The comment lines (and even the good old land line!) have been heating up over Monday's school board meeting and the Bulldog hacker incident.
There are all sorts of rumors going around:
- kids used sophisticated hacking software
- the administration profiled kids and stopped dishing out suspensions when they realized it wasn't just the usual troublemakers with the password on their computers
- the school didn't want the bad PR of suspending half the student body (as if they haven't gotten enough bad press already)
- two creative kids confessed to having the forbidden password last Tuesday, just in time to get a two-day suspension that allowed them to take a five-day weekend hunting trip
...The Bulldog Blog. Every administrator, teacher, and student in Madison High School has a computer. (Every board member probably does too -- how else would they get the Madville Times?) Imagine if there were one site where everyone in the school could engage the entire community in an open, frank discussion of everything going on in the school.
Example 1: The kids have a beef with the apparently selective punishments handed out. The kids who got suspended could post their names. The kids who had the password (and it sounds like half the school, at least) but didn't get suspended could post their names. Then we could look at the lists and have a clearer picture of the scenario the school faced.
Example 2: Principal Knowlton has been getting a fair number of questions about her decisions in issuing the suspensions. A number of those questions she can't answer -- FERPA, code of ethics, etc. But a number of questions she could answer. She could take ten minutes to compose a reasonable blog post, outlining in general what information she had, what policies she followed, and what changes, if any, she thinks the policy might require for future incidents.
Example 3: MHS IT guru Todd Beutler is surely getting questions about just what steps the school is taking to secure the network. He's a busy guy, and he surely doesn't want to spill details that would help future hackers. But he could take just a minute to take the issue logs and other reports he already does, cut and paste a few relevant details into a blog, and presto! openness and transparency in IT.
Example 4: the board members didn't have a lot of information at Monday's meeting -- it was their first meeting since the hacker plague broke. Monday's executive session gave that information. They can't say names, but they could certainly talk about the general policy issues they discussed behind closed doors. Let the board members go to their computers and offer us their unvarnished opinions of what they learned and what they think ought to be done. Brookings City Councilman Tim Reed blogs, and it's great!
A couple students could set up a Bulldog blog in ten minutes. Todd Beutler doesn't have to do a thing (see, Todd? I'm trying to save you work!). Use Blogger or Wordpress or whichever service the K-12 server won't block. Set up four separate but linked blogs: Bulldog Students, Bulldog Teachers, Bulldog Admin, and Bulldog Board.
Now someone will say (actually, my lovely wife just said) "But you know what they'll say: 'We don't have time.'" Au contraire! Suppose right now 5-10 parents call the school with the same question about the hacker suspensions. Mrs. Knowlton or Mr. Postma has to give the same explanation 5-10 times. If they blog, the explanation is online, and at least a couple of those parents will read it and go, "Oh, that answers my question." Time saved!
Blogs can't answer every question. They can, however, create an air of openness, immediacy, and transparency, principles that every public and democratic institution, especially a public school, has a keen interest in fostering. Students blogging become empowered; teachers and administrators blogging become more connected. Board members blogging can organize and explain their positions outside of the pressure of a public meeting and without media filters to introduce errors.
Businesses are realizing the power of in-house blogs to strengthen community among their employees and with their customers. Madison High School should put that same power to work with The Bulldog Blog.
Would a Bulldog Blog help or fuel the rumor mill so rampant in Madison? This town is on fire with stories everytime something happens, whether it's school issues, City and County Commissioners, deputies charged and so much more. After all, if the principal did blog her side of what happened and the discipline doled out, wouldn't it just turn into a grassfire of comments from angry parents and students caught in the crosswind? I'd like to see the school give a synopsis of what actually happened, how far the kids got, if damage occurred and what discipline was done. No names, but just general truths to slow down the rampant rumors at MHS. Whether through a blog or traditional media doesn't matter. Just get some truth out there soon.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question, Anon. Does more open, public communication from folks anywhere on the totem pole make rumors burn hotter or cause them to fizzle?
ReplyDeleteIt's possible more communication on the record -- in the papers (including the student paper, the mighty Maroon, which I once wrote for), in the school newsletter, on blogs, whatever -- would actually stifle rumors. When the main players don't speak up, the rumor-mongers have power. When the main players put their stories forward and put their names to those stories, people skip the rumor-mongers and go right to the source.
You hit it right toward the end, Anon. It doesn't matter what form the truth takes, as long as people make the effort to get it out there. Blogs are one quick way to spread the truth (for those who bother to log in and read -- thanks, Anon!).