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Which bring me to the point of this post, which is to basically complain about the utter stupidity of people in a beaurocratic system. If you're looking for a question or a problem to crop up in this post, you might as well stop reading now. This is pure rant.
About three months ago the other teachers on my grade level and I decided that we were tired of making phone calls or writing frantic notes at the end of the day to answer the same questions over and over for the parents of our students. So we set about getting together information about the school, the people in it, etc., planning to build a small web site as a resource specifically for the parents of our students (online homework sheets, the lunch menu, nothing fancy, plus a teacher's side with links, lesson plans, etc). I designed the page and programmed the site using NOTHING fancy. Seriously, it was pure HTML and CSS. No Javascript, no PHP. I thought, "What problem could they possibly have with a dozen simple, valid, html files and a stylesheet?"
Turns out, a lot. The downtown web lackeys FREAKED OUT when I emailed them to find out whether they would host the site on the school server or if we should just plan to have it hosted apart from the school system's site. I recieved a slew of threatening emails stating that I would be fired if I attempted to post school information on a non-school system server (this is almost certainly a lie). The emails included comments like:
There are complex technologies at work on the web that a classroom teacher would not understand. Your "innocent" page code could crash the [school system] servers and take all of our information offline. Better to leave this to the experts.
(Yes. HTML is about as complex as it gets. Perhaps you're referring to that complicated bit at the beginning called a DOCTYPE? You wouldn't recognize it, of course, since none of your pages has one.)
...and...
In order to design your own page for our system you would have to comply with Section 508 guidelines. Do you even know what those are?
(Do you? I've been building sites that comply with them for over a year. Yet 50% of your "school system" pages do not comply with those standards at all, so what's up with THAT?)
Ha! They further informed me that the school system web-team had developed a system that included web page templates, blah blah blah for teachers to use to create pages for their schools, and said I would be better off just using one of those. Well, I checked out "one of those" and it turns out they are about as well-built as the Titanic was unsinkable. Some choice nuggets included:
1. No doctype.
2. Tables-based design (that is clearly unnecessary and unjustified).
3. align and bgcolor and font tags, Oh My!
4. Javascript rollovers
5. No alt attributes (508, what?)
Not to mention it's about as appealing as a dog biscuit is tasty. Bear in mind this is NOT a school page designed by a fifth grader, but a web design template created by some web-lackey who, if the school system reports are true, gets paid almost half again of my yearly salary.
What was my point? Oh, yeah...this beaurocratic stuff bites.
Here's another little chunk of idiocy: in order to update a site on their server, we have to send it to them ON A FLOPPY DISK. Ha! Ha! Ha! A what? What the hell is a floppy disk? "Hello, Web Department? 1990 called; they want their technology back." And to think I was going to punch holes in an index card and send it over via Pony Express.
Not only is that outdated, but it also means that updating your information can take upwards of two weeks! I might as well just walk to everyone's house and tell them the information in person for all the good that will do.
So, regardless, what could have been a very well-developed, user-friendly, valuable resource to the parents of students at my school (and beyond, as we had planned a series of parent-geared articles about how to help students having problems in certain academic areas) died in the water because of the close-minded, rule-shackled web design team who, it so happens, isn't even designing the school system's web presence in the right way.
Any way to anonymously send these people a WebmasterWorld membership?
Thanks for listening.
cEM
PS: Just in case, let me express my understanding that MOST people who work for the school system do not have the web experience that I do. Nor should they. So the web team's assumptions that I was clueless might hav ebeen justified, except that I made it clear in my original email that I was experienced and knowlegable of things-webby, and not by throwing it in their face that I am a freelance designer, but by talking about the technology and procedures involved in creating and maintaining a web site in an intelligible and informed manner. Nonetheless, they assumed I was a rube.
[edited by: trillianjedi at 3:02 pm (utc) on April 14, 2005]
I have seen it many times over the years mostly in IT
ITS CALLED JOBSWORTH
They must be seen to be more knowledgable than the rank and file or why could they ask for high salarys they generally recieve
steve
Of course, sometimes it's just stupidity.
