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I feel like educators watched Ferris Bueller’s day off, and decided they would crush that spirit with totalitarian tactics. What’s the point of this level of co

I feel like educators watched Ferris Bueller’s day off, and decided they would crush that spirit with totalitarian tactics. What’s the point of this level of control?

germinalphrase 5y ago
If you’re talking about teaching staff, they almost certainly have no part in purchasing or deploying these systems.
- Wistar 5y ago
  I am married to a teacher who works in a district with absurd, heavy-handed IT policies imposed with no nuance or regard for the needs of the teachers. Simply researching curriculum on the school network has become very difficult in the past few years. Places where teachers often post collections of links to lesson topics, Pinterest and others, have been made unreachable.
- mips_avatar 5y ago
  Given that it’s almost impossible to get fired as a teacher I think they need to show a little bravery and push back against this damage being inflicted.
  - fn-mote 5y ago
    The most direct avenue for change on this front is probably through school board elections. Everyone can help solve the problem. Schools I am familiar with are managed in a very top-down way, so it's hard to see at what point teachers could push effectively. They are not likely to be involved in purchasing the hardware, selecting the software, or choosing (surveillance) vendors. You could argue that the teacher's union could be spearheading the pro-privacy push. I would support that, but it might be kind of far from the "core business" of the union. There are areas with a greater and clearer short-term impact my city's local teacher's union has choosen (e.g., internet access for low-income students).
  - germinalphrase 5y ago
    I am a public school teacher at the high school level. I’m a union member and I have tenure. My union participation means I have to be offered a PIP before I can be released, and I can request a union lawyer at disciplinary meetings. If my boss wanted me gone next school year, I would be ‘not renewed’ and gone. I only say this to underscore that the country is big and broad.

I feel like educators watched Ferris Bueller’s day off, and decided they would crush that spirit with totalitarian tactics. What’s the point of this level of control?

germinalphrase 5y ago

If you’re talking about teaching staff, they almost certainly have no part in purchasing or deploying these systems.

Wistar 5y ago
I am married to a teacher who works in a district with absurd, heavy-handed IT policies imposed with no nuance or regard for the needs of the teachers. Simply researching curriculum on the school network has become very difficult in the past few years. Places where teachers often post collections of links to lesson topics, Pinterest and others, have been made unreachable.
mips_avatar 5y ago
Given that it’s almost impossible to get fired as a teacher I think they need to show a little bravery and push back against this damage being inflicted.
- fn-mote 5y ago
  The most direct avenue for change on this front is probably through school board elections. Everyone can help solve the problem. Schools I am familiar with are managed in a very top-down way, so it's hard to see at what point teachers could push effectively. They are not likely to be involved in purchasing the hardware, selecting the software, or choosing (surveillance) vendors. You could argue that the teacher's union could be spearheading the pro-privacy push. I would support that, but it might be kind of far from the "core business" of the union. There are areas with a greater and clearer short-term impact my city's local teacher's union has choosen (e.g., internet access for low-income students).
- germinalphrase 5y ago
  I am a public school teacher at the high school level. I’m a union member and I have tenure. My union participation means I have to be offered a PIP before I can be released, and I can request a union lawyer at disciplinary meetings. If my boss wanted me gone next school year, I would be ‘not renewed’ and gone. I only say this to underscore that the country is big and broad.