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Monday, February 8, 2010

About Anonymous Comments

Since I started NorwalkNet  last July, I have struggled with the decision to allow anonymous comments. I felt that by allowing them I would give parents and teachers (two groups that are sometimes worried about speaking in public) a place that they could  express themselves freely about issues in our district.  I have wanted NorwalkNet to be a forum for community discussion,  as well as a place to get news and information.  My belief has always been that an informed and engaged  community is a strong one. 

Indeed,  many times I have been impressed by the insightful exchanges that have taken place in reaction to stories I have written.

Other times however, I have been frustrated by the lack of respect  and civility some readers have shown to one another as they snipe back and forth under the cloak of anonymity. The fact that anonymity gives people license to say things they might otherwise not say is one of the realities of this medium.

Much of the commenting happens about certain personalities rather than the issues. Perhaps this is inevitable because the issues being discussed are attached to certain people.  As any reader of this blog will know, hot-button issues that reoccur  relate to hiring practices and the search for a new Superintendent. The fact these topics garner many comments is an indication  of the strong opinions they engender.

I don’t frame comments that are written  as “positive” or “negative".  Although,  I do think that some of them are offered more constructively than others; some are plainly in poor taste. However, rude comments are not to be confused with dissenting or critical opinions which make us question our own assumptions and are, frankly, part of the discourse that needs to occur.

In the course of attending many BOE meetings,  I have encountered a few people who are not fans of this blog.  Mainly these individuals  say that they object to the negative anonymous comments,  but I think that what  they’re really bothered by is the fact that NorwalkNet  is raising issues and allowing discussion about  topics that  have been overlooked or hidden from public scruitiny.  

I would encourage readers who want  to comment to sign their names.  It really makes for a better discussion. However if you don’t want to sign your name,  ask yourself whether your thoughts will add to the better understanding of the issue being discussed.
Posted by Moina Noor
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36 comments:

  1. Artie KassimisFeb 9, 2010 06:27 AM
    Hi Moina,

    I appreciate all the work you put behind Norwalknet.com. I am an avid reader but not much of a commentator. I read the blogs so I can get a better handle on what the parents, teachers, and students are feeling. Many people will not share what's on their minds if they were not allowed to share anonymously as your site does.

    Unfortunately, there are those that use the liberty to slander and malign certain individuals. But "don't throw the baby out with the bath water". The people need to be heard!

    Thank you!
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  2. Unfortunately some folks may fear retribution, especially where their children are concerned. I am glad the anonymous option is available for those who have valuable information that they might not feel comfortable sharing for a variety of reasons. Please keep offering a sounding board for those who are meek and those who are not!
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  3. You hit the nail on the head when you said that people are really bothered by "the fact that NorwalkNet is raising issues and allowing discussion about topics that have been overlooked or hidden from public scrutiny."

    I am a parent, and I too am an avid reader. I just like seeing people's opinions, I don't really care about their names!

    I refer parents, teachers, and administrators to this blog all the time, and the only one's who are not fans are people who do not want the public scrutiny. They have made it clear they believe informed parents are dangerous!
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  4. There is a false assumption in both Moina's column and in Anon 542's comment. Monina asserts that, "Mainly these individuals say that they object to the negative anonymous comments, but I think that what they’re really bothered by is the fact that NorwalkNet is raising issues and allowing discussion about topics that have been overlooked or hidden from public scruitiny."
    I'd like to offer the alternative viewpoint that those of us who are disenchanted with the blog are not afraid of issues or topics; rather, we are turned off by the blogger comments that spread false information as though it is fact. Please do not overlook that this could be the reason for our dislike of what the bloggers' commentary has become.
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  5. 6:55 Maybe you should read the stories and skip the comments.

    This is what I do a lot of the time because I am extremely busy and NorwalkNet seems to be a better source of information than The Hour these days.

