Town Support for Schools in Tough Times.

On June 14th, 2010, the citizens of Athol Massachusetts, in an open town meeting, voted 127 to 5 in favor of allocating up to $400,000 dollars toward a feasibility study on the options for managing an elementary school that is literally falling down around the teachers and children who attend it. The cost of the study was hotly debated with the school board and parents organization advocated the expenditure. In dissent were two factions, town residents who have no children and those who feel the limit funds could be better spent elsewhere.

One relevant question was why the town needed to spend so much money to study something so obvious. All one has to do is walk through the building to see the plaster falling off the walls, dust dripping from the ceiling and the exposed wires where hangers and wall board have given way. It is obvious to a casual observer that renovating or rebuilding is critically necessary at this school.

The answer to that question is that the State requires the feasibility study as a first step in considering where to assign educational grant money to the individual local governments.

This is a case where the local residents are so close to the problem that they are, at first, unable to realize that, at the state level, the questions a study would answer are necessary to prioritize the granting of monies to Athol over the hundreds of other places the money might be spent.

A useful explanation for why the study is necessary is written by the National Trust for Historic Preservation which provides a comprehensive white paper on the role of these studies in determining the options, refurbishment vs. rebuilding.

In the state of Massachusetts, these studies, while initially funded by the local government, are, if accepted by the state, reimbursed at a rate of up to 80% of the cost of the study. The means that if successful, the town will only have spent a little less than a quarter of the cost of the study. Once the study is completed, the next step is to apply for funding from the state to address the building, which we hope will result in a new school building for the town.

Google, you're cooler than freedom!

Do we think iGoogle is cool enough to be our active desktop? If we do, why is Google cool but Windows was not? We are all Open Source and X and "roll your own" custom desktops for years and now, Google does it for us and flock yipping like kittens with yarn. Is it just a tool or, like the beetles that are deforesting the north east, is it a slow, very sneaky disease bent on dominating our computers?

Maybe I just need some coffee.

Ethics Start at Home

At first blush, a student of professional ethics might turn to a myriad of professional associations and government agencies in an attempt to locate applicable sources of ethical guidance. These agencies and foundations are not without merit and certainly provide a solid first source from which to start formulating a personal or team ethic. Many professions have associations which provide ethical frameworks; state bar associations for lawyers, medical and teaching boards, societies for certified public accountants, among others.
While the consideration of a professional associations code of ethics is certainly a resource from which to start, "any bureaucratization of what constitutes ethics runs the risk of absolving the student/researcher from moral reflection once the ethics consideration form is approved." (Askins, 2008)

Another source in the formation of a professional ethic is through interactive instruction with ones mentors, teachers and collaborators. In Canada, for instance, students at Ryerson University learn about reviewing protocols
through a variety of processes, including mentorship, consultation with other Board members, workshop participation, independent study and others. (Walton, Karabanow, & Saleh, 2008) At their university, the researcher suggest that the quality of ethical review boards are not only enhanced by a collaboration that include expert faculty and students but that the mix provides better for the spirit of laws governing ethical review boards.

Perhaps the most critical source upon which one must rely to decide a question of ethics is introspective in nature. In the final analysis, one must draw on the cultural teachings, the personal faith and ones own "gut" as the source of ones ethics. Indeed, what leads any individual to make what he or she sees as a reasonable judgement about the truth of a value claim is not evidence such that any reasonable person would find sufficient--but evidence that the individual finds personally sufficient to support or oppose the program put forward. (Broidy & Jones, 1998)

Ethics IS Marketing

I often mention that critical thinking is the "stock in trade" of being a systems analyst and a programming contractor. As such, conducting my business in an ethical manner is a form of marketing, not to mention the right thing to do.

Often, in order to provide a process model for a business, I must have access to a clients proprietary information. I am trusted with accounting data, passwords, personnel information and critical infrastructure upon which the client's business relies. Starting with what exists, I am then asked to help assess and form plans for the future growth of the company. Not only does this require critical thought, but also, an ethical responsibility. The health and longevity of the company and it's employees is, to a sometimes significant degree, dependent upon my performance. This statement is not intended to devalue nor indemnify other team members who share this responsibility as well.

When I bid on a job, I am promising the client that I will protect their confidentiality, use Best Practices and charge a fair but honest price. How I perform and deliver effects my reputation and that of programming contractors in general.

Writing is a Puzzle

My favorite part of writing is the opportunity to articulate my thoughts. Writing assignments are permission to express ones ideas without apology. The challenge of organizing sentences to clearly reflect my thoughts is quite enjoyable. Writing is a puzzle whose solution is the sum of parts the author manufactures. One has an idea what picture will result when the pieces are assembled but the pieces are not all provided.

The hardest part of writing for me is getting started. The transition from the blank page to a rough draft is always difficult. A technique that works well for me is focused free-writing. Once I break the inertia of staring at a blank page and start writing, the thoughts tend to flow like water from a floodgate.

With initial thoughts on paper, I rework the results, often stopping to brainstorm ideas that will support the ideas I wrote during my free-writing exercise. It is not uncommon for me to create several drafts of my ideas and modify my outline many times before I am satisfied.

Ultimately the best tip I have about writing is to avoid second guessing the ideas from the initial brainstorm. The challenge is to surmount the paradox of writing expertly about that which one is far from expert and express myself.

No empathy for the old ways of hurt and harm

All of our rules, marriage rules included, have a profound effect on culture and society. In the course of history we have changed many rules with the result that culture and society have changed.

Segregation rules come to mind. The rules regarding same gender marriages are also changing culture and society.

The premise that one should express empathy for those who are having difficulty with these changing times is not one I can embrace.

My personal conflict here is something the Buddha might teach me is my own weakness. I view those who would deny the equal right of same gender lovers to celebrate in an equal fashion as exhibiting such a lack of caring and empathy toward others that my anger toward them overshadows my ability to feel compassion for them.

When one clings to the old ways in spite of the clear harm to others it causes, I just can't empathize.

Self-taught Python - ad-hoc distance learning

This week I have had a wonderful experience in distance learning that I hope will turn out to be a useful technique going forward.

A woman on a tech email list I frequent posted an open invitation to others to join her in learning the Python programming language in a online virtual study group format.

I joined the ad-hoc group, whose collective desire to learn Python followed a lesson plan we would find on the internet. We did a fair amount of research on the courses that were available and settled on one we discovered online at penn.edu.

I have to admit that I didn't take it very seriously leading up to the first day of "class" and when push came to shove, it really is a method of staying honest with myself and some friends in an effort to make it though the lesson plan.

Python is interesting. I am not sure I am ready to give up my curley braces yet but without them I feel forced to consider program flow a little more. I am sure this feeling will wear off but for now, it's actually helping me write in a more structured way.

Unfortunately, this afternoon I have to shift from python to PHP because I have a Drupal project that I need to make some headway on and I am running out of weekend in which to accomplish the task.

Our Python Course, CS399-005 Python Programming