widely viewed by students.
As to a possible free speech claim, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2004 that it was not a violation of the First Amendment for the City of San Diego to fire a police officer for posting a sexually explicit video of himself on the Internet. The unanimous Court said that such speech was "detrimental to the mission and functions of the employer."
And last year, a U.S. District Court ruled that a Connecticut school district's decision to fire a probationary teacher because of his postings to his MySpace page did not violate the teacher's First Amendments rights. The court called the online exchanges between the teacher and his students "inappropriate" and added that "such conduct could very well disrupt the learning atmosphere of the school."
There's an old lawyer's saw that goes something like this: Never put in writing anything that you wouldn't want read in open court or by your mother.
Maybe it's time for an updated adage: Never put in electronic form anything that you wouldn't want viewed by a million people, including your colleagues, students, and supervisors-and your mother.
Michael D. Simpson

NEA Office of General Counsel

Can you believe these people!? Problem: I D 10 T!

Footnote to the Lesson Plans

Lesson plans are completed. A bunch of us complained but were told if asked, the Math Department can say they are in place for those who need them. Ok, I can see that. They are optional, not required; at this time anyway. With the way things change, who knows what they will be saying in the next day, week, or month. But now I can concentrate on other things on the weekends and upcoming Spring Break; like a "social life"!