Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free Speech

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The Internet and Free Speech:

The Internet and Free Speech

Gentle readers, 
The last couple of months have been something of a strain for me. I was busy fighting a petition in court for an order of protection against me, claiming I had harassed someone via this blog and this person feared loss of their job because of the alleged harassment.

I will go into some detail about this case in another thread but suffice to say that,of course, it was without merit and summarily dismissed. I knew this from the start - as did my lawyer - but the wheels of justice can be slow.  (My lawyer and I also made a motion for a little-known law that protects citizens speaking out on subjects of public interest in a public form.  More on that as well later.)

But the broader issue - one we can open up for discussion today - is a discussion of the Internet, privacy and free speech and how they relate to each other with respect to this blog.

Charlie and I have tried valiantly to keep this an open and lively place for discussion. We have tried to keep it civil. But this case have made me realize that there are some readers who might be making assumptions about what they might believe to be "right"  for us to write versus what is legal.

So I put forth these thoughts about this blog and our work. 

 First rule: we aren't professional journalists nor have we ever said that we are. 

 

Charlie and I are bloggers and that's something of a nether world especially for writers/activists who blog.  I call myself a citizen-reporter. Both the terms "blogger" and "citizen-reporter" are recognized as media by many government entities. Is this is fair? That's for those in government to decide but I think that longevity and credibility count toward that decision and seems to have worked for me.

That said, neither of us have ever claimed to be journalists. I do the best I can - 

Louisiana Educator: Charter Schools Can Vary Greatly

Louisiana Educator: Charter Schools Can Vary Greatly:

Charter Schools Can Vary Greatly

The readers of this blog know that I am very skeptical of many of the charter schools that have proliferated in this state in recent years. I want to make it clear however that I am not opposed to all charter schools, and I do not believe that all charter schools are bad. So let's look at some of the differences among charter schools.

Recently I visited a charter school in Avoyelles Parish calledLaSAS. This is the Louisiana School for the Agricultural Sciences. It just so happens that this school is dedicated to certain goals that I believe are highly commendable. Many of the students that attend LaSAS are students that have struggled with the typical college prep courses that have been pushed incessantly by our LDOE for the last 10 or more years. The fact is that approximately 60 percent of our Louisiana students either are not college material or have interests in career fields that do not require college degrees. Even so our top education officials have attempted to prepare all students for college, just in case they should decide to try college after all.

It is clear now that the "college prep for all" program has not worked. Louisiana actually has a slightly smaller percentage of our students completing 4 year degrees than we had 10 years ago. At the same time, Louisiana industries are complaining that our educational system is no longer preparing a sufficient number of students for construction trades, welding, health care

Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other Explorations | Lefty Parent

Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other Explorations | Lefty Parent:

Coop’s Childhood Part 2 – Play, Play School & Other Explorations

January 18th, 2014 at 13:19

Me & Molly age 5

Though I was born in the 1950s with all its conventionally stark division of gender roles, my mom and dad were a pretty unorthodox couple, with a much more egalitarian relationship than the norm. They had been acquaintances and friends for a number of years before their relationship became a romantic one. They were both intellectual and athletic, and both comfortable with parenting tasks ranging from changing diapers to throwing a ball.

I believe theirs was a natural inclination to parent in the most progressive way, but it was certainly aided by the new parenting wisdom championed by the most popular pediatrician of the day, Dr. Benjamin Spock. His bestselling book, The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, challenged the rigid childrearing practices that had been prevalent since the beginning of the century that included warnings against excessive affection to prevent children from becoming spoiled or fussy. Instead, Spock advised parents to be flexible in order to treat each child as an individual. He also educated parents about the stages of child development and how to create an appropriately safe but nurturing environment for each of those stages. And perhaps most importantly for my mom and dad and how they raised me, Spock urged them to trust their own common sense, instincts, and judgment.

I don’t think I got from my parents any clear difference as to how men were 

1-18-14 Saturday Now Showing "Witch Hunter" starring Campbell Brown - Corporate Reform News Breakout

Witch Hunter 

starring Campbell Brown 

 Corporate Reform News Breakout

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WSJ Hides Conflict Of Interest In Campbell Brown's Latest Teacher Union Smear | Blog | Media Matters for America

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Morning Wink 1-18-14 AM Posts #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2

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Common Core Meeting Today 1/18/2014 in Lafayette | Crazy Crawfish's Blog

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Diane Ravitch’s Speech to the Modern Language Association about the Common Core | janresseger

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empathyeducates – Landlords for 2 Proposed Chicago Charter Schools have ties to Emanuel

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Stephen Krashen Blog 1-18-14

SKrashen:untitledKrashen presentation, January 17, 2014-01-14The ever-increasing power of reading and librariesThe world-wide threat of the common core state standards (CC$$)The ever-increasing power of reading and librariesThe latest in library studies: Predictors of NAEP grade 4, 1992, 42 states beta t P Poverty -0.45 -5.07 0 Print Access 1.12 4.3 0 r2 = .72     From: McQuillan, 1998Replicatio2 

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Education - U.S. Congress - OpenCongress:Bill Introduced: H.R. 3873: Supporting Community Schools Act of 2013To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in order to support the community schools model.7h JAN 16Bill Introduced: H.R. 3738: Broadening Opportunities Through Education ActTo direct the Secretary of Education to award grants to States that enact State laws that will make

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Ms. Jablonski's Class Blog 1-18-14

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teacherken at Daily Kos This Week 1-18-14

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All Week @ The Answer Sheet 1-18-14

The Answer Sheet:All Week @ The Answer SheetEverything you need to know about Common Core — RavitchDiane Ravitch, the education historian who has become the leader of the movement against corporate-influenced school reform, gave this speech to the Modern Language Association on Jan. 11 about the past, present and future of the Common Core State Standards. Here’s her speech: As an organization of t

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by mike simpson / 4h 

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YESTERDAY

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