    In any case most of the back and forth seems to be among Administrators who are too busy putting each other down rather than concentrating on our kids.
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  6. Concerned said:

    I just found it interesting that some poster focus on one or two words in an attempt to make a statement into more than what was originally intended. For example, I made a comment a week or two ago in a lengthy post where I said that with all the charges of racism that have been made by Board members, "IF I (the author) were poor and a member of a minority,I would get out of Dodge". Someone else wrote back because they were furious that I mentioned the words "poor" and "minority"in the same sentence. Apparently, the poster believes that I steroetyped all minorities as being poor. It would have been nice if that particular person had actually read what I wrote. Aside from the fact that I am not wealthy by any means, and am, in fact, a member of one of the many minorities in Norwalk, the very first word in the sentence is an operative. It's known as an "If...then..." statement. If these conditions are applicable, then this course of action should be considered.

    But hey, I fully support free speech. I also allow people to have different opinions from my own. But I don't tear people down. Life is hard enough without that.
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  7. Anonymous posters allow folks to post facts that escape the public eye because there are people 'out there' who are not honest or who have their own interests in mind, not the school system's interests. These facts would never be posted if names were required. Perhaps these posts will cause others to be more honest. I'm not saying that ALL posts are factual.
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  8. No one likes criticism and I include myself in that, but people in public positions know that they are subject to public criticism whether they like it or not. What is truly ironic is that among the people who have been the targets of criticism are people who have often been vicious in their backbiting comments about other people. I have personally witnessed the character assassination many times -- and I mean by more than one person. So people might want to tone down the postings of righteous indignation.

    When I have been critical, I have sometimes asked pointed questions, asking for reasons why someone thinks another person is fit to do a job, and I have been criticized for asking the questions. I understand the criticism, but I would also appreciate answers to the questions, but they should be answers that are backed by evidence, not generalizations. That would be a far better way of addressing the perceived negativity.
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  9. Before Monia came online I was working on a Norwalk education blog myself. The Hour is not serving our community. There are hidden players and agendas and The Hour cant divorce itself from that baggage. Fortunately Monia scooped me and I was not forced to submit myself and my children to attack. It is a credeible point that should be duely noted. Yes there are unwarranted personal attacks, it comes with the job and flack is not all unjustified. In fact, most of what is said, is justified accept for a few commentors that are prejudice for whatever reasons. Its great that folks have a way to connect, inform themselves share ideas and yes critique. We finally after six years have the BOE meetings accessaible to folks on line and cable. That was a huge obstacle, transparency looks good on a blog but to actually be held accountable. The reluctance took significant efforts to overcome. It has been said there are allot of armchair quarter backs, maybe a few as in two or three and seem to be disgruntled employees but the majority are working toward a public education that truely prepares are children for the challenges they may face. Some folks are losing their jobs, this is not a bad thing. In the real world if you dont perform you get canned. Of course unless if you work in finance or public education. If you screw up you get a big bonus. Reality check. Times they are a changing. Far as the off the wall attacks, the regular readers and those working effectively towards reforms can cut through the bs and find the gems. We are talking money and egos here instead of student and district progress. Cant turn a ship on a dime, takes a little room and ya have to make some waves. Excellent work Monia, you are making a huge difference. Way to go Monia.
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  10. Steve ColarossiFeb 10, 2010 03:50 PM
    Moina's reporting of the issues and her encouragement of a wide public discource is critically needed. Please keep up the good work!
    I, for one, am honored to be able to contribute MY opinions to these discussions. And, not being terribly concerned about ruffling feathers, and being committed to letting the public know where I stand, I am proud to sign my name.
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  11. Steve, that's because you don't have a salary at stake. If you think the people in central office aren't vindictive, you are mistaken, and they can act that way without doing anything illegal.

