Tuesday, August 31, 2010

An Invasion of Privacy?

Recently the LA Times published a list rating teachers on how well they prepared students for the California Standardized Test. The list was released online and immediately became hugely popular. Teachers, as represented by their union, complained that this ranking did not accurately reflect the quality of their work. The School district evaluates the teachers by using more than just that one measure. In other words, the teacher's effectiveness is not based solely on how well their students did on the tests. You can read about this story by clicking here. Many educators argue that the problem with schools today is that teachers are encouraged to teach children how to pass standardized tests while not necessarily focusing on a child's individual needs. Here's my question. Do you think it was an invasion of privacy for the Times to publish this list of individualized names? As a public employee, do the teachers' have an argument that their rankings should not be published? Are they justified in complaining that the story does not accurately reflect their effectiveness in the classroom? How would you feel if you were a government employee and details about your performance were released without your consent?

P.S. please sign your name at the end of the blog reply. I can't tell from some of your usernames who to give credit to. For example, in the last post i'm not sure who Bethann, David, Hunter, Emdaco, or Nick is. We have a couple of David's and a couple of Nick's. Please specify who you are under your reply.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Welcome to the Semester

Hello and welcome to the new semester. This week we start blogging assignments. Each week i'll post a topic and in two paragraphs i'd like you to respond. Every week you respond, you get 4pts. Over time those points will build. So here's the first blog

Dr. Laura, a popular talk radio host, announced recently that after several years she has decided to not renew her radio contract, effectively quitting radio. This comes on the heels of an incident where many accused her of being racist in regards to an incident where she used the "n" word in response to a caller's question.

This is not the first time her comments have gotten her in trouble. In the past, she has made remarks that infuriated homosexuals. That particular incident probably cost her a television show as well as losing several sponsors for her.

Dr. Laura claimed she is quitting radio to regain her first amendment rights. Read this article for her comments. The article also has links to her original radio comments as well as her apology and further commentary. What do you think about both her initial comments that got her into trouble and her reasoning for why she is leaving radio. Was she being racist, was the caller oversensitive, was she sincere in her apology?