A letter to the Janesville Board of Education concerning the school district’s employment contracts

Dear members of the Janesville Board of Education,

I write to you with some concern over the employment status of teachers in the Janesville School District. I urge you to negotiate with teachers and other employees concerning new contracts. Otherwise, I hope that you can give teachers nearing retirement age (or there already) straightforward and binding guidance to help them decide whether to submit their retirement by your April 15 deadline.

In regard to this situation, I want to say emphatically how important Janesville’s education has been to me. I was born and raised in Janesville, and attended Madison Elementary School, Franklin Middle School, and Parker High School. While I experienced the ups and downs that any student does, I know with a very high level of confidence how truly exceptional my teachers have been. Whether it was the incredible world experiences of Mr. Van Altena in seventh grade Social Studies, the confidence of Mr. Quaerna in eight grade American History, the rigor of Mr. Kerbel in AP American History, or the determination of Mr. John Eyster to introduce me and others to the importance of politics in AP American Government (we called this enthusiasm Potomac fever), I rely on the lessons of my social studies teachers every day. I do so professionally as a professor of political science.

But if I were to focus only on the many abilities of Janesville’s social studies teachers, I would really be selling the Janesville Schools District short. So moving and capable were my mathematics and science teachers, including Mr. Groth in Physics and Mr. Casanova in AP Chemistry that I was spoilt for choice over my future career. Indeed, I originally entered UW-Madison intending to major in physics – a path I would have followed, were it not for a run in with political life at the Wisconsin state capital. Further, my life would be forever impoverished if not for my many art and music classes.

And still I have not said enough to characterize how solid a Janesville education is. Since graduating from UW-Madison, I pursued an MA degree and then a PhD across the pond in England. I taught at some of the country’s strongest politics departments, including the University of Oxford’s. Since then, I have moved with my Korean wife to South Korea, and teach at a strongly ranked political science department here. My students in Korea emerge from one of the world’s most highly regarded and intense education systems, and many of my Oxford students attended celebrated primary and secondary schools (equivalent to our K-12). I have thorough experience with exceptional students from these estimable systems, yet I remain confident in the view that Janesville’s teachers educate and inspire with the best of them. I know this from personal experience, but also from the achievements of my graduating classmates from 1999, whose careers include children’s author, politician, lawyer, businesswoman, teacher, sheriff’s deputy, pharmacist, and historical researcher, just to list a few.

It is clear to me not only that Janesville has gifted educators, but also that Janesville’s educational system is instrumental in its students’ success. Without a flourishing school district, and the support of the city and the Board of Education, even fantastic teachers can feel marginalized. But with a system that treats teachers as professionals worthy of negotiation, Janesville’s educational excellence can continue.

Thus, it is crucial to maintain an atmosphere of real collaboration between teachers, the school district, and the Board of Education, especially when differences of opinion seem most intractable. This gives everyone real stake-holding in the school district, even if teachers lose a difficult negotiation. This sense of belonging is necessary for our teaching professionals to continue playing to their strengths. We need their pride in their work, and we simply can’t get that from the particular terms of an employment contract. But we can lose all of this if contracts are formulated in silence without real dialogue.

Sincerest regards,

Dr. Benjamin Thompson

Wisconsin Union Law in the court system

In news that will not surprise anyone, a Dane County, WI judge, Maryann Sumi, has placed a restraining order on the publication of the recently passed bill budget repair bill (which was passed only because it wasn’t a budget bill, the irony). This bill is set to revoke most collective bargaining rights of Wisconsin public workers. The claimant argues that the Senate violated Wisconsin State Open Meeting law.

Until published, this bill cannot become law.

At issue would seem to be the separation of powers in Wisconsin. That is to say, just how much power should the court system have to temporarily, or perhaps permanently, ‘veto’ legislation. Some will support a robustly democratic mode of law making, and will believe the restraining order of the Dane County Circuit court undermines this. They will want courts to have very little authority to trump the law making powers of legislatures. But others will want a check on democratic enthusiasm and (or) will want due legislative process to be secured by more than the voluntary comportment of legislators. They may support the courts being able to limit or strike law. This is an important constitutional debate, of importance to citizens, politicians, constitutional lawyers, legal theorists, and political theorists, among others.

Any discussion of the issues in this case would need to look at some particulars first. I think a good list of these would include:

1. In what way is open meeting law legally binding on the Senate’s deliberative procedures.

2. Were the debating and voting procedures used in the Senate and Assembly in fact in violation of Wisconsin open meeting requirements?

