Constitutional Blueprint and the Tangled Threads

All organizations and every nation require guiding principles. Rules that are more principled than the mere will of fickle humans. We agree to make laws that prevent power from tuning into tyranny. That includes the tyranny of the majority.

Local Educational News will also require a constitution. The editors, reporters, financiers and other individual must swear to obey the principles that will inform and empower the public. In turn the public must also respect the rights of individual and minorities in their expression of opinion and ideas.

The forum for this journalistic experiment will try to be open marketplace of ideas. A marketplace where media monopoly owned by elites will be dismantled by the quality of the ideas. Ideas will be rise to the top by virtue of its merits not by financial dominance.

As I write this I am visiting my family. The adults are watching TV and 10 nephew and nieces are playing with new toys. The parents all tired from work and relaxing for the holidays. I feel that most people cannot spare the time or energy to read about their schools much less participate in writing about their schools.

While talking to my cousin about education, he said, “It’s all to overwhelming.” And he is right. National, state and local regulations combined with sociological and cultural phenomena can only be penetrated with a great deal of work.

But this is why I want this project to succeed. I want this information to be more accessible and consumable, yet not dumb-downed. That way we can talk about education. If there can be meaningful dialogue then there might be meaningful progress.

Ironically, all the adult members of my family have a degree and most have a graduate degree. I shudder to think how people with fewer resources can cope with educational decisions.

So what does this have to do with a constitution? Nothing really. But untangling the massive ball of education I begin to realize there is more than one thread.

I don’t want to be the sole author of a constitution for several reasons. The main reason is that I cannot do it alone. The other reason is that it would completely contradictory to the spirit of the project.

So here is this fledgling project with nothing to guide us, but this the exciting part. This is where we can use our intellect and creativity. Sometime soon I will actively try to engage people I know who might be willing to help.

Hopefully soon my monologue will end.

Constitutional Blueprint and the Tangled Threads

All organizations and every nation require guiding principles. Rules that are more principled than the mere will of fickle humans. We agree to make laws that prevent power from tuning into tyranny. That includes the tyranny of the majority.

Local Educational News will also require a constitution. The editors, reporters, financiers and other individual must swear to obey the principles that will inform and empower the public. In turn the public must also respect the rights of individual and minorities in their expression of opinion and ideas.

The forum for this journalistic experiment will try to be open marketplace of ideas. A marketplace where media monopoly owned by elites will be dismantled by the quality of the ideas. Ideas will be rise to the top by virtue of its merits not by financial dominance.

As I write this I am visiting my family are watching TV and 10 nephew and nieces are playing with new toys. The parents all tired from work and relaxing for the holidays. I feel that most people cannot spare the time or energy to read about their schools much less participate in writing about their schools.

While talking to my cousin about education, he said, “It’s all to overwhelming.” And he is right. National, state and local regulations combined with sociological and cultural phenomena can only be penetrated with a great deal of work.

But this is why I want this project to succeed. I want this information to be more accessible and consumable, yet not dumb-downed. That way we can talk about education. If there can be meaningful dialogue then there might be meaningful progress.

Ironically, all the adult members of my family have a degree and most have a graduate degree. I shudder to think how people with fewer resources can cope with educational decisions.

So what does this have to do with a constitution? Nothing really. But untangling the massive ball of education I begin to realize there is more than one thread.

I don’t want to be the sole author of a constitution for several reasons. The main reason is that I cannot do it alone.

The funny thing is that we will need to set some ground rules for making the rules. Any suggestions?

Next week I’ll propose some of my own.

Persistence in Reporting

Thus far this blog has little useful information for the public regarding education.

But first, I wanted to make transparent the journalistic style. I still have much work to do on that front. By making the journalistic process clear for others as well as myself I hope to make the information that we gather useful and relevant.

Some of the information that we need is budget information and curriculum. These two pieces are vital. The information is out there somewhere. But it'll be buried in reports and hard to penetrate. This data will also need a context that will take much more research and reporting from us.

Persistence is key to gathering this information. Furthermore it will not be in vain. The information will be relevant for a long time. It will at least give us a historic context as we move forward.

So I implore you to go out and do some reporting. I'll read it with care and respond to your individual work. This dialogue is also a crucial component. Hopefully we can all participate in this dialogue.

There are many restrictions to a fluid form of conversation but in time I believe we will overcome this barriers by new technologies and hopefully elegant social solutions. But persistence is key.

The Public as the Fourth Estate, a Sub-Culture

Even my mom has email.

Soon most American will have Internet connection like most have a TV or radio. Except now people like you and me can broadcast, not just the "media." The personal broadcasts of YouTube and Myspace are an examples of this evolving form of communication.

What if we collectively reported on the government, schools and corporations and not just our personal lives?

This is the first time in the history of mankind that people without wealth and power can create the first draft of history. The news can be about the people's concerns and not the concerns of the elite.

