Awarding 2nd chances is chancy

     Students arrested for underage drinking, a teacher arrested for assaulting a police officer, an administrator taken in for beating up his wife, teachers suspected of or known to have had improper relations with students, teachers caught with drugs off campus.
     Which of these deserves a second chance? If you listen to some people writing to the message board at epalumni.com, they all do. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” they say.
     Former city manager Glen Starnes got a second chance after being fired in Eagle Pass for making false statements on his resume. This generosity blew up in the faces of the Grantville, Ga., city council when Starnes was arrested recently for buying pot from an undercover officer.
     Not everyone deserves a second chance. Someone proven to be a habitual liar – it should be assumed – has other personal faults that make him a poor applicant for the same job elsewhere. Leeway might be given for someone who makes a mistake totally disconnected from their profession.
     This makes the case of Ms. Purcell problematic. While she has no background of similar incidents, she was present at the Homecoming parade as a district employee at a school activity. She embarrassed the district and showed terrible judgment during an event connected to her professional duties. Some length of suspension seems in order, but, in the end, the district shouldn’t want to lose an experienced teacher who would return to do a lot of good things.
     Another important factor is to separate Ms. Purcell from her family and judge her on her actions alone with no influence from the substantial contributions of the other Purcells. That her in-laws and husband have done so much to help our students doesn’t mean she is allowed to behave unacceptably.
     Following an appropriate punishment, Ms. Purcell deserves a second chance. Does everyone deserve a second chance? No. Here is what everyone DOES deserve: to be treated the same as anyone else. That desire for equal treatment for all led to the policy requiring the suspension of the Eagle football players. Previously, such punishments would be serious for one guy, minor for the next, and nothing for someone else.
     So EPISD followed an established policy known to everyone in suspending the football players. These athletes chose to ignore the rules and roll the dice that they wouldn’t get caught. They knew very well after years of playing sports that continued participation requires a high standard of behavior. If they miss football games, that’s fine. They’ll get their second chance later in being allowed to play basketball, soccer, track or baseball.
     Any illegal, unethical or prohibited behavior requires negative consequences in order to discourage continued reoccurrence of undesirable acts. Some people deserve a second chance after paying their dues; other people don’t. The severity of their misdeeds makes the biggest difference, followed by whether they can be trusted in the future to straighten up their act.
     People who screw up and lose important parts of their lives have to understand that they may never regain all the things they once had, no matter how sorry they profess to be and no matter how much they repent and apologize. That threat keeps most of us civil, but too many people will continue to have the wrong priorities and bad judgment. If they don’t get a second chance, don’t feel sorry for them.

Next: Willie Nelson on the dangers of pot

     So, the six Eagle football players caught drinking plea bargained a deal for a large fine, a requirement of 180 days of good conduct and community service. This whole incident has been handled fairly well by the school, the city courts and the police, but the community service “punishment” was a stupid idea.
     According to the Eagle Pass Chronicles website, these guys will visit elementary and junior highs “to talk to students about the dangers of consuming alcohol.”
     If these underage students who were caught with alcohol and are supposedly being punished are allowed to miss class time to visit other schools, that’s really going to piss me off. If I were a principal, I wouldn’t allow it. As a teacher. I would rebel against my students having to listen to them, and as a parent, I would demand that my kids not be made to be in their audience.
     If they want to go in the evenings and speak to church groups or boy scouts, and those groups want to have them, that’s fine. But why should we allow their mistakes to lead to wasting our precious educational time?
     Obviously, if these guys gave a damn about the “dangers of alcohol” they would never have been caught with it. They are not any kind of experts on the subject. They are not any kind of role models – anymore. Finally, they’ve lost any credibility in discussing a serious topic like this with younger kids. I’d bet $1,000 they’re all already drinking again on the weekends or at least counting down the days for the scrutiny to die out so they CAN drink every weekend again.
     I can just picture their speeches going something like this:
     Former Player One: “Hi. I’m here to talk about the dangers of alcohol. Ummm. Don’t drink alcohol because you might get kicked off your football team.”
     Former Player Two: “Right. What that guy said. You might also have to pay a big ticket.”
     Former Player Three: “Raise your hands if you play football. Oh, only 3 of you. Well, for the other 27, don’t drink alcohol because if you do, the football players will show up to drink with you, and then they might get kicked off the team.”
     Questions?
     Sixth Grader One: “Does beer taste good?”
     Former Player Four: “Well, yes, it tastes good, but don’t drink it because it’s bad for you.”
     Sixth Grader Two: “If you know alcohol is bad, why were you drinking?”
     Former Player Five: “I guess because everybody does it. But you shouldn’t.”
     Sixth Grader Three: “I know alcohol does a lot of bad things to a person. What do you think is the best reason not to drink it?”
     Former Player Six: “Probably because you might get kicked off the football team.”
     Community service for these guys should be picking up trash or painting over graffiti – something that actually makes them labor a little and something that actually provides a benefit to our community. To have them go talk to other students will really be more of a reward for them and a total waste of time for the younger kids. I truly hope this proposed “punishment” never gets carried out.