    However, I do admire your directness and honesty. Don't ever let the discomfort you cause others affect the way you serve the taxpayers and students of Norwalk.
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  12. why do some feel it is so important to constantly use a broad brush stroke and say people in central office? who are they talking about? this is the kind of constant talk that is so unnecessary!
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  13. There seems to be a lot of great speaking about the new IT director...well maybe so...but why does he have such a sweet deal that he can work from home when the weather does not permit him to fly into CT?
    How unfair is this? Who is looking at this?
    who approved this? why is this allowed for one and not for others?
    If the weather is bad to fly then he should drive in like the rest of us.
    how ridiculuous. we have to think about saving money..what about saving this salary, and let someone else have that job; who can come to work everyday.
    when we want to start looking at things let's go there.
    I am sure principals would like to stay home and write evals, or plans, and ap's the same, and what about other central office personnel?
    h-m-m-m
    If the plane can't fly then the pilot needs to find an alternative...or move to CT.
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  14. I know the power of the rumor mill, so is there someone who can verify that the IT director really does have this deal about working from home? Has he been to work on the bad days?
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  15. Moina
    As far as I am concerned you ARE the authority on what the parents need to know about education in Norwalk. I know people in many surrounding towns who follow this blog as well as some issues touch us all as taxpaying parents of publicly schooled children. As for allowing the anonymous comments, I think it is absolutely necessary. Anyone who has tried to follow any education/school related issues in The Hour is immediately disgusted by the venom directed at certain named bloggers. Especially those connected to All Saints Catholic School. Either way, love your blog --
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  16. The new IT guy flies himself to work from Mass. every day. He was told by someone in Central Office that if the weather was bad, he could work from home. He also does not have to attend night meetings.

    Pretty sweet deal, don't you think?????

    I cannot believe that no one else out there was qualified for this job.
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  17. in this economy and with such a budget deficit--how could we even consider allowing such a eal likie this? some high level people at central office encourage talk of his flying, and although that is unusual--what is not right and not fair to all in the educational ranks at any level is the allowance for working from home. was this a parting shot of the former interim, and the hr person?
    cannot believe nps could not find someone who would be able to do this job within the 4 corners of ct...
    probably if you ask the question regarding this...you will not get the truth.
    the ASI...will find a way to blame someone else, when most likely he knew from the get go, said nothing and now says well...it was done. good choice in not placing him as interim or supt. long hours and lots of years, do not make one a leader.
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  18. Wasn't his first meeting, the communications meeting held at night? That seems to negate the first part of the criticism.....
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  19. yes i believe you are right on that one.
    the working from home is true he said it himself, his staff knows it, and central office is aware of it.
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  20. Working from home is fine if you work in a place that doesn't require a lot of interpersonal communications, much of that face to face, not on the telephone or computer. He needs to be in the buildings, as his predecessor was. Is he not also in charge of the same curriculum areas that his predecessor oversaw?

    Who's brainchild was it to hire someone who can't always get to work and who can't stay for many after-work meetings? (This is a serious question.) Most administrators, even the ones who are problems in some respects, work many hours after school. All principals and their assistants have to work in the evenings and even on weekends.

    The board needs to look into this. I hope they didn't know about this because if they did, I have lost much faith in their thinking.
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  21. CORRECTION by same poster: Who's = Whose
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  22. There should be a suggestion made to find these answers at the next BOE meeting during public comments. If it is found to be true, that deal should be immediately squashed. It HAS to be addressed. We need to get rid of the exception for the one guy before it becomes the rule for administrators to be able to work from home. By the way, does anyone mind if I teach my classes from home on the days that I don't want to drive in to work?
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  23. Why can't a principal who lives out of town call in and do the same when the roads are bad where he/she lives? He/She can work on budget, evaluations, school planning, etc., and leave the assistant in charge. Why shouldn't the administrators' union make that demand for others in the bargaining unit? While on that note, I recall very clearly that members of a bargaining unit are not supposed to negotiate their own "deals" with the school system. If the union negotiates salary and benefits, it should negotiate all working conditions.

    And then there is the question of sick days. If he (or anyone else who doesn't have to be in front of a class) is sick, what is the argument against his calling in and saying that he is working from home and so he shouldn't be charged with a sick day?

    There is also little accountability for someone who isn't at the office/school. He is also less readily available to people who might need him on site, and please don't say that he is available by telephone because that is not the same.