Citizen Journalism is already happening. Ohmy in Korea has an English language version that covers international news as well as Korean news. Wikipedia's article on OhmyNews needs some some additional information. For example, it needs to give the history of Public Journalism and link. I'll try to edit that entry when I have some time.

There are links on the left column of this Blog to more Citizen Journalism but Ohmy is the largest and valued at $11 million.

It's the dawn of a new age. Thus far the dim light has shown us very little. Hopefully the Internet will grow up and be more than a lustful and escapist entertainment. (Not that that's all bad.) Put the strength of this tool to nobler goals won't simply happen.

There needs to be a culture in order for this phenomenon to happen. And cultural movements usually have there origins in some sort of sub-culture. I'm trying to create a sub-culture.

Even if, say, the New York Times poured million in to new technology and web-related services Americans might to support citizen journalism. After all only 70% of American people have Internet. But far less probably have access at home. I don't believe America has developed that kind of culture yet judging by low voter turn-out and other factors.

Still there may be a watershed event that could trigger public participation in the news.

For now this blog is a start. Perhaps if you, out there, can post information that concerns you about our local schools we can construct a new paradigm.

Remember the beginnings of MTV? Who would of guessed the culture that it has now become. Instead of Veejays with big hair posing in cheesy urban sets, people like my mom could be a part of the "media."

Relevant data takes time to process

$520 million is what it cost Pittsburgh to run the public school system last year to serve 29,000 students. These are not the exact figures but check them out; I'm just rounding out the numbers. It took me about ten minutes to find this information and I'm still not confident about the the figures. Sure it may take another ten minutes or so to get it down to the penny but that's not what matters.

What do we want to know about how the school board is spending our money? Wikipedia has some relevant information about our schools but no real analysis. I need about an half hour or so to find some meaningful information and about a week to read it and a day to write it. That would still only be my personal analysis. I want everyone to find information and post it so we can be well informed.

I'll try to pin point the most reliable information so we can discuss it. However, there is a wealth of information that is relevant. Meaningful discussion might not happen for a long time. But if you participate then we can discuss more immediately.

Sorry for the poor prose but research of a bulk of this effort.

National vs. Local (but mostly op-ed today)

The impact of national events effects citizen directly. These seems like a noble reason to cover the broad issues. To capture the zeitgeist and be the first draft of history is exciting to read and, I would imagine, to write. Stirrings of the heart and intellect ignite from a Supreme Court decision or a nation election.

Meanwhile local news only raises a heartbeat when a murder or massive scandal erupts. But local politics have the deepest effects in our day to day life. What happens when you dial 911 or park in the wrong spot or send you children to school is governed locally. In other words, our voices are not diluted by the great masses. We are more empowered to change our own lives and others influence us the least.

But it seems like we shun our local responsibility. After all it is more exhilarating to wield power over others than to exert self-control. Perhaps this is to harsh of an opinion. Maybe we simply do not have resources to take on this job so we leave it to others. After all what do we know about the logistics of trash management and who wants to. As long as someone else does a decent job at it even better.

However, trash never comes up as an important issue, unless some screwed up. Education has always been like a major concern for American. Yet there is so little reporting on local education. Stories that provide useful information would help guide us through the monolithic edifice of education.

The editor's goal of this news project should be to provide a usable resource of information on local education. We, as the Fourth Estate, need to pool this information like any other governmental body possess their own information resources.

Considering I'm the "editor" of this project I will begin to gather some useful information. Also as the "editor", I want you, the "reporter" and member of the Fourth Estate to collect this information and add it to our "library." Just email it to us - lenspittsburgh@gmail.com- and I'll post it.

Opinions, stories and advice are also information so send anything. Besides this project is so large I can't possibly do all of it, unless someone pays me. (hint, hint) This would be my dream job but since it doesn't pay it's a passion. (By the way passion literally means "enduring pain and suffering.")

Can Wikis Solve the Problem with Semantics?

News these days wave the banner of objectivity. I, too, would like to be objective. It seems these days news outlets are constantly calling the other bias or worse "inaccurate." I would like this news project to try to be objective. But is it possbile?

After all we all have our own subjectivity. We see things from different perspectives and there is no one that has the complete "objective" stance. Maybe objective means holding personal emotions aside for a moment. Perhaps it means unbiased but still subjective?

I don't want to define it. My personal definition is not valid. What is valid is our concept and usage of "objective." We need to agree to find a working definition for all words that seems to lose meaning after so much misuse. The color and vibrancy of words have been wornout in the spin cycle of mass media.

(Please comment on style as well as content, I could use the help. I should probably kill that last little darling.)