3. What, if any, role does (and should) a Wisconsin circuit court judge have in adjudicating this case.

4. What, if any, standing does the claimant have to bring this action.

re. 1.

(From NY Times, March 18, 2011, article by Monica Davey)

“The lawsuit says that Republican legislative leaders not only failed to provide 24 hours’ notice for the conference committee meeting, they even failed to give two hours’ notice — which is permissible under state law if more notice is “impossible or impractical.” “ It would seem then that the Senate’s internal procedures are under the ambit of open meeting requirement law.

 

re. 2.

It seems likely to me that open meeting law was violated, but open meeting law may be irrelevant.

This may be because internal legislative rules might trump open meeting law. If so, then it is the internal rules which are the only relevant standard, and the current lawsuit would be meritless. But I am not sure on what grounds the Legislature’s internal rules are prioritized over state law.  If the Legislature’s rules do have priority, this would seem to respect the idea that the WI Legislature is bound procedurally only by constitutional law and its own accord. Those who support robustly democratic law making would probably approve of the priority of the legislature’s internal rules.  This way both law making and law making procedures are democratic.  But even those who support some democratic oversight might also support the internal rules if a court can rule on disputes about whether these rules have or have not been followed.  If the internal rules are binding, then it may still be possible for a more appropriate law suit to be filed if there is a case to be made that the rules were violated.

re. 3

My view is that if Wisconsin law may have been violated, then it is within the authority of the Wisconsin court system to determine the facts of this. And if they determine that a violation has occurred, then it might be acceptable for the judicature to prevent this law from taking effect altogether. Accordingly, I think a restraining order legitimate at this phase.

If, however, there is only ground for complaint on account of the violation of the Legislature’s rules, then I am not sure if the Wisconsin court system has the legal authority to adjudicate.

(Update, March 21, 2011.  Much turns on whether it is appropriate for the court system to prevent law from coming into effect, or from ruling law unconstitutional after law has come into effect.  The process by which a bill becomes law is constitutionally defined in Wisconsin, so this may be a significant, and extra-constitutional, coup for court authority.  In an article entitled ‘Judge orders temporary halt to collective bargaining law; state will appeal’, the Wisconsin State Journal quotes General J.B. Van Hollen, who notes that there are Supreme Court decisions which indicate that courts cannot stop laws from taking effect if proper procedures are not followed, even if these procedures are law.  It’s possible that Van Hollen is stretching his interpretation of precednet, as many procedural rules are not laws.  Given this, I’m not certain if the Supreme Court has ruled in truly parallel case.  But if he’s right, the move by Judge Sumi will probably be overturned.)

I am also unsure, however, if the Dane County Circuit Court should rule on this. While the alleged act took place within it’s jurisdiction, the matter concerns a fundamental institution of Wisconsin’s government, the legislature, and so it may make more sense for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear this case. Especially if this boils down to a question of whether state law or internal rules have priority in legislative decisions – a weighty constitutional question indeed – it is the Supreme Court which should rule.  And if internal rules apply, then, as above, I am not sure if the Supreme Court has authority.  Certainly if it takes on this authority, this is an interesting constitutional move indeed.

re. 4.

I believe the Dane County district attorney has filed this suit. I can’t imagine that he has standing in a normal sense, as he was not injured. It would seem that Democrat Senators would have a better cause of action. However, since the district attorney will be part of the enforcement of the budget repair law, if it is passed, this may give him some standing to object to a law he believes illegitimate. But I feel very uncertain about this.  If we expect courts to oversee legislatures, it seems strange the this can only be undertaken on account of law suits.  This has the advantage of limiting when and to what extent courts can effectively trump legislatures – surely important for supporters of democratic law making.  But it also causes problems when no one, or no group, is injured in a normal sense.  Simply put, many misdeeds are not causes of action under tort law, but many may be alarming if committed by institutions of government.

Changing Status of Korean Public Universities

Korea’s flagship public university, Seoul National University (SNU), has recently obtained what their managers saw as an important victory. Legal incorporation, and independence from the Korean civil service. This will come into effect in 2012, following the passage of a bill legalizing the incorporation on 9 December 2010,

Some English language sources:

http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/117_77738.html

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/yhedit/2010/12/09/31/5100000000AEN20101209008700315F.HTML

The change is expected, according to some commentators, to fuel the academic competitiveness of SNU. The goal being to make it a ‘world-class’ university (SNU had reached as high as 49 on the Times Higher Educational global ranking, but it seems to have slipped out of the top 100 again). The university will be able to pay ‘World renowned’ professors more (what the value of this is in terms of academic competitiveness is uncertain). And to engage in for profit activities. In brief, SNU shall be free to treat parts of academia as business pursuits.

