Do I have the right to speak on topics for which I have some expertise or not? For educators, this can be a real question. I don’t feel the need to comment on issues such as the economy or maybe fracking with my students, but I do have things to say about net neutrality and school funding and charter schools. It seems fair that if the next President can consider putting someone in a cabinet position with limited general knowledge of the field and a pre-existing stance against public education, I should be able to speak and write on the topics I study. I do not work with impressionable 4th graders. I work with adult professional – graduate students who can think for themselves and have a responsibility to use the best data available to take positions on issues related to education. Educators at all levels need to take public positions on the field in which they work.Whether they involve students should be a matter of common sense. Be willing to take on the variables making the biggest difference.
Professor Watchlist is a site allowing anyone to turn in professors for being overly liberal and I suppose trying to corrupt students. This may be the backlash attempting to remedy the education gap in the voting pattern of the past election.
I found that only one professor from UND, a recent winner of the top academic recognition given to UND professors, is the only UND prof listed on the site. I suppose you cannot nominate yourself to this database and I admit I do not have the credentials of the professor now listed, but I thought I would nominate myself. I submitted this blog of evidence of my liberal positions. No word so far.
This should be great and give me ideas for a least a month of posts. Elect Mark as a liberal.