I suggest using a wiki to re-define some words that have lost their luster and edge. Much of what I read in dissucion boards and op-ed pages are differences in semantics. Such a basic problem could be obviated if tools, like wiki, were in place to align words with meaning. Perhaps, then a higher and deeper level of discussion could take place. Maybe an elegent solution to problems in society could be also be reached.

Right now this project is making me a jack of all trades. I've done some of the academic and scholarly research to work out some of the theoritical issuse with this project. But I have very little techincal and computer skills for this kind of stuff. Yet the excitement of this new project keeps me motivated. I keep learning new and relevent stuff everyday.

It's a long work in progress. Perhaps years and decades. But I'll chip away at it. Currently I'm learning the basics of mediawiki, HTML, and RSS feeds. There is a mountian of information to learn. I wish I had all day but I've got to go earn some cash.

Principles of Public Journalism Concerning Local Education

The title sounds like a thesis project and perhaps some day it will be. However, I believe that this topic should not be held captive in the ivory tower of academia. This project has more to do with shaping popular culture rather than merely adding to the body of scholarly work.

Pop culture? Yes pop culture. I believe popular culture can be more than light entertainment and escapism. In fact there might even be a desire for people to spend just a few minutes a week to better their community and have some of their dreams realized.

I don't think this is a pipe dream. There a good chance you are using Mozilla Firefox right now. This is becoming a pop cultral icon like Wikipedia and other open source media. These are models for this project. By working as a collective we can create a phenomenon that is much more than the sum of its parts.

People who work on Mozilla and Wikipedia are directly shaping the culture of our time. We too can influence culture with our collective vision. It is impossible to see how this vision will become reality at this point but hopefully I will lay some ground work for this to possible.

This is not a radical project but one that I hope will be a common tool for people to inform themselves about education policies and the schools in our neighborhood. Perhaps there is a parent or a studernt who has a fantastic idea to change our schools and this can be the platform for their voice to be heard.

The democratic principle of public journalism key to this experiment. But then again the U.S. Constitution is an expeiment in democracy. Gandhi's autobiography was aptly called "The Story of My Experiment with Truth." The potential of this experiment is only as great as the number and efforts of the participants. And hopefully this will be a part of popular culture.

Religion in Schools?

Religion in public schools. Those four words bring the best and worst out in people. But what does it really mean? Whose religion and how much of it? What is religion? What is acceptable and what is not? New York Times recently carried an article about religion in school.

The executive, legislative and judicial branches give most of the power to the local schools to make these kinds of decisions. So in essence it is up to us as a community to make these decisions. We are the fourth estate.

I went to my daughter’s holiday program at her new school yesterday. She got a ribbon for participating in a school project. She seems to like her new teacher, school and students. So I have a bit of trust in the school.

The program was mostly about awarding the 100+ ribbons (individual!) and a few songs the third graders sung. They were all x-mas songs. And I mean x-mas not really Christmas songs, except Silent Night in German. Rudolph, Felic Navidad, and a song about a “toy catalog?” sung in discordant but cute, childish voices. All explicitly referring to Christmas.

But no other “religion” or holiday was mentioned. Not even a picture on the wall or small gesture. I assume that there is a large majority of Christians in the school. But how many might object just a little? Christian who believe in the First Amendment and don’t want the state to endorse a particular religion might also object? I felt uncomfortable because someone else might feel offended and rightfully so. However, I’m personally not going to file a lawsuit.

Is there other solutions?

What kept going through my head is there must be other more tactful and sensitive songs the school could teacher our children. What about song solely about winter or the New Year’s Day? Or some of the major religions just to know that the school isn’t endorsing one particular religion?

We need to talk about this in our own communities and come up with our solutions. Please leave a comment or email so we can start to publish this information. Together we can gather better information.

This story is also in Kearny on the Web. Check out this site it has similar principles to this one. Perhaps we can be better.

Still Working

Sorry for not posting on a timely manner but I’m not slacking by any means.

Right now I listening to a lecture by Jay Rosen and researching other Public Journalism projects. This research is critical to defining how this news project will operate.

So far it seems like this is on the cutting edge of journalism. Especially on the local level and the specific topic of education.

There are more links that I’m finding that will give a better understanding of public journalism. Hopefully this will be a resource that would show transparency to the readers and a guide to the contributors.

I will also give a bibliography of books, articles, websites and scholarly literature that has formed my concept of this type of media. I will post these in the next few days.

Anyway, I hope that you, the people, will also contribute to this body of knowledge through posts and emails. The greater the network of people eho contribute should make this project better. I’ll publish everything people send my in some form or fashion. This after all is the public’s news media.

I sincerly hope to read some of your thoughts soon.

Teacher-Student Sex Abuses Stories

An example usually helps when trying to formulate an abstract project. So here’s one to that can stimulate some conversation.

Attorney on public school issues and college professor, Charles Steele, said that teacher-students sex abuses will be bigger than the Catholic priest scandals that shocked America in the nineties. (Full disclosure, Dr. Steele was my professor for “Issues of Law in Education” course.)

