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This assumes we know what schools are for. :(

by brighton36 6y ago

MiscIdeaMaker99 6y ago
Would you please elaborate?
- brighton36 6y ago
  I guess that was a bit terse. NPR did a series called 'nice white parents' that went over some of these issues. But, the central question is basically "what is the goal here" . Do kids belong to the state, and the state decides what's best? (and what's involved there) Do kids belong to the parents, and parents decide what's best? What is education? Do we want them job ready? What if these are zero sum games. etc.
jagged-chisel 6y ago
I think this assumes we all agree on what schools are for, and that we agree they exist "to teach students to be citizens of a strong, capable, independent, cooperating and free society." I think many would agree with that purpose at face value, but aren't willing to empower schools to do anything beyond babysitting.
kwhitefoot 6y ago
I wish I could give this a lot more than one upvote. Everyone seems to be taking it for granted that it is necessary that the students use some sort of software. In my opinion it is not the business of schools to teach the use of specific tools, that is what apprenticeships and further education are for. Schools should teach the fundamentals (what is called in the UK the three Rs, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) and extend this with critical reading and analysis, rhetoric, and statistics so that when the students leave school they can do more than read the words in a comic, so that they understand at least basic statistics so that they will not be bamboozled by advertisers and politicians. They should also know something about how and why their home country has the political structures that it has and how their country functions in an international context. Some schools used to be able to do this for at least some of their students. I know because fifty years ago I attended such schools and yet still had plenty of time to study other subjects, do physical education, and take part in many extra curricular activities. None of this needed computers although those of us who were interested did learn to program (from 1969 onwards). The same applies to university studies at undergraduate level. I really can't see that having a laptop and a copy of Microsoft Office would have made studying physics easier for me. I can see that some software might make it seem easier though.

This assumes we know what schools are for. :(

MiscIdeaMaker99 6y ago

Would you please elaborate?

brighton36 6y ago
I guess that was a bit terse. NPR did a series called 'nice white parents' that went over some of these issues. But, the central question is basically "what is the goal here" . Do kids belong to the state, and the state decides what's best? (and what's involved there) Do kids belong to the parents, and parents decide what's best? What is education? Do we want them job ready? What if these are zero sum games. etc.

jagged-chisel 6y ago

I think this assumes we all agree on what schools are for, and that we agree they exist "to teach students to be citizens of a strong, capable, independent, cooperating and free society." I think many would agree with that purpose at face value, but aren't willing to empower schools to do anything beyond babysitting.

kwhitefoot 6y ago

I wish I could give this a lot more than one upvote. Everyone seems to be taking it for granted that it is necessary that the students use some sort of software. In my opinion it is not the business of schools to teach the use of specific tools, that is what apprenticeships and further education are for. Schools should teach the fundamentals (what is called in the UK the three Rs, Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) and extend this with critical reading and analysis, rhetoric, and statistics so that when the students leave school they can do more than read the words in a comic, so that they understand at least basic statistics so that they will not be bamboozled by advertisers and politicians. They should also know something about how and why their home country has the political structures that it has and how their country functions in an international context. Some schools used to be able to do this for at least some of their students. I know because fifty years ago I attended such schools and yet still had plenty of time to study other subjects, do physical education, and take part in many extra curricular activities. None of this needed computers although those of us who were interested did learn to program (from 1969 onwards). The same applies to university studies at undergraduate level. I really can't see that having a laptop and a copy of Microsoft Office would have made studying physics easier for me. I can see that some software might make it seem easier though.