Note that this is not the utter privatization of the university. It will continue to be financed by the Korean taxpayers just as it is now.

Not everyone shares in the triumph. The bill has been passed over the objections of opposition law makers, the majority of SNU students, and the majority of national university academics in Korea (I was not polled).

Students object that tuition may rise. Professors also object, perhaps because of discomfort over a much more competitive academic world – and one where their pay is closely calibrated to their performance.

(It’s unclear on what grounds performance will be evaluated, but I’m guessing that publications in the Thompson-Reuters index journals will be crucial. Korean universities take this to be the gold standard for academic research. This is a very limited standard of academic excellence, and often a misleading one; however, Thompson-Reuters has been remarkably successful at lobbying for it. I’m unsure how important other publications, say books, or teaching excellence will turn out to be.)

But the objections are not limited to self-interest. The idea that the university can pursue profitable enterprises makes students and professors worried, I think legitimately, that arts and humanities subjects will be neglected. Even scientists will have to watch out, as colleagues in the UK can attest, since much science (theoretical physics for instance) has few short-term business pay offs. Some professors, students and administration officials have gone so far as to claim the research at SNU will be ‘poisoned’. While this language may be strong, I think it perfectly reasonable to imagine that some research will be distorted, and that teaching may cease to be a primary concern for many professors. Again, the course of events in the United Kingdom informs my speculation. To say the least, I am uncomfortable with the idea of universities as ‘for-profit’ enterprises.

I’m also concerned that Korean taxpayers will still be asked to foot the bill for SNU. This isn’t a problem if the university remains a largely public enterprise and continues to provide education as a public good. Now I support public universities, and think university education should be a public good. Access to high quality education for students who cannot afford private universities is a social goal to which I’m committed. This access may not be threatened by the incorporation of SNU, but students think it is (see below).

The situation changes if the university becomes an effectively private enterprise. The ramifications of this may be troublesome. Were tuition at SNU to rise anywhere near private university fees, and were the university pursuing private profits concurrently, then tax payers will be funding effectively private institutions. The logic of funding public goods will no longer apply, and, further, the tax payers will be providing SNU with a serious competitive advantage against Korea’s private universities. I don’t think Korean tax payers would remain oblivious to this situation. If these changes occur, I’d anticipate the kind of pressure seen in America and England for the reduction in public university funding. Why should I pay taxes for SNU when my kids are at a private school, or why should I pay taxes + expensive tuition for SNU?

Where SNU leads, other Korean public universities follow. Already, Kyungpook National University (KNU), my university, intends to pursue incorporation.

Naturally, I’m a little concerned about what this may entail for me. It will change considerably the nature of my position. There terms and conditions of my current job were quite important for me when I decided to take the leap and start working in Korea. One of the things that worries me is that private universities (and other public universities) tend to avoid giving foreign professors permanent posts. My current job is tenure track, so while it isn’t permanent yet, it is supposed to become so. I'm not sure if this will soon be up in the air.

At the same time, I see a lot of opportunity here. I’ve been trained up in an academic system where regular research is stressed. While I have serious reservations about some ways in which incentivizing research might be implemented, I see this as a good thing. And depending how the pay system works out, I could end up much better financially than I currently am.

Beyond these personal concerns, I’m also interested in what this will entail for teaching. If the promise of global standard universities is realized, it could mean a more diverse student body. But it could also mean a more hard-done student population. I could have the opportunity to teach innovative research led classes, or I may be constrained in teaching what is believed to sell. Time will tell.

But it is also imperative that I find out more about the specifics of the incorporation, the new form of university administration that will be instituted afterwards, and the scope of their independence from governmental oversight. Right now there is a lack of clear information and communication on these changes, and that needs to change.

Baking in Korea

I am immensely fond of Korean food, both traditional and contemporary.   Although I find most seafood dishes and a street food called ttoppoekki to be ill-conceived and unappealing, everything else is wonderfully vibrant.  Mixtures of astringent flavors, fermented beans, meats, and root vegetables, and a dizzying array of greens and sprouts called namul make up many of my favorites.