    Sometimes it seems that the school system looks for crazy ideas.
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  24. 4:31, that is a new low. Blaming the ASI for hiring the IT Director? You must really be out to get this guy. Your agenda is so obvious. If that is the way you present yourself, my opinion of the ASI is that he may be the only one who has the balls to take on the evil one in the system!
    Keep commenting even when it doesn't apply. More and more people are beginning to see through you.
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  25. Correction: 'evil one' to 'evil ones'
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  26. Why would 4:31 throw Tony under the bus? Believe me, it was not his idea to hire this guy. Who you need to question is the new illustrious board members. I would encourage you to go to the meeting and ask them straight up. Now that they are a board of transparency, I am sure they will be willing to share their reasoning for such a hire.

    Remember, it is the board who approves the candidates for hire, not Tony, the assistant super for curriculum and instruction as well as the director of secondary ed.

    Don't be so quick to criticize. He is the only one who has been covering for all of the past supers who could not get in done on a good day. Who do you think is in charge when the supers are unavailable for whatever reason? Tony Daddona. Say whatever you want about him, but he has always been dedicated to this district.

    I personally thank him for his 31 years of service, despite what others are constantly saying on this blog that is S00000000000
    anti-Tony for obvious reasons, which I will not go into at this time.
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  27. 9:25 - Unless you were on the interview committee or unless Tony told you, you would have no way to know what Tony Daddona's position was about hiring this guy. In either case, one of you would have been wrong for discussing the closed deliberations of the committee. If you say that you are basing it upon Tony's comments subsequent to the hiring, that would also be inappropriate. You certainly seem to be fighting for Mr. Daddona, but you are not doing him a favor by telling people what he thinks about issues because it makes it look as though he is speaking inappropriately, and I know that may not be the case.

    Whatever the case, Tony IS the guy's boss, and so he needs to step up and straighten out this mess.

    Finally, please stop overstating Tony's importance in being "in charge whenever the supers are unavailable." Just what decisions do you think he is making for a superintendent? Being in charge is not the same as being a leader.
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  28. Why are you trying to make allegations about the source of the information? Why is TD once again painted as the bad guy in the above post? I know nothing about what went on during the interview process. I also did not get any information from any central office personnel. What I do know is that the board ultimately is responsible for who is hired. I would think that as they look at the paperwork and see that this guy would be commuting from Mass. by an airplane, it would have sounded some alarms. Also, why is it Tony's responsibility to clean up after another poor decision is made by the board.

    Instead of commenting on the IT guy, you are again smearing TD. You must be one of the board members who often writes on this blog.

    Ultimately, everyone wants to know who negotiated the particulars of this guy's contract. I believe it is the board; they are the ones who hire and fire; therefore, I believe they have to clean up the mess, as you so aptly stated.

    Finally, anyone filling in for the superintendent for a day or two weeks requires the individual to make decisions, attend community events, talk to the press, and a sundry of other important actions. How can YOU say the Tony is not a leader? You do not even know him or maybe you do, and you are just jealous.
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  29. 7:15 - The board is involved in only the last step of the hiring process. Central office and other staff make all of the screening decisions (often including a recommendation for hire to the board) prior to the board's final decision, so to say that it was all the board's decision is not true. Maybe you really just don't know much about how the school administration and board function in this or in other matters.

    There have been a few postings throughout this site that use the term "smear" with relation to TD's name, and so you have been busily posting for him. Nothing I said smeared anyone, unless exercising my right to ask questions and challenge unsubstantiated claims is considered smearing someone.

    One bit of evidence of your lack of understanding is your saying that the board "negotiated the particulars of this guy's contract." The only administrators who have individual contracts are those who are not part of the administrators' bargaining unit, NASA. Some examples would be the superintendent, assistant superintendent, director of human resources and the director of human relations. I may be leaving someone out of this, but I assure you that the director of IT is a member of NASA, and so his contract is the NASA contract because NASA has the contractual right to represent all administrators named in its contract. (Likewise, the NFT has the contractual right to represent all Norwalk Board of Education teachers.) I cannot say with certainty that the board had nothing to do with granting the IT director any special consideration, although I doubt it. If you are so intent on absolving the central office administration from any responsibility, I suggest that you ask for the information under the FOI law.

