Academic Freedom Is "Anti-Freedom?"

Every time I think I have problems...I can just read how people are allowed to have opinions on college campuses. If you approach things from the far right (or far left), then any teaching from the other side is perhaps the key threat to everything that makes America so awesome.

A colleague of mine from Weslaco compared the Tea Party to Nazis. He is apparently liberal, and that is unacceptable to conservative bloggers. Eventually, enough of these blogs picked up the YouTube video a student made of the lecture (which doesn't come up in a typical search on the site). Even from the video, I can see how things were taken out of context by these "journalists." Then, actual press corps members got involved by reporting on what the blogs were saying. This is how non-stories become part of the news culture. [Props to the Beaumont Enterprise for reposting the story--along with this story about a Middle Eastern "honor killing." Ummm, stay classy, Beaumont.]

The student, a future "anonymous" leader of the faceless masses, decided to record the class period because "it's wrong for him [instructor] to use his position as a soap box for his beliefs, especially with young, impressionable students." How refreshing that a community college student deeply understands that the idiots in this class are too stupid to realize how insightful I am. 

Meanwhile, other professors--at, say, "different" types of institutions, operate from a stronger sense of entitlement.  Consider a Harvard professor who has some anger issues. Other institutions are dealing with situations like professors "having sex with the grandkids" or citing a cat instead of a graduate student in published research and then claiming espionage. My fear? A professor gets disciplined or terminated for speaking his mind--i.e., professing. Blogs like this only work to make things uncomfortable until they get THEIR way from a place they've never been. Demand action. Walk away. Avoid responsibility. Gripe about anything else to cover a lack of substance or your own flat-out evil.

So--while I read "The Blaze" griping about a community college professor on a campus they can't find on a map--I listen to discussions about American torture. The Blaze has decided to ask the author of "Black Hawk Down" about "coercive methods" and dig for things in paragraph 17 of the New York Times story. Also on this future-Pulitzer-Prize-winning site (text size kept):

Mysterious Death of College Gymnast Found in Dumbwaiter Finally Explained

(FINALLY!)

and

Nebraska Woman Invites Guy Over, Then Beats Him With a Hammer

(Hint: The Blaze is run by a very lonely man that has issues with women.)

I read quotes from "Red State," which should be a scary name to any of my readers. What, you ask, would the next Walter Cronkite have to say about this lecture?

"Clearly, this professor knows more about talking points than he does either the tea party or the Nazis." 

Clearly.

Really? How does a community college professor from an outer campus of a community college have such a strong knowledge of "talking points?" Did he leave his job as Barney Frank's Chief of Staff to take this job? Just grab words and phrases like "liberal media" and "talking points." No reason to do anything other than slam the other side. This issue isn't even a debate--the other side flat-out does not care.

Fortunately for "anonymous boy," sites like The Blaze and Red China State will diligently work toward the end that "young, impressionable students" will NEVER hear from the left.  Eventually, these young, impressionable minds will happen upon the "Fair and Balanced" approach of Fox News. The pipeline will be secured. After all, only one side has any value, whatsoever.

Any self-respecting Nazi knows that.

Researchers Have Feelings, Too--No, Really!

This Powerful Picture, Ilustradores con Ayotzinapa, came from a really good blog post. You can follow #IlustradoresConAyotzinapa on this Tumblr site.

I was surprised yesterday by an email announcement coming from the American Educational Research Association, specifically AERA's Division J--Postsecondary Education. (It's kind of a large group.) From the division's website:

The mission of Division J is to advance research on postsecondary education with the goal of developing and testing theory, improving practice and informing policy decisions.

So...why would a group of researchers make an official, strongly-worded political statement about student protests?

Good question, Paul!

A statement like the one below shows how researchers are not disassociated from the rest of the education world. Much like "techies" in other areas, their specialized skills do not invalidate their inherent human qualities.

Sometimes we like to think that way, but statements like this one disprove that mindset. We may work in higher education for different personal reasons, but the overarching mantra is that our mission involves students. That is true for staff as much as it is true of faculty.

This was nice to see.  I hope it holds meaning for readers, as well:

Official Statement On the Recent Deaths of Forty-Three College Students from Ayotzinapa’s Normal School in Guerrero, Mexico
Student activism has a long legacy of forging social change across the Americas. Like many other noted episodes in this history of activism, college students in Ayotzinapa’s Normal School recently traveled to Chilpancigo, Mexico—capital of the Mexican state of Guerrero—to peacefully protest the increasing university fees and imposed governmental reforms. Forty-three college students from Ayotzinapa’s Normal School formed part of a larger national campaign that sought to commemorate the many college students who were killed by Mexican national forces in 1968. Ironically, rather than having their protests heard, local and state authorities responded with violence, military retaliation, and blatant excessive force. Not only did the local government trample their rights to protest but they also violated their human rights, resulting in the immediate death of six and the disappearance of forty-three (who were all recently confirmed deceased).