Saucedo shows guts in making hard choice

     Three cheers for County Commissioner David Saucedo.
     While the other commissioners voted for a loan in order to delay a needed tax increase, Saucedo stood firm against the refinancing of the county’s debt. The commission majority acted like your typical over-spender who prefers to face the pain of debt later instead of meeting it head-on now.
     According to the county’s financial adviser, the loan will help avoid any tax hike for now, but will require hefty tax hikes later lasting for many years into the future. But why listen to Robert Rodriguez? He’s only the president of Southwestern Capital Markets in San Antonio and he’s only getting $60,000 a year from the county for his expertise. What does he know?
     “I lost faith in Mr. Rodriguez some time ago, so his advice doesn’t carry much weight,” County Judge Pepe Aranda was quoted as saying in the Express-News.
     I bet Rodriguez does know finances. He probably doesn’t know the length a politician will go to to avoid a tax increase. I think the commissioners know a tax hike is needed but they’re hoping it can happen after the next election, or maybe farther in the future on someone else’s watch.
     Saucedo showed courage in not wanting to take the easy way out.

This does not compute

     It’s necessary now to re-visit and expand on an earlier issue.
     Imagine having to call a technician to do these little jobs (to name just a few) on your computer: add a font, change the desktop, switch the screensaver, add a bookmark to your browser, and enable or disable the popup blocker.
     Some EPISD staff and teachers already face this situation and all will eventually be in the same boat if the technology office ever completes its new, massive reconfiguration project of the district’s network and networked computers.
     Computers district-wide are supposed to be reformatted and set to be unalterable in any way afterwards unless the user turns in a work order for a technician to do the job – however small it may be. It’s a solution selected to reduce viruses and other unintended damage to the operating systems.
     It’s “A” solution, and even though some other school districts do the same thing, I don’t think it’s the best solution. I also have problems with how this plan is being implemented.
     To start with, this is a major change to the way we will deal with our technology. Yet, despite the far-reaching impact, nobody’s officially been told the reason, heard of any prior discussion about it, or been given any kind of expected timetable for its completion.
     Though it’s hard to understand, this lack of communication doesn’t surprise anyone. We have never gotten any kind of messages from the technology office – not warnings about viruses, not notices about important security patches to download, not warnings about e-mail scams, not info about training available, not a heads up about scheduled network interruptions. Zilch. Nothing. Nada. If that’s not the job of the technology office, then I don’t know whose job it is.
     Sometimes, the technicians will add or change routers or servers. Then, we go in and some equipment doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. So a teacher spends 2 hours trouble shooting the problem, then calls someone.
     They say, “Oh, we made some changes and the IP addresses are different now. We didn’t think it was important to warn anyone that some of your settings would have to be changed to keep everything working.”
     So, you think, “Don’t they know their work actually affects other people who might be grateful if you can give them a heads up and save them from doing 2 hours of work for nothing?”
     Work on their newest fiasco of an endeavor began in the summer, but now three weeks into the school year, this work is still being done and looks far from complete. It’s causing interruptions and is interfering with students getting their work done. This really frustrates the affected teachers because they were ready to start the school year from the first day, and the students were ready, but the tools they needed weren’t ready – and still aren’t ready.
     The problems being found with our technology could have been drastically reduced if the technology office just consistently exercised due diligence. For example, new computers lately have arrived and been installed without antivirus software. We have a district-wide license for a program, but nobody knows how to get hold of it. Nobody that I know of has ever been offered training in preventing viruses. They will come install anti-virus software if one asks but the program they install doesn’t always update itself like it’s supposed to.
     Large downloads like complete movies hogging hard drive space and slowing computers have been a problem. Some of this is due to inexcusable teacher inattention, but some of it is due to the network administrator’s lack of effective control over network traffic. Also, the technicians usually know in which classrooms this is happening, yet I’ve never heard of a teacher being reported for not effectively monitoring the use of the computers. Better supervision by the technology staff and campus administrators with consequences for proven neglect could have prevented most of the concerns that they’re now trying to solve.
     Generally, this big technology department initiative just seems poorly planned, badly implemented, heavy-handed and too far-reaching and too complex for their current staff to pull off. So far, it has caused only headaches. When it gets finished (if it gets finished and if it works) it will continue to cause resentment and inconvenience. I don’t think any positive outcomes will ever outweigh all of the negative effects.

