On Monday, I asked my students to write about their thoughts on racism. My students surprise me from time to time, but they rarely shock me.  It is even more rare when they disappoint me. In case you missed it,  one of my students blogged about how proud he is that he is a racist. (See previous blog)  As expected this started quite the discussion both on my class blog and in class.  I made an incredibly stupid mistake by electing to not moderate comments. We have always trusted students to not say anything out of line which had worked until this week.  A student posted an anonymous comment that was a direct threat to the self-proclaimed racist. Other students started taking pot shots at each other and it turned into a one really big mess.  Out of my 37 or so students the vast majority of them handled the situation very well, but a handful of them have really let me down.

I was told today that I should have been moderating the comments all along.  OK….Yes I know that now. I just did not enjoy having this very obvious fact pointed out to me in such an  “I told you so” manner.  I got a little snarky on Twitter earlier I said I was close to just giving up and going back to the textbook. I have no intention of doing that, but days like today make taking the easy way out very tempting. I would never be happy with myself if I took the well-traveled path.

I tried so hard to turn this situation into a positive learning experience for my students, but I feel like I have failed miserably.  I have pulled the comments down from my class blog until I can go through them.

I am disappointed in myself for not being smarter about how I handled the moderation of comments on  my blog to begin with. I have learned so much this week, but it has been painful. I guess that is just how things go once in a while. Not all learning is comfortable. I have been pushed and stretched way beyond my comfort zone and I feel I am a better teacher because of it. THANK YOU for all of your support. I needed my PLN this week and you were there with me every step of the way.  I am truly blessed.

I rarely use my blog to ask my PLN for help with issues I am having in my classroom, but something has come up and I need to call on the wisdom of the crowd. Before I explain what is going on I feel compelled to give you some background on my school. I teach social studies at a very small alternative high school in western Nebraska. We have four teachers and approximately 40 students. Most of our students have not done well in a traditional academic setting for a variety of reasons, but for the most part enjoy success in an alternative setting.  I have tried to get my students to imporve their writing through blogging. I was hoping that if they knew they were writing for a wider audience then they would take more pride in their work. (Unfortunately, I have not seen any improvement.)

Both the English teacher and I are teaching topics that deal with racial tension. To help connect our students to the curriculum and show them how it is relevant I asked them to blog about their feelings concerning racism. We discussed ground rules ahead of time and we also discussed how what they said could potentially become part of their digital footprint.  I never predicted what would happen next. I do not moderate comments on my class blog. There is an understanding at my school that students will moderate themselves and take responsibility for what they write. I was shocked to read the following post: (I added punctuation and corrected spelling errors, but this is his entire post.)

My thought’s on racism are in my opinion I believe it’s okay if that’s how you were brought up. I was brought up around racism and I am racist. I don’t see anything wrong with it. Everyone has their beliefs and there is not one thing wrong with being who you are.

I did ask my students to be open and honest. (I also asked them to write three paragraphs) The problem is that this is going to lead to some issues between this student and others at school. I could take the post down, but unless asked to do so by my principal I am not planning on doing that. I place an emphasis on students taking responsibility for what they write. His peers will have their chance to ask him to explain his stance and he will have the chance to defend his position. The next couple of weeks could prove to be very uncomfortable. However, I cannot help but think this can be used as a learning experience for everyone. The community in which I live is divided along socioeconomic and racial lines. This is a topic that needs to be discussed because it is the root of so many issues in my town. I want my students to at least hear how their actions and beliefs affect other people.

Your thoughts????

I consider myself to be very lucky that my school sees value in sending me to conferences. After I attended NECC in San Antonio in 2008 I promised myself I would find a way to go as often as I could whether my district paid or not. I won’t be able to go every year, but due to circumstances at my school I am currently making plans to attend my third ISTE. I have watched as so many people have announced they will have to pass on ISTE (or other conferences) because it is too expensive. Many districts are not allowing travel outside of state which means if educators want to go then they are footing the bill. There are ways to reduce costs at these events. You just have to be patient and invest some time into looking into different ways to save.

This year I am renting a house for the week with five other people. Not only does it cut our cost way down, but we will have a gourmet kitchen and nice areas both indoors and out to just hang out and relax. (Like there is time for that!) It is also safer for us to stay in one place instead of being spread out at different hotels. Parking and wireless internet are also free at the house. Most downtown hotels charge at least $18 a night for parking and $15 for wifi. Even if a hotel is your only option sharing it with two or three other people is the way to go. Isn’t it worth sacrificing some privacy and comfort to save tons of money? Staying with strangers may not appeal to you, but many of the rooms in Denver are well over $200 per night. You do the math. Rooming with others might be the only way you can afford to go. (Hint: There will be people looking for roommates on the ISTE Ning soon. If there is not already a group dedicated to this then start one.)

Keeping an eye on the price of airline tickets might also help save money. Booking early does not always save money, but catching one on a great sale will save money.

These are just a few ideas to help you save money at conferences. What are some of your tips and tricks?

I am so proud that each one of these people is part of my PLN! Excellent job to Eric, Steven, Shelly, and Tom.

Twitter & Education – #140conf LA from RealPlayer SP on Vimeo.

Fundraising for the ISTE 10 Newbie Project is off to a great start, but we still have a very long way to go to reach the goal of $1600. As of noon today we have raised $560. In the coming weeks I am going to post a series of challenges to my personal learning network (PLN) to help us meet the goal. (Thank you @ellsbeth for this great idea!) Starting  right now and ending at midnight EST this Friday, I am challenging educators in New York to donate to the project. Jason Schrage is the Newbie for ISTE 10 and he is a  middle school social studies teacher from Elmira, New York. He is attending the Western Southern Tier Council for the Social Studies conference on Friday.  If you are attending this conference I  hope that you will consider donating to this project. While you may not be part of his online personal learning network, Jason certainly plays a role in your face to face learning network.

If you are an educator from New York and you were planning on donating to the Newbie Project then this would be a great time to do it. I would like to raise an additional $240 by midnight on November 6 which would get us to the half way mark.

Click the PayPal button to make a donation to the Newbie Project:

If you are an educator from New York and you were planning on donating to the Newbie Project then this would be a great time to do it. I would like to raise $240 by midnight on November 6 which would get us to the half way mark.