The retaliation from the Mexican government sent a message that social activism and mobilization will not be tolerated. As educators, we have an obligation to speak out against injustices where student rights are being violated in such an inhumane manner. We are all global citizens and cannot pretend to ignore the devastation that our fellow students have endured. We should not sit idly when these students acted courageously in exercising their right to peacefully protest and have their voices heard. These young men and women were bravely speaking out against injustice, standing up for a better future for their respective communities, and exercising their right to peacefully assemble. Their deaths should not have a chilling effect on those young and old among us who demand greater accountability from our public officials and our respective governments.
May their souls rest in peace, and may their spirit of social activism live on as a solemn reminder and a renewed legacy to future generations of college student activists.  

Unbelievable Irony

EDITORIAL: STC tax debated -- Discosure could force rollback election

Sometimes, you just can't match the reality you face in life.

My beloved president, Dr. Shirley Reed, was chastised for being unclear during an election.  I'm not sure which elections have candidates that run spin-free, crystal-clear campaigns.  Dr. Reed was not running for office, though.  South Texas College was looking to pass a bond, along with the money to run the buildings to be constructed by bond monies.

The issue was 3.5 cents per $100 valuation, split into two separate elections.  Both passed.

One year later, anti-tax activists are threatening a roll-back election, and the Monitor's editorial board chose to chastise Dr. Reed over the situation.  The totals were given openly.  The effects were discussed openly.  Apparently, the amount of money it would cost a typical homeowner as not enough information.  Rather, this had to be given as a percentage of increase for the editorial board to understand "how much" this would cost.

I've been impressed with the patience of my president in handling situations like this.  I've been surprised at how this editorial board often tries to blame everybody surrounding them--

• as though it would have been too "investigative" to run a simple math equation, themselves
• or too "one-sided" to see through the spin coming toward them
• or, for that matter, to just EDIT.

The final statements of the McAllen Monitor's Sunday editorial read like this:

​We’re disappointed that STC didn’t dot all its I’s and cross all it’s T’s​, because that places STC and other taxing entities in the county in a vulnerable spot ​in the eyes of voters.

Whether you would dot a capital letter isn't going to be my biggest issue, but it could be. Comma use? Whatever.  Italicization? Nah...

Did you read the TITLE of the editorial?  There.  Too ridiculous to analyze further.  My feelings are fully discosed.

Point fingers.  Just do it standing in front of a mirror.

NCLB for Higher Education

Photo from Dewey21C

Last month, Brian Mitchell, the Director of the Edvance Foundation, penned a blog titled, At-Risk Students and the College Scorecard. Here is a nugget from that editorial piece:

Let's agree that some schools do a terrible job and should close or merge. The danger is, however, that the less resourced ones who do heroic work with diverse populations of all types might be pushed into the endangered category.

In my estimation, this began with all of the for-profit institutions that shot up, (with a lot of them headquartered in Arizona). They took advantage of student-based funding, advertised college like it was cheap auto insurance, and then walked away from their own student bodies. Students were left with large debts and useless degrees. These institutions should close. Unfortunately, we are once-again seeing the lowest common denominator determining the institutional lives of an entire education sector. Again. This is the next step in what will become the No Child Left Behind of higher education. Higher education knows this outcome very well.

Colleges already face a long list of accountability measures. Ask any accreditation officer at any institution. U.S. News & World Report practically kept itself financially afloat through their "rankings" publications. However, they did a very nice job of pretty much giving everybody some reason to celebrate (multiple lists by location, price, area of study, etc.). Money Magazine's recent listing was ridiculous. I've seen some awful institutions listed among their "best." 

Each course of study--each academic department--has another set of criteria to meet through their associations. Music departments scurry to meet music standards; nursing departments struggle mightily to meet  program certification standards. Even innovative programs need to become nationally certified. The list is enormous for some institutions.

Add to this the demands that come from states. State colleges and universities become fodder for political battles, as well as slaves to multiple masters. Even at the community college level, things have gotten more onerous. Texas has implemented a new funding mechanism for community colleges called "Success Points." In short, 10% of a community college's funding depends on whether the students achieve certain targets, and that percentage is expected to grow in coming years.

Thus begins the vicious cycle. Problematic community colleges will lose funds--ergo, they will get worse. I'm fortunate to work at one of the most successful community colleges in the nation. However, pay-for-performance is problematic for individual public school teachers. 

Photo from Northwest Evaluation Association

Moving this concept to higher education makes less sense. Driving it at the institutional level is just a ridiculous idea.

