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It's teachers that are not remotely viable in the developing world. I read recently that the teacher failure rate in Maharashtra is about 15% - i.e., on a give

It's teachers that are not remotely viable in the developing world. I read recently that the teacher failure rate in Maharashtra is about 15% - i.e., on a given day, 15% of Maharashtrian teachers just don't show up to work, and there is a famous case of an MP teacher who's been absent for 23 years. [1] Further, even if the teacher shows up, the student may not be able to. Consider the "town" in this pic: https://imgur.com/mjWcEZZ https://imgur.com/mjWcEZZ Hiring a teacher for the 5-10 kids who live there is unaffordable, so the kids there need to climb the "mountains" [2] whenever they want to attend the closest school. Of course, the kids don't actually do that every day; work and family obligations often interfere. A 5-10k s mobile phone with a (worst case) 250rs data plan works far better than 85% of the time, even in that rural town. It works on the student's schedule, so if a horde of visitors require the student to spend the day in the family restaurant, they can catch up at night. The real thing which would help a lot is better devices. E.g., something closer to a kindle in terms of battery life an readability. [1] Unfortunately I read this stat in a paper copy of the Pune mirror a couple of weeks ago, so I don't have a citation offhand. The 23 year absence is easy to google, however: http://www.hindustantimes.com/indore/action-against-teacher-absent-from-duty-for-23-years/story-um3X0aEj4HPwiLiYs45GrI.html http://www.hindustantimes.com/indore/action-against-teacher-... [2] That's the Marathi term for the hills in that region.

aylmao 11y ago
Education is about much more than just a transmission of knowledge, however. IMHO efforts are better spent training better teachers, than making and buying more devices. A good teacher will inspire kids, will get them to work together, will be a person to go to. I do believe in the motivation of students, but sometimes you need someone to spark that motivation in the first place. There will always be bad teachers, and outrageous stories about them making way around the internet. You hear about good teachers much less often, but their impact in a community can be much, much greater. Teachers are viable; they worked for the developed world, back when they still weren't "the developed world".
- yummyfajitas 11y ago
  A good teacher will inspire kids, will get them to work together, will be a person to go to. What evidence do you have that even a fraction of teachers do this? And what evidence do you have that teachers "worked for the developed world" (i.e., had some measurable beneficial effect)? There will always be bad teachers, and outrageous stories about them making way around the internet. The stats suggest lots of them are bad. Rather than more teachers, maybe what we really need is a device to ensure that teachers actually come to work and the political will to stop paying them if they don't.

aylmao 11y ago

Education is about much more than just a transmission of knowledge, however. IMHO efforts are better spent training better teachers, than making and buying more devices. A good teacher will inspire kids, will get them to work together, will be a person to go to. I do believe in the motivation of students, but sometimes you need someone to spark that motivation in the first place. There will always be bad teachers, and outrageous stories about them making way around the internet. You hear about good teachers much less often, but their impact in a community can be much, much greater. Teachers are viable; they worked for the developed world, back when they still weren't "the developed world".

yummyfajitas 11y ago
A good teacher will inspire kids, will get them to work together, will be a person to go to. What evidence do you have that even a fraction of teachers do this? And what evidence do you have that teachers "worked for the developed world" (i.e., had some measurable beneficial effect)? There will always be bad teachers, and outrageous stories about them making way around the internet. The stats suggest lots of them are bad. Rather than more teachers, maybe what we really need is a device to ensure that teachers actually come to work and the political will to stop paying them if they don't.