Seating+LowTech+Kid+at+the+Back+of+the+Bus


 * Seating Low Tech Kids at the Back of the Bus: by Dr. David Thornburg.**

August 1999 []

Thornburg’s article strikes at the heart of the problem with equality in education. The education system is supposed to be equal for all students. No Child Left Behind required school districts to bring all students up to grade level or suffer federal interventions. All this with an economically bias system for school funding that starves rural and inner city districts of financial resources. Equal funding for all students would mean equal resources for all students. The current system of school funding puts low income students at the “back of the bus” because they do not have the same access to technology as wealthier students.

Some districts are solving some of these problems by requiring laptops or issuing netbooks or tablets to their students. These measures can be costly and grants are often used to purchase the hardware. Some of these options were not available at the time the article was published. This still does not account for those without internet access but there are many places where students can access free internet through WiFi hotspots.

If we are going to continue to have a socialized public school system, measures are going to have to be taken to make funding and technology more uniform. I feel that school should receive the same amount of funding per student regardless of location. I also think, though it may not be popular with most of my colleagues, teachers should get paid the same base salary and tiers statewide, with a cost of living adjustment based on education and location. This would solve a great many of our economic and political woes, and would be easier to budget. Technology spending could also be regulated on a per student basis. I also think that netbooks or tablets should be standard issue from middle school forward.

I have not but plan to do so my next day in the computer lab. I have often thought of it but this class has encouraged me to do it. I have already created the survey using Surveymonkey and will implement it with our next online project which will be in a few weeks.
 * Have you conducted a survey of your students and parents to see how many have good Internet access from home? Would it be a worthy cause to have students and their families check bandwidth, cable modems, DSL, wireless, etc.? **

I think that armed with the data from such a survey, I could convince more teachers to put course documents online. Or I can use the data to pinpoint inadequacies in tech knowledge.
 * Do you think you could make a difference with this type of process, project or activity? Why or why not? **

I would hypothesize that the school is going to have to take a bigger role in tech training because I feel that most of my students are not getting the exposure necessary to compete in today’s economic & educational environments.
 * As you complete the survey, what do the results tell you about the role your school (or a school) needs to play in insuring equitable access for all? **

I can dream of lots of things. I think that we as a society have the ability to lead the world in technology education because we have some of the greatest resources. Unfortunately we as a nation have been more reactionary that proactive. If our state/country would become more proactive, have clearly defined goals, and provide the infrastructure to meet those goals, then we would succeed.
 * Could you think (dream) of a program where a school or community (local university, other corporate partner) can make a difference? **

Yes, I know my hometown has two hotspots as well as a location with free internet and computer access. The town adjacent to us also has several hotspots.
 * As you navigate throughout your community, can you find access points to the Internet that are available for hours every day of the week? **