A Google news search for “teacher student sex” will show a teacher charged with abuse at least once a week. However, given the 30 million teachers in America this “epidemic” appears to be a relatively small number. There is no national statistical information on the numbers of teacher- student sex abuse.

Currently the laws and policies for teacher student relationship explicitly forbid any inappropriate conduct.

Also traditional news handles it only in the framework of legal issues. The stories all follow the same format:

Teacher X is charged with a sexual crime by unnamed student. Teacher X is suspended from Y school. Followed by details of the incident and teacher's history.

So how should we as the news handle such a story?
There appears to be a difference when the teacher is, say, a 26 years-old and the student is say 17 years-old than if it was a 26 year-old and 8 year-old.
Is consent from a minor really consent?
Is there preventative treatment for this, like alcohol and drug abuse, for teacher that may have the urge but have not acted on the impulse? Should there be?
Is deviant behavior really “abnormal” behavior?

I have not had time to do the reporting but I have a lead on a Pittsburgh story regarding this issue. At a kids Halloween party I met a Pittsburgh detective for Sex Assault and Family Violence. He said that the Pittsburgh School Police tried to keep a report of abuse to themselves and did not report the offence to the city. Obviously the charges were finally reported to city police. I didn’t get all the details and frankly it’s not my “job.” (Yet)

Shouldn’t part of the story be how the school handled the situation and what they are doing to see if any other students were involved? What did other teachers know about this? It would be gross negligence for another teacher to not report any knowledge or suspicions to the principle.

Please let me know how else the story could be covered.
How can the community be involved in this discussion?
This is the important part of the project, your input?

Transparency in Motivation

I want to express my motivation for the purpose of transparency. My personal motivation comes from the trying to sort out the Kafkaesque system of education.

Echoes of the anxiety and worries as well as the pride reverberate inside my core as I look at photos of my only child’s first day of school. Sentimental emotions gush from me when I see her perfectly pressed blue uniform and knee-high socks with a pink book bag nearly consuming her. A short grainy video clip is proof of her bravery as she walks in line with the other children waving and screaming bye at the top of her voice in to the school doors.

Sending her to public school was a leap of faith. Faith that has let me down to some degree. I had no way of influencing policy or curriculum. I hardly new any details of the curriculum nor could find out with appearing to be a “helicopter parent,” hovering over my kid. I didn’t know the teacher, her methods or her abilities. I knew one teacher. Our daughters met in pre-school. His daughter was going to a private school a few blocks away.

So much happened that year, some good and some bad. But what I noticed most was my kid didn’t like school. Now some may say you're not supposed to like school. Though I find that rather dogmatic. School can and should be something the child can love.

Besides, in that first year she was spit on, choked by another kid, her teacher didn’t finish the year. The class size was obviously too large for one person to manage. The principle never engaged in a dialogue and would basically lecture at me. In retrospect they were also breaking some laws, like posting grades and leaving children unattended.

I felt and still feel powerless. Perhaps I can try to get her in a private school. She has already moved to a different school district and seems to enjoy it more but time will tell.

Yet there is a feeling of injustice about leaving all the other kids behind. Those parents and children who must trust the school system to educate remain at their mercy. Or are we?

If we, the public, knew more about the laws, policies and other vital news governing our schools perhaps we can better our schools. Perhaps they are not horrible but the quality of education can always be better.

We need to inform ourselves and communicate with each other to find the ways for improvement. It cannot be done in a vacuum. So I hope this will provide a platform for us to work on this project.

What we need now is to define some key concepts that so we can clearly express our ideas. That is the first step out of the labyrinth of bureaucracy.

To do this I hope to moderate some news stories for everyone's discussion. More later.

Project Planning - Your Insights

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel” - Socrates

What is "Local Education News" about? It is the attempt of creating a meaningful dialogue to discuss education issues in and around Pittsburgh.

So far I want to create an informal discussion involving anyone interested. You do not need to be an educator, student or parent. We were once students and perhaps we are all still students. Your opinions, insights and stories are needed to create a full spectrum of understanding about the massive edifice of education.

My idea is complex and will take more than this one entry to explain. But first let me borrow from the field of psychology to help start this continuous conversation. I hear it is helpful to talk about yourself to stimulate the conversation.

My name is Robert Park. I’m 30-something years old (I’m a bit apprehensive about the public nature of this project.) I have a fantastic daughter that truly is a joy and the inspiration of this project. My undergraduate degree was philosophy and I’m current working on my master’s degree in journalism. I live in the South Side of Pittsburgh.

I’d like to tell about my motivation for this project but I’ve got to go to work delivering food. I’d rather get paid for doing this work, perhaps some day. As for now I just wanted to get started with something, just anything will do.

Please leave comments.