 

So I’ve even been known to make Korean food myself.  But when it comes to my own kitchen, my real passions are decidedly Euro-centric: French cuisine especially but Italian dishes more regularly.  Baking is important to me (and pastries to my wife).  The process is therapeutic, and my results usually outstrip what local bakeries are capable of. 

 

Whatever I’m cooking, it’s important that I can carefully control the ingredients I use, choosing local, organic, fair trade, and whole foods when possible.  Thus, I can make both restrained and indulgent meals or deserts with full awareness of what I’m doing.  Having the opportunity to craft a balanced and tasty diet matters to me and is important for my wife.  It will be even more significant I have children and am cooking for them.  I want them to appreciate healthy western food, rather than the calorie laden offerings of American chain restaurants and pseudo-European bistros more readily available in Korea.  Of course, when they eat Korean food, they’ll benefit from one of the most healthy cuisines available.

 

So carrying on with my cooking, using and refining the skills I developed in England, is something of an imperative.  So far I’ve had good success procuring most of the basic ingredients I want, and adapting some Korean vegetables into the mix.  The different cuts of meat here can be a little frustrating, but I’ll eventually be able to navigate this.  The general lack of western herbs applies only to fresh ones; I’ve secured the dry herbs I use most.  I’ll grow fresh ones in time. 

 

The differences that are most striking to me involve heating techniques.  Roasting and baking are not traditional parts of Korean cuisine.  However, these are dispensable from western gastronomy only with great frustration.  Fortunately for would-be home chefs, many Korean homes now come equipped with ovens.  Still, they aren’t yet standard, in my limited experience, and the staff apartments for foreign professors at Kyungpook National University are lacking in this regard.

 

I must admit I was rather perturbed when I discovered that my flat was missing an oven, and that, worse, there was no obvious place to install one.  I have a good gas burner, and a really excellent hood, with a magnificent set of large drawers directly underneath.  So no built in or free standing range could be positioned in the most obvious place.

 

While pondering my predicament with my wife, we decided the best thing to do would be to buy a built in oven (not a range) and have a separate, and free standing, cabinet built to house it.  This would function like an island, eventually provide a location for an espresso machine and grinder, and provide some separation between the kitchen and the living space of my apartment.  Problem solved, in concept.  All that was left was choosing a model and finding out where to procure it.

 

After a little internet searching I narrowed down my options to a couple of Italian models from Zanussi and Nardi, and a couple of Korean models from LG Dios.

 

Shopping online in Korea is something like shopping face to face in Korea.  There are many, many markets (real and virtual) packed with small sellers.  There are also a  few bigger chains.  We weren’t able to find a local seller for Zanussi or Nardi (though there may well be one) so we went to a local LG “Best Shop” on Saturday and bought a Korean oven.  (The LG DIOS, E-M770SMX: http://www.lge.co.kr/brand/builtin/product/BuiltinProductDetailCmd.laf)

Price was a little higher than the Italian makes, but I’m happy to have local after-service.  

 

Since it is Korea, delivery was swift, and we had our oven by Sunday morning.  We had also arranged for a cabinet maker to drop by to get measurements for our removable island.  He will deliver it next Saturday.

 

Although not yet built in, the oven is already perfectly usable.  Since my mother in law came to visit over the weekend as well it was a perfect opportunity to make a Sunday roast.  She liked it so much, she didn’t ask for rice or kimchi. 

That was a real pleasure.

New Job

Just a quick update. I've left Oxford after two great years. I'll miss St Edmund Hall and my wonderful colleagues there.

The good news is that I now have a semi-permanent, tenure track job at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea.

In memoriam: G. A. Cohen (1941-2009)

For those who work in political philosophy, G.A. Cohen was a figure of intelligence, incite, and wit.  Of course his work in political theory was  superb, and his attempts to rescue Marxism from the ‘bullshit’ have helped me and many of my students.

Alas, I did not have the opportunity to meet Jerry.  I cannot eulogize him, but I can join others and respectfully mark his passing.

Lucas Cranach 'Close of the Silver Age'

I posted an image of this painting (simulacra of simulacra of simulacra if any Platonists are keeping track) back in February.  I found it striking when I saw it in the National Gallery and I find it perhaps more striking now.

