Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts • Hacker News Board

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#51

Post by zenexer » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:34 AM UTC

For anyone interested, this appears to be the document in question: [1]

If I understand correctly, that version of the document specifies $5k/session, with each session being 2 hours. However, there seems to be an amendment that changes the compensation to $5k/hr ($10k/session).[2]

These are public files linked from Oxnard School District's website under "Board Meeting Agendas"--in particular, the August 4 2021 Regular Board Meeting,[3] page 375. I'm confused as to how this could be construed as private information when it's quite clearly a public document published by the school district.

Aside: Don't send emails like this. If you find yourself writing terms like "lawyer" and "police" in an email intended to express your dissatisfaction with someone else's decisions, pause. Revisit it tomorrow.

Furthermore, if you're a public figure or are otherwise in the spotlight, consider that the majority of the people reading your email will not be those to whom it is explicitly addressed. It will be read--and judged--by the public. Write your messages as though you will be reading them on a stage in front of an audience.

Everyone lets their emotions get the better of them from time to time, and everyone makes mistakes--but if you're being paid $5k/hr, those mistakes had better be exceedingly rare.

[1]: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/atta...

[2]: https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/atta...

[3]: https://www.oxnardsd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?mod...

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#52

Post by spoonjim » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 8:24 AM UTC

oneepic wrote: post #50

spoonjim wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are trying to “close the achievement gap” by limiting achievement. It’s a crime against humanity of a different kind. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/04/us/california-math-curric...

Thank you for the link, but to be technical I think it doesn't fully support your point -- it provides some perspective from 2 different sides of the issue. That being said, from reading this article as well as this [1] and skimming Boaler's Twitter [2], if I had to guess... this CA initiative sounds like an honest, curious effort to make at least some progress, for which Boaler allegedly received death threats and h…

Yes, you can make an honest effort to close the achievement gap between Usain Bolt and me by telling him that he can’t run faster than 10 miles an hour.

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#53

Post by jansen555 » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 11:49 AM UTC

KerrAvon wrote: post #33

leereeves wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He didn't doxx her before the threat was made. Doxxing means revealing private personal information, but the contract (paid with government funds) that he shared is public record and thus not private by definition. He may have doxxed her by revealing her email address but that happened after the threat.

It doesn’t matter why he did it. The key words are “he may have doxxed her.”

No post body was provided.

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#54

Post by jansen555 » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 11:51 AM UTC

phendrenad2 wrote: post #32

z3t111 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just for the record: "at no point did @minilek post @joboaler’s address. He only retweeted a post containing the information that she was paid $5000/hour by the Oxnard school district. This is neither “private details” nor “misinformation” " via https://mobile.twitter.com/boazbaraktcs/status/1511523206779...

I don't think it's as simple as that. I'm not a lawyer, but I think one could certainly be accused of inciting violence by telling the truth creatively, to the right audience, under the right circumstances (like Trump's tweets during Jan 6).

No post body was provided.

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#55

Post by cato_the_elder » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 2:43 PM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #34

cato_the_elder wrote: post #10

I think the headline is misleading. Based on the linked tweet, it seems that it should be " threatens to call the police" or something like that. It's still quite ridiculous though. She kinda seems to be the Doctor Oz of math education.

No? Did you read the email? they say they had already contacted the police

I think you are right. In the email she says the issue is "now being taken up by police and lawyers". Hopefully to no effect, but I guess she still wanted to talk to the manager.

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#56

Post by syspec » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 3:32 PM UTC

foogazi wrote: post #48

nyc640 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly have no idea because I haven't done (nor do I plan to do as I don't live in California anymore) enough research to have an informed opinion on the topic. However, I think it is generally valid to say that if you are explicitly trying to address how a system (CA math education) is failing a certain group of people (black students), it would be useful to consult with members of that group or people who work…

> However, I think it is generally valid to say that if you are explicitly trying to address how a system (CA math education) is failing a certain group of people (black students), it would be useful to consult with members of that group or people who work closely with members of that group. What is the group ? Is it black teachers or black students ? Black students from CA ? Black students from CA that failed math ?