President Obama Nails It!

     President Obama delivered a speech Tuesday to our nation’s school children that had most teachers responding with a big “AMEN!” His main focus was telling students to take charge and take responsibility for their own education. For us teachers, that’s a nice switch from the message we often get that WE’RE responsible for everything.
     This is a good paragraph that summarizes the whole speech:
     “But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.”
     Obama went on basically to tell students not to make any excuses and to remember how important education will be to their futures. It was great motivational material, just delivered in too much of an intellectual manner. I would like to see the same speech given by a hell-fire and brimstone preacher-type person with some yelling, foot stomping, fist pounding and a few tears. Basically, just some more emotion. So, I'm nitpicking about his style, but the President's words were wonderful.
     I also really liked this paragraph:
     “Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new.”
     That advice, I think, especially applies to students in low income areas like ours. Many of our students have raised themselves or been raised by siblings without enough adult supervision. From that, these kids tend to have developed an independence that in some ways can be a big benefit. Sometimes this independence leads them to question why things are they way they are. This independence also motivates them to want to figure out things on their own, which is a worthwhile skill to have.
     Too many students, though, let this independence work against them. They don’t ask questions (or at least the right questions), they don’t ask for help, and they view accepting instructions as equal to accepting orders, and, “Nobody gives me orders.” They want to do things on their own, which is good, but too often want to go a step too far and do things their own way. They’ll be like, “It says to draw a square 4” x 4”. So what if I draw it 4 cm by 4 cm, it’s still a square.” These students don't think deeply enough to understand there's usually a good reason for needing to precisely follow directions.
     The President wrapped up with a conclusion very similar to his opening. “I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn,” he said. “But you've got to do your part, too.”
     To help solve one of my biggest irritations, I just wish he could have added, “And don’t go to any of your classes without a pencil or pen and paper to write on.”