When I was working in K-12 public education policy, I used to tell people that lawmakers, government officials, news agencies, and the general public see schools in one of two terms--kids or money. The same can be said for higher education. If the entire goal is to make, say, a Methodist liberal arts college more fiscally efficient, then this reaches beyond the scope of the public education debate. It's yet another way that government is working to control the efforts of higher education--all of it--in terms of money. It ignores the young (and not-so-young) adults that comprise the hearts and souls of these institutions.

While I am a BIG fan of Systems Thinking, the individual development of the American higher education system is its greatest strength. This is a monstrous effort to turn what we have into something it was never meant to be in the first place. We have throngs of foreign students looking for opportunities to study in the United States. That should be a sign of how powerful our current "system" is.

As Dr. Mitchell put it, "What a tragedy if federal policy meant to inform consumers effectively forced changes in admission practices that squeezed out local innovation." 

Unfortunately, I can already see that happening. Again.

How to Report a Hijacked Facebook Account (I Think...)

Four-step process.  These steps seem to work.

Click on the three dots next to "Message"

Choose the "Fake Account" option

Click on "Other"

Report the account AND block the account

Getting Heard in Houston This Week

On Wednesday night, the city council in Houston is set to vote on HERO (Houston Equal Rights Ordinance). Houston is deciding whether to join Pflugerville ISD and other local government entities in recognizing the rights of the LGBT community. These are historic times, and you have a chance to effect positive (or negative) change this week.

Here is the edited text of an email I received from a friend and former colleague of mine. If you wish to make a statement, Tim Bacon's pointers will help you.

The council meets again on the Human Rights Ordinance this coming Wednesday from 9 AM to late in the evening. They will vote this time. So any contacts you generate will need to be done by the end of the work day on Tuesday. Today and Monday, since city hall isn't open, you could generate emails. On Tuesday, email will still be received, but telephone calls are more effective at that point.

The ministers working against us have generated calls from all over the country. That opens using those questionable actions to us and, in my opinion, makes it necessary to follow suit. You don't have to say where you live, though if asked for a zip code give it accurately. 

Be sure to remind others of some important points:

1. Be polite. Be personal.
2. Give your name and any other info for which you are asked.
3. It is highly unlikely you will talk to the council person you call. You'll talk to an employee. Ask them to give your message to the council person.
4. State that you are in favor of the ordinance.
5. Tell why. Add any personal experiences you want to support your position.
6. Ask the council person to vote yes.
7. Say thanks.

It is not necessary to make contacts to each council person. Below are names, emails and phone numbers that are crucial to contact. Email and call each of them.

• Jerry Davis districtb@houstontx.gov 832 393 3009
• Dave Martin districte@houstontx.gov 832 393 3008
• Stephen Costello atlarge1@houstontx.gov 832 393 3014
• C.O. 'Brad' Bradford atlarge4@houstontx.gov 832 393 3012
• Jack Christie atlarge5@houstontx.gov 832 393 3017
• Dwight Boykins districtd@houstontx.gov 832 393 3001
• Richard Nguyen districtf@houstontx.gov 832 393 3002
• Michael Kubosh atlarge3@houstontx.gov 832 393 3005

Thanks so much for anything you can do. Enjoy.

Here is an example from my Sent Mail folder. It's a big picture because the text is small.

May we live in a time when this is no longer an issue.

To an Anonymous STC Student

It was a miserable day for me, capped off by a long, frustrating meeting. STC has a lot going on, both visible and under the radar. On top of that, I've been having a rough patch in life. My family has fallen apart. At times, I struggle with my decision to come here...and stay here.

And then I see someone like you.

Your car was next to mine, and I saw you coming to the car as I was getting out of mine for that ridiculous meeting. After the meeting, a drained, middle-aged man was schlepping back to his car at 5:30 p.m. There you were--still.

• You were sleeping. (Exhausted from a schedule that has many components)
• Your study materials were next to you, open. ("When you pass out, you have put in 100%.")
• You had a high school graduation tassel from 2013. (My daughter will graduate in 2 weeks.)
• You had pictures of very young children on your visor. (Mom?)
• You were still at STC. (A 6 p.m. final? Need to sleep before taking the kids back?)

I may have only looked at you for about 15 seconds (including the pic), but at that moment I realized that this was going to be worth it. Not easy, but worth it. I've got a daughter about your age. I hope she shows your moxie next year. I hope I'm showing a similar attitude.

Last weekend, STC graduated 4,800 students. Someday, you will be one of those. Your degree (or certificate) from us doesn't guarantee happiness. On the other hand, it will be documentation that you can learn, you can grow, and you can stick with things until they are complete. Those kinds of skills are critical to a happy work and family life. STC can be a powerful, useful tool for you the rest of your life. If you are a 19-year old single mom collapsing during finals week, I think your future may be bright. You just have to get to that future.

Happy to help, girl. Happy to help.