    Anyone filling in for the superintendent for a day or two does make management decisions, but none of them would be major decisions unless the person filling in first contacted the real superintendent for direction.

    The responsibilities of being superintendent are significant, and the taxpayers pay a very high salary in order to attract the best possible candidates. The taxpayers deserve a superintendent who can make sound policy decisions, someone whom people trust, someone who inspires others to work together and to work harder than ever to do the work needed to improve this school system.
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  30. There is an interesting article in today's CT Post, reporting that Stamford's Mayor Pavia has banned all telecommuting by city employees because, as his director of legal affairs put it, "This is a service based industry. In order to provide services, you need to be here."

    An IT director needs to be here, too. He needs to be at meetings, including evening meetings. He needs to visit the schools when they are open, even on snowy and rainy days when he can't fly his plane. He needs to be available to meet with teachers and administrators, even when the airport is fogged in. He needs to be available at board of education meetings, even when it's too windy to fly small aircraft.
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  31. I am not the above blogger who is in support of TD. I am in support of him, however. Totally in support of him. I believe that the anti-Tony blogger is a central office person who is upset that Tony calls for accountability of his time. Yes, HIS time. We all know who it is that is spending so much time on this and other pages trying to make Tony sound unqualified. I can't stop you from posting, but your posts are getting 'same old, same old.' I hope others realize that too.

    If I happen to be wrong, and this is the board of ed person who wants her favorite candidate as superintendent, and therefore has to smear Tony in the process, shame on you!
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  32. 8:54 - You are mistaken because I am neither of the people you suspect that I am.

    I expect to be accountable for my time; in fact, I have always worked many more hours than required, getting to work early and leaving late. And after that, I have worked at home as well. I'm not patting myself on the back; this is what any dedicated teacher or administrator should be doing.

    While I don't share your feelings about Mr. Daddona's qualifications, that doesn't make me guilty of smearing him or being anti-Tony. For that matter, I know enough about the job to recognize that I would not be a good superintendent. Does that make me anti-ME?
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  33. If you don't share my beliefs or any of the others' beliefs who support Tony, why not just state it and be done? You go on and on and on with your negative opinions. That is why you are being accused of smearing a good person's name.
    Object all you want, but if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and quacks like a duck...guess what? You are who I think you are.
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  34. "To smear" means to hurt someone's reputation, especially by saying bad things about the person. While I have seen some bad things said about Tony, I don't see it in the 9:04 posting. All I see there is a sentiment that he is not a good fit for the job of superintendent. That doesn't make him incompetent or a bad person.

    However, you are making accusations against a central office administrator whom someone (who may or may not be you) even identified by first name. You and/or one or more other people have said that the administrator doesn't want to be held accountable for his time and that he has a personal grudge against Tony. How is it that you don't consider such comments a smear, especially because I am not that person? And, by the way, he is not someone close to me or someone I would readily defend, except that I know what I said and I know who I am.
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  35. I was referring to all of your postings when I said you go on and on and on in a negative way.

    Also, I did not identify the central office person. It was someone else.

    Are you tired of this? I am.
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  36. 1:25 - Just so you know, I am the 3:08 and 11:38 poster, but if anyone posted any derogatory comments about Mr. Daddona's character or intelligence, I was not the person. However, I do disagree with your contention that he is the person qualified to be Norwalk's superintendent of schools.

    Just an amusing thought to end what has no doubt become tedious: You and I very likely know one another, and we may even like one another. However, we don't and probably can't come to agreement on this. I never claimed to be right all of the time (I made a mistake back in 1986), and I'm sure you don't either. Of course, that parenthetical remark was a joke.

    I wish I were off in a sunnier climate this vacation week, but the snow is beautiful. Unfortunately, it's time for me to get out there and clear the walk.
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