"Hello, Web Department? 1990 called; they want their technology back." And to think I was going to punch holes in an index card and send it over via Pony Express.
Oh that made my day.
"It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission"
I would have kept my mouth shut and hosted it off the schools system. I assume you have a teachers union, and getting fired requires great effort.
it's spelled "bureaucracy"
I would have kept my mouth shut and hosted it off the schools system. I assume you have a teachers union, and getting fired requires great effort.
"It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission"
Nonetheless, perhaps you're right. The real shame is that it isn't ME that misses out (after all, I was only making more work for myself), but the parents and students that might have benefited from the site. The very people, of course, that we're all (teachers, principals, web lackeys) employed to serve.
Ah, well. Que cera, cera. I didn't really feel like PDFing half a dozen homework sheets every week, anyway.
cEM
I can't see the web monkeys being as abrupt with them as they were with you. they might actually have to sit up and take notice
Loved the post - made my day - almost sounded like you worked for Lotus back in the day :)
createErrorMsg, I think you had a great idea and if you're a bit of a rabble rouser (sounds like you may be) you should put all of your eloquent points together in nice handout. Make a compelling argument about how you can help stream-line the system for parents, students and teachers with LESS COST AND ANGUISH, include examples of your work.
Then head to the next school board meeting and drop this bomb in their laps and sell it to the masses. Also point out that your current web system needs to be overhauled to comply with the standards you mentioned because "as educators we should be setting a better example of doing this properly to instill more faith in our ability to educate" :)
Parents will love it as I know my "i forgot my homework" or "missed the assignment" kid drove me insane.
The IT web weenies will twitch and quiver when it gets rammed down their throats but it doesn't sound like they want to make any friends anyway.
I'm sure they can see that your pages are clean and functional, and it scares them.
I'm willing to bet that the "complex technologies" bit means that they wrote some seriously farked up active code which hung apache, which everyone knows then destroys the rest of the network and requires a server reboot to restart 8-)
if you're a bit of a rabble rouser (sounds like you may be)
head to the next school board meeting and drop this bomb in their laps and sell it to the masses
That's actually a pretty good idea, although I wouldn't want the job to do the conversion, myself, since it would require working with the very people who are obviously resistant to updating the system.
they've built up their reputation so much, they can't possibly let people see that a mere teacher can do the same thing they can.
Thanks to everyone for the kind responses. Obviously, I can't rant to my co-workers about this sort of thing (they get that glazed look of the un-geekified at the first mention of computer related things). It's nice to have this community to share the frustration with.
:)
cEM
Well, as much as your post is eloquently written, you know, you gotta get out there to make the system work along with you, rather than breaking the system. Least Common Denominator is a wonderful thing, you know.
This would be one of the less inspiring things I've come across lately, guess it takes all kinds of view points to make the world turn around.
the Man vs Society story
you gotta get out there to make the system work along with you
True. And, truth be told, I probably could have approached the project differently from the beginning and gotten more cooperation that I did. In my own defense, I didn't know they would react the way they did. I honestly assumed setting up a useful web site to service the school would be met with open arms. It never occured to me that there would be resistance. When resistance was met, I was somewhat flabbergasted and assumed they reacted that way because they thought I didn't know what I was doing. So I set out to show them I did know what I was doing by presenting the code and what not to them. I suppose this got their territorial hackles up.
cEM
That's actually a pretty good idea, although I wouldn't want the job to do the conversion
You don't need to sell yourself as the person to DO the job, just sell the job as something that needs to be done and let the inbred IT staff bear the responsibility of executing it. When you mention standards and point out your own school's web site doesn't pass the W3C validator, it will paint them in a very bad light and you can make sure we get the most of their over priced salaries trying to play CYA
It never occured to me that there would be resistance.
Imagine your reaction if someone came into your class and questioned your lesson plan.
Nuff said?
