Hi Jeff,
Bravo for coming out and stating what others do but won't admit;
sorry you seem to be taking such a beating on it. I'll be quite honest
and blunt, I know copyright and strive to follow it. I educated my staff
at the start of the year and put several bugs in ears along the way.
That said, when my principal came to me on behalf of the ELA department
and said we would be showing "Polar Express" to the entire school on the
last day of classes, I said "yes, sir" and fired up the DVD player.
Now, for all of you copyright saints out there who, as I've read,
"Would no, no, no never do such a heinous act," I'm willing to bet if
your principal came up and said, "Do it" you would do it. I don't care
how much you treasure intellectual freedom and intellectual property
rights, I'm willing to lay it on the line that you treasure making your
mortgage payments and car loans on time even more. I know of only two
people personally in this profession who were willing to lose their jobs
over their moral / ethical stand, but both had spouses who made high 5
and low 6 figure incomes.
I took a moral stance against a school district once, took on "city
hall" if you will, and even though I had tons of people in
administration, on staff, and in the public tell me flat out they
supported me and I was on the "moral high ground" I still was fired by
the school board and spent two years out of work. For my stance, I was
forced to declare bankruptcy, nearly lost my home, and watched my
beloved wife and mother age under the stress. My days of moral crusading
are over. If The Man (or Woman) says "show it" or "do it" I'm smiling
all the way to the bank every 25th of the month.
If you are in a strong union state and believe you can't get fired
for standing up for what you believe, fine. More power to you, but
around here the school boards are kings and queens and I'm not taking on
another one. I apologize for being so cynical about the thing, but
before you say what you "will" or "won't" ever do, take the action on
out a ways. Is your FAMILY's well being worth risking a principal's ire
just to keep a few pennies more on Bill Gates or Disney's table?
My $0.02, for what it's worth.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all.
Shannon
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