[ale] Cobb Laptop Deal

[tfreeman at intel.digichem.net]

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005, Geoffrey wrote:

> Mark Wright wrote:
> > I am glad the deal fell apart even though I am a former Evangelist  
> > member. ( Guy Kawasaki's old mailing list to promote mac info back a  
> > few years)
> > 
> > I think that computers in schools are just another impediment to a  good 
> > education.  I believe there is no teen in the metro area that  cannot 
> > operate a windows PC currently or passably given a day to  learn.  
> > Putting PCs in schools unless, they are used just to teach  coding or 
> > hardware design just takes away time from learning to read,  write and 
> > do math.
> 
> This is just patently false.  I was totally against the cobb computer 
> debacle, but the computers in schools these days are used for a lot more 
> then 'teach coding or hardware design.'  You don't even get the option 
> to take such classes until late in middle school.  So what do you thing 
> the students are doing with the computers in grades k-5?
> 
> Further, you make an assumption that every teen in the metro area has 
> access to a computer outside of school, and that is also false.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I don't think the computers in the schools are 
> properly utilized, but they do a lot more with them then you've stated.
> 
> I do realize there are all kinds of problems with computers in schools. 
>   Teachers get little or no training, there is little or no support, 
> poorly designed network infrastructure...

Amen. And then some.

> 
> Computers can be used as a good educational tool just as books, chalk 
> boards, white boards, overhead projectors..... are.  In a lot of cases 
> they are.
> 
> > The crazy thing is every time the government wants to spend more of  our 
> > money to help students read, write and do math better, all you  have to 
> > do is move the curtain back a little and see that the  opposite is  do a lot more then 
> > ALWAYS the result.
> > 
> > As you can see this is a sore point to me and I am restraining  myself!  
> > My daughters go to a respected public school up here in cobb  and I 
> > don't think it would be much of an exaggeration to say they  there are 
> > probably as many guns and containers of alcohol in that  school as there 
> > are computers.  I am dead serious.
> 
> And you blame the school system or the government for that?  The problem 
> with schools is that there is no parental involvement.  Schools are not 
> supposed or intended to parent these children, that's the parents' job.

Although it is another line of discussion/flames altogether, parenting 
problems are not the only school problem. There are a whole wealth of 
problems facing all schools in this country, public and private. Parental 
underinvolvement and parental overinvolvement (think the parent who is 
always in the administration's/teacher's face sticking up for little 
Johny.)

I don't know what the answers are. But the more I learn, the more I'm 
impressed as Hell with the size of the problem.

> 
> 

-- 
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If you think Education is expensive
Try Ignorance
                   Author Unknown
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