 (To view the painting in exceptional detail, go to: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/lucas-cranach-the-elder-the-close-of-the-silver-age)

There are several motifs which pique my interest.  First, is the apparent innocence (at least in terms of dress) of men, women and children in the scene.  Second is the interspersion of brutal violence amongst familial leisure, and conversation.  Third is the background: a perfectly developed, possibly urban (Cranach's Holy Roman Empire was the most urbanized area of Europe at the dawn of the 16th century), and sophisticated castle.

Cranach, then, tells us a story which is both subtle and subversive.  Peaceful innocence, both moral and physical, are supposed to reign in Eden.  In post Edenic life, according to the traditional Biblical story, Men have lost the tree of life but inherited the knowledge of good and evil and a sense of shame.  These men are clearly not morally innocent, yet at the same time they have are not garbed, they feel no embarrassment about their bodies.  Cranach's paradigm is not a straightforwardly Christian one.  This is probably not surprising given Cranach's reference to the classical, probably Hesiod’s, 'Silver Age' in his title.

So what else does the picture convey to us.  It might be that man is naturally a social animal, familial, discursive, but at the same time aggressive, prone to violence and strife.  Violence is not overcome by sociability.  Sociability is not the source of violence.  This would seem to fit the model of the classical silver age.  The human creations of Zeus were less noble than the humans of the Golden Age.  They were prone to infighting, and were less physically hardy.  They could not live without sinning against each other, Hesiod tells us.  This seems to be a compelling mythos into which Cranach's piece might be situated.  But this may still be too easy.

If the painting depicted the silver age, why call it the 'close' of that epoch?  Where is Zeus, who in Hesiod’s myth annihilates the impious men of the sliver age?  And if the silver age is largely agricultural and socially primitive, why include the castle in the background.  Perhaps Cranach is up to something different.

The answer to this quandary is invariably speculative and no more than a supplement to the emotive impression of the work.  Yet it is well worth exploring.  If one thinks of the close of one age as the beginning of another, there is no reason to imagine that event in purely synchronic terms.  It is perfectly possible for a close to be drawn out, diachronic.  Moreover, in art, unlike life, time need not be linear or unidirectional.

Thus I take the symbolism of the painting to invoke both the causes and the consequences of the 'close' of the silver age.  The violence of man is not systematic in the painting.  In fact only one person is obviously aggressive.  Another holds a stick, but is not clearly brandishing it in attack.  The scene in the front is not clearly a descent into social anarchy. 

But the violent, laconic tendencies of these relative primitives are sure to have limits.  The peace of some seems innocent.  While the violence of others animalistic (Martin Luther, who Cranach famously painted, would argue that some men devour others as part of their bestial nature).  For a time, the peacefulness of most will outweigh the violence of some.  The infrequency of a casus belli will prevent others from entertaining their more violent tendencies, but this will not prevail.  In a sense, Cranach has produced an image of the state of nature, in which human's are sociable but also in which internecine strife is already germinating.  The Bronze age, unlike the silver, was defined by militant, armed conflict.

Given this, the absence of Zeus from the scene continues to nag me.  Why is he absent, if Cranach is portraying Hesiod’s myth?  Perhaps Cranach is on the cusp of something quite interesting.  Zeus, was said to have caused the destruction of Silver Age men, but Cranach is at liberty to interpret this cause.  Perhaps, the aggression these men sometimes showed each other was the modus operandi of their downfall.  And if this is the case, Zeus becomes something of a hands off deity. 

Given my interest in Enlightenment philosophy, Zeus’ flight from the scene is remarkable.  The absence of divine causes in the explanation of epochal changes in many Enlightenment narratives resembles the sense of Cranach’s painting I have alighted upon here.  Is Cranach engaging in an embryonic form of speculative history?  Probably not.  But this painting may be indicative of changing discourse about human nature and history, which might have been meaningful for the development of Enlightenment historiography.

Honeymoon

I’m rapidly catching up with my back log of photographs.  I have now finished editing pictures from the honeymoon trip Ahreum and I took in Jeju Island.  Jeju in spring felt like an entirely different island from that we traversed in summer 2007.  The first shoots of green and early floral blossoms contrasted with the black basalt bedrock of the island.  The skies were brooding and contemplative at times yet radiantly sunny at others.  Ahreum and I had a remarkable, if short, honeymoon there.  We were saving up traveling time for our summer trip to America. 

 

Here are a few photos (there are more on my Flickr account at : http://www.flickr.com/photos/elrohil/page1/)