Mavs, Eagles don't need a move to 4-A

     Eagle Pass Sports Central (http://eaglepasssportscentral.com)has an interesting poll concerning the upcoming realignment for U.I.L. competition. As the site points out, in about 5 months new district configurations will be announced, and both Eagle Pass schools might have enrollment sizes qualifying them for 4-A status with the option of remaining 5-A.
     You can visit the website where Morris Libson recounts several scenarios for both the 4-A and 5-A possibilities. The accompanying reader opinion poll shows 70.5 percent of respondents think both schools should choose class 4-A if the enrollment numbers provide that option. About 16 percent say we should stay in 5-A even if we have the choice of 4-A, and about 13 percent say one school should be 4-A and the other one remain 5-A.
     I’m surprised that so many people want to see our schools in 4-A. To me the district we’re in with the Laredo schools has worked well. EPHS has finished highly in several sports, and, given time to grow its programs, Winn should have better showings in the future. All teams at each school, I think, begin their seasons with a realistic expectation of reaching the playoffs, so it’s not like we’re constantly feeling overpowered like 3-A Zapata probably felt when they were in our district with us and Laredo. Now, THEY had a good case for going back to a lower category, even though it meant more inconvenience and longer bus rides.
     The decision will probably be made by administrators with the most weight given to what’s best for the kids academically (such as which choice means less late-night travel on school nights), followed by financial considerations, and finally what it means as far as wins and losses.
     Sports fans, I’m sure, unfortunately would like the win/loss factor to be the main consideration in this decision. I also think many people support us being 4-A because they see it as a shortcut to either less competition or less talented competition. It seems to be a common habit everywhere that to increase their chances of winning, our athletes and the adults organizing them shop for competitions where few teams enter or where they know that the teams that will enter are low caliber.
     For example, an EP cheer squad some years ago had the choice of going to San Antonio or the Valley for regional competition. They chose the Valley because only one other team would be there. Also, the top two squads would advance, so they got an easy ticket to nationals just for showing up to one competition. So, often when I hear that a group has won “state” or advanced to “nationals,” I kind of roll my eyes, because I know it has little meaning. Sometimes they have beaten some serious competition – and those people have my respect – but at other times they have just waltzed right in.
     Our high school teams should compete at 5-A, the highest level, unless they’re seriously struggling, which they aren’t. That way, we know when we get far into the playoffs or through to a state tournament, we have beaten the best, and the honor will carry more prestige than it would for a 4-A team.
     I’ve been wrong before, of course, but I predict in the end that we will maintain something close to the status quo – both schools at 5-A in a district with Laredo schools. In February, the outcome will be known and I might be eating crow.

EPISD: On-line but off target

     The EPISD computer technicians have become the most hated people on Earth. They’re doing some kind of secret experiment that nobody has explained to anyone, for a reason that nobody has explained to anyone, with results that don’t make sense to anyone.
     Thanks to the EPISD technicians, computer labs are not useable, printers don’t print, some computers won’t turn on and many teachers have had their hard drives wiped out with no advance warning, losing some important documents and files forever.
     All the chaos began in the summer. Administrators knew in May that work on almost all the computers would be done and that they would be reformatted. This was passed along to teachers at our campus at a busy end-of-school meeting where almost nobody listens to a word being said and where some people were absent with legitimate excuses.
     At EPHS, I don’t know if any warning was given or not. I know that many teachers were mad when they came back in August and all their saved documents were gone with (they say) no opportunity being given to back them up.
     No memo, e-mail or verbal explanation has been given to teachers concerning what good all of this damage will eventually do, if any. We have pieced together facts and rumors and apparently someone wants a new management system where every computer in the district gets controlled remotely in all aspects from a bunker at the technology office.
     We’ve heard, once it’s all done, nobody will be able to install a program on their own computer or even update any of the existing programs without calling a technician for service. You get a new printer, need to install software (any two-year-old can do it) – you have to call for help. Need to update Acrobat Reader to see a document (this update usually happens almost automatically) – you have to call for help. Supposedly, a technician (or 2, or 3 or 4?) will be connected and be constantly monitoring every computer in the district to make sure it’s being used appropriately. It’s all very Orwellian.
     A few people misuse their computers and some let the students use them for everything EXCEPT academics. We’re throwing the baby out with the bath water here, though. Instead of punishing those who have been irresponsible and making principals supervise technology use more closely, the technology department would rather just make our technology dysfunctional.
     Sadly, we have a school technology department that has no clue about how technology should be integrated into an educational environment. They also have shown no concern about communicating anything to the teachers and students who make up the vast majority of their end users. We had a person hired as an educational technology specialist but his knowledge and training have gone to waste as his role has been relegated – for some illogical reason -- to being just another central office bureaucrat.
     It’s all very frustrating to the students and teachers. We could take our technology and really fly if somebody had the initiative and the knowledge to lead the way. It’s also very sad for the district and the community as a whole that we SHOULD have much more to show for the millions we spend on technology and we’re falling short because of poor leadership.
     Too many of our campus employees have too little training and too little supervision to implement our technology in a smooth manner. But, instead of training them, insisting on better oversight from administrators, and learning to trust everyone, central office would rather stifle the campuses and put obstacles in our way. This type of sorry approach will continue until someone with curriculum experience is put in charge of technology. Such a person would switch the emphasis on technology to teaching and learning and away from record keeping, business transactions, communication and P.R. -- as it presently stands. For the sake of our kids, the existing approach has to change.