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While my HS did have a course in computer programming taught by a very good teacher, a computer scientist, I learned to program before then. These days one can

While my HS did have a course in computer programming taught by a very good teacher, a computer scientist, I learned to program before then. These days one can purchase a Chromebook for about $200 to $300 and put Linux on that and program open source. I know someone who has a nice Mac, but actually I see him mostly with his 13" Chromebook programming C++ on Linux. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chromebook https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3... Much of the issues mentioned are true of anyone that wants to go to college. But the article to me was about paying for college and ironically, the poor have more opportunities than the not so poor because of the Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. At any rate, in NYC, I see students who were immigrants from disadvantaged backgrounds getting a top education at CUNY (and there are other low-cost schools in NYC).

soundwave106 10y ago
It's not just cash and computing devices we are talking about. It's home environment. Home environment is a huge factor on education success. My mother and sister both do some one on one tutoring of kindergarten age economically disadvantaged children. They've told me about the kids that come in that you can tell are very bright. But due to some of the factors like described in the previous post (eg the stressed out single mom who is always working and has less time to do things like reading with their kids etc., the less safe environment, or even just parents that for whatever reason don't know how to engage in that way), many times they still often come in significantly behind. Which makes sense. If your family actively engages their children in learning from the start, you're going to be better prepared. Is it possible to overcome that? Yes, but not by simply throwing a Chromebook at them. The good news for instance is that this type of volunteer-led tutoring seems to work very decently at closing some of the gap (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-volunteers-help-kids-read-more-proficiently-new-research-says-yes/2015/03/28/7141c57c-c4ec-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-volunteer...). So I think it's going to take more or less solutions in that direction.
- davidf18 10y ago
  I understanding what you are referring to but the point of the article was asking if people who come with low economic background are shut out of science research and the answer is no. True, there are some people with an unfortunate backgrounds in this country and every country, and it is great that people are helping them, but there are many who have little money including the immigrants that I mentioned, but those who are not immigrants as well and they are able to get science and engineering degrees at quality schools thanks to relatively low tuitions, and grants and government-based low-interest loans. The Nature story is decidedly sensationalistic or the writer(s) didn't do their research. I think they should come to NYC and interview the students at CUNY and other NYC public colleges. Most of these students come from families without resources.

soundwave106 10y ago

It's not just cash and computing devices we are talking about. It's home environment. Home environment is a huge factor on education success. My mother and sister both do some one on one tutoring of kindergarten age economically disadvantaged children. They've told me about the kids that come in that you can tell are very bright. But due to some of the factors like described in the previous post (eg the stressed out single mom who is always working and has less time to do things like reading with their kids etc., the less safe environment, or even just parents that for whatever reason don't know how to engage in that way), many times they still often come in significantly behind. Which makes sense. If your family actively engages their children in learning from the start, you're going to be better prepared. Is it possible to overcome that? Yes, but not by simply throwing a Chromebook at them. The good news for instance is that this type of volunteer-led tutoring seems to work very decently at closing some of the gap (https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-volunteers-help-kids-read-more-proficiently-new-research-says-yes/2015/03/28/7141c57c-c4ec-11e4-ad5c-3b8ce89f1b89_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-volunteer...). So I think it's going to take more or less solutions in that direction.

davidf18 10y ago
I understanding what you are referring to but the point of the article was asking if people who come with low economic background are shut out of science research and the answer is no. True, there are some people with an unfortunate backgrounds in this country and every country, and it is great that people are helping them, but there are many who have little money including the immigrants that I mentioned, but those who are not immigrants as well and they are able to get science and engineering degrees at quality schools thanks to relatively low tuitions, and grants and government-based low-interest loans. The Nature story is decidedly sensationalistic or the writer(s) didn't do their research. I think they should come to NYC and interview the students at CUNY and other NYC public colleges. Most of these students come from families without resources.