I would leave it a while and launch the site under a completely different guise when this rebuke has been forgottten. If you make the issue public now they will have to fight you, their reputation as professional webmasters is at stake, yours is not.
To publicly question anothers proffesional competency can lead to trouble
I never said to question their competency, I said to "propose an upgrade"
It's all in the presentation :)
Just a sugggestion.
Syzygy
The apparatchiki have done what apparatchiki do: ignored the real problems to focus on imaginary ones.
Also there is an element of what we in Danish call ekspertvælde. I don't know if there is an English term for this, but Expert Power sounds more or less like it, though it may not have quite the same ring of dissociation and hostility that almost any Dane would hear in the Danish term. You and others have hinted at this aspect, but I do not believe that anybody has explicitly said that your experience is an example of a more general phenomenon:
Experts (or sometimes "experts") building a powerful social class and defending their position of power with any means against any kind of challenge.
Do not expect such people to act rationally if you do something that they regard as a challenge. Especially they are allergic to any suggestion that ordinary people are able to deal with problems in their own field of expertise.
It never occured to me that there would be resistance.Imagine your reaction if someone came into your class and questioned your lesson plan.
Agreed. Of course, I never actually questioned their practices or procedures (except for in this thread and loudly, with hand gestures, to my very understanding wife). At this point, given how things have progressed, the resistance doesn't surprise me at all, but in the beginning, when all I was doing was emailing to ask about whether their server could host the site I really didn't think there would be any problem. It seemed like a no-brainer to me. Then, instead of just explaining in a rational way that the school system will not host a site like that, I got this how-dare-you backlash.
As much as I like the idea of going before the school board to propose an upgrade of their system, I don't think it would be worth it in the long run. School systems are notably defensive (as I'm sure all bureaucratic organizations are) of their precious heirarchy. I can think of four or five people up the food chain that would get super-pissed if a teacher went to the school board with a problem, and every one of them has the ability, if not to fire me, to at least make my life far less enjoyable than it is now.
So for the moment, the project is sunk. I'll keep an eye on the news to see if and when the web team changes leadership and perhaps pitch the idea differently to a new person in charge.
cEM
l keep an eye on the news to see if and when the web team changes leadership and perhaps pitch the idea differently to a new person in charge.
Or go for the job yourself...
you know what I do? I make one suggestion backed up by a teh facts and examples, if they choose to ignore it, well thats their look out.
It can be really annoying and frustrating at times over teh years ive just learnt to ignore it and do something else.
The one reoccuring theme I have found when my suggestions arent taken up or even examined, is that they have an hidden motive not to do anything but must appear to be democratic and listen to you.
Write a thank you letter in which you tell them how you had no idea that this was such a complicated matter and thank them for their suggestions and support. Then tell them that you have included your webpage on CD and that you are relying on their competence to check it for any problems before putting it online and expect it to be online in the next few days.
Apologize for not beeing able to send updates on floppy since your computer does not have a floppy disk and that if they should have any problems reading the data you would be open for suggestions, like transfering it by mail or putting it up on a server for download in a zip file.
Normally this is the best way to deal with this type of guys since they can see by your answer that you know they are just bluffing but let them keep their face in not calling them incompetent.
Another good move would be informing the school board and telling them how you are in contact with the web department and how competent people are there and that the website will start soon after a few technical details have been worked out. Then tell the web department how the school board is excited about your project and like you they are relying on the web departments competence to get your website working and overcome those little technically difficulties in no time.
The problem is that you stumbled into their field of competence (or thats what they think it is.) How would you have reacted if one of those guys had come up with a fully worked out plan how to better teach the kids at your school. Event if it was brilliant you would not be too happy about it and maybe react in a similar way.
So to come around this you have to embrace them and show them how they are needed. After all they told you about how brilliant they are, so hold them to their word and let them show... but to your terms.
Meanwhile continue to nuture this seed of an idea. Take another look at your plan - there might be better ways to make this work. Maybe another teacher in another district has developed an approach that would work. Is there anything that prevents you from sending a newsletter?