Any of those would be better than what their choice of none of those

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#57

Post by whimsicalism » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

subjectsigma wrote: post #49

Super misleading title, I definitely thought reading it that she called 911 and the "whistleblower" had an actual confrontation with the cops. Instead she mentioned in an email she was seeking legal counsel after being subjected to what she felt was harassment, and that involved talking to the police. Not entirely sure about the details but this dude is extremely suspect. Every single tweet he tries to paint himself…

> this dude is extremely suspect

"This dude" is both a prominent educator and prominent researcher of algorithms. If you actually look at his twitter history, this sort of tweet [0] is much more common than any trying to "paint himself as a victim."

I'm sorry, but if someone siccs lawyers and/or the police on you for a tweet you make criticizing them, you are a victim and it beyond reasonable to be upset about it.

This thread has been a real master class in how HN reacts to any rhetoric around race as trying to "paint yourself as a victim." It's really obvious to me knowing Jelani outside of contexts like this how much you are trying to mis-represent him.

[0]: https://twitter.com/minilek/status/1498504249876963331

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#58

Post by ac29 » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 5:34 PM UTC

spoonjim wrote: post #52

oneepic wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the link, but to be technical I think it doesn't fully support your point -- it provides some perspective from 2 different sides of the issue. That being said, from reading this article as well as this [1] and skimming Boaler's Twitter [2], if I had to guess... this CA initiative sounds like an honest, curious effort to make at least some progress, for which Boaler allegedly received death threats and h…

Yes, you can make an honest effort to close the achievement gap between Usain Bolt and me by telling him that he can’t run faster than 10 miles an hour.

I think that's a disingenuous take on probably the most controversial part of the program. The proposed guidelines said kids should stay in the same level classes until high school, which doesnt strike me as crazy. That's how it is for every other subject (or it was when I was in school).

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#59

Post by subjectsigma » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 6:12 PM UTC

whimsicalism wrote: post #57

subjectsigma wrote: post #49

Super misleading title, I definitely thought reading it that she called 911 and the "whistleblower" had an actual confrontation with the cops. Instead she mentioned in an email she was seeking legal counsel after being subjected to what she felt was harassment, and that involved talking to the police. Not entirely sure about the details but this dude is extremely suspect. Every single tweet he tries to paint himself…

> this dude is extremely suspect "This dude" is both a prominent educator and prominent researcher of algorithms. If you actually look at his twitter history, this sort of tweet [0] is much more common than any trying to "paint himself as a victim." I'm sorry, but if someone siccs lawyers and/or the police on you for a tweet you make criticizing them, you are a victim and it beyond reasonable to be upset about it. Th…

Nothing has happened to him. He has had literally no personal, professional, or legal consequences at this point. Unless the situation changed since yesterday, he has not had anyone "[sicc] lawyers and/or police on [him]". He is not a victim.

The fact that he works in data science has absolutely no bearing on the content of the tweets we are discussing.

I'm a bored guy on the Internet, I'm literally typing this comment while taking a shit. I don't care at all what the outcome of this is. I'm not "trying" to do anything or push a narrative. You, in the other hand, have left a wild amount of comments in this thread and keep reminding everyone that you personally know him. Maybe you are the one with personal biases and ulterior motives when it is you versus the world?

Re: Stanford prof calls police after whistleblower exposes $5000/hour gov. contacts

#60

Post by gumby » Wed, Apr 06, 2022, 7:04 PM UTC

prepend wrote: post #13

It seems an odd complaint that the author publish a paper without any black co-authors. Why is that noteworthy?

The original poster explains: the effort to reform CA math education lists improving outcome and removing barriers for black kids in math class. He said it was surprising no black educators were involved.