backtop

Print E-mail del.icio.us 46 comment(s) - last by Cyclone7D.. on May 7 at 8:34 AM
American children deserve all the technology and tools they can get to improve education at home

Last week I covered a story about how the One Laptop per Child Foundation’s XO Notebook was facing some challenges in Peru with the implementation and use of the XO in the poor areas of the country where even electricity is scarce. One of the biggest problems facing the XO in Peru isn’t the lack of electricity or the lack of internet connectivity, but the lack of teachers educated enough to use the XO themselves and teach the children to use them.

The same week I wrote that story I was at my son’s school and noticed that the single PC for his entire class is an old, slow desktop machine that would have likely been retired if it was being used for business. The area we live in would be considered more rural than urban for sure with a population of about 30,000 in our town but it is only a few miles from the economic center of the area with a town of about 150,000 people. Even though considered rural by many standards, this is a wealthy area with lots of old oil money. A long ago issue of Texas Monthly claimed that this area of East Texas has more millionaires per capita than Beverly Hills. I mention this to illustrate the point that the school district here and most of the families are not considered poor.

As I sat thinking about how I would have tossed the machine his class had to use out of my home a long time ago to upgrade I began to think. Why is it that we don’t get the outpouring of demand to equip our own children in America with computers to help them learn that we get to equip children in developing nations?

Sure kids here in America are more likely to have computers in their homes, but are they more likely to have parents with the skill or desire to help them learn how to use a computer? Several of my son’s classmates live in our neighborhood and I know that when Friday rolls around – the only day of the week they get to use the computer — it is one of the things they look forward to with as much verve as lunch or recess.

With the state of the educational system here in America shouldn’t we be looking to give our own children every edge they can get? Shouldn’t we be looking to provide our kids with the tools that get them excited about learning and going to class? I don’t think there is a parent out there that would disagree that we shouldn’t be doing this.

The reason each kid in my son’s school doesn’t have a computer to use in the class is twofold — money and it’s simply not in the curriculum. The funds aren’t there for more computers, which is also the reason the one in the class room is so old. Some of the new teachers at the school don’t even have computers in their rooms at all. Even if they did have computers, the school district hasn’t implemented a significant amount of computer based education.

While I certainly don’t have a problem with the idea of providing computers to children in poor countries; I honestly think it’s a good idea, even if it faces significant challenges. The mere fact that we are pushing so hard in America to provide technology and computer literacy to other countries means that many Americans understand how technology can help kids learn. Why don’t we do that at home?

I look at it this way. If a tornado came though and leveled my neighborhood I would help my neighbors. However, before I helped them you can bet I would be sure my own family was safe. While we help children in other countries shouldn’t we be helping our own kids as well? Even if I have more money than the vast majority of families in 3rd world countries, my son and his classmates deserve the best tools for education they can get and I think it’s time our kids start getting them. Don’t you?

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
The real problem.
By masher2 (blog) on 5/1/2008 1:07:48 PM , Rating: 5
> "The reason each kid in my son’s school doesn’t have a computer to use in the class is twofold — money and it’s simply not in the curriculum"

Sorry, but I don't agree that the answer is more money. Every year, we spend more money on education, and our children are less well educated. The real problem here is a system which sets no real standards, coupled with a bureaucratic system that has far too many people on staff, each doing far too little work, and almost none of which have any real interest in teaching.

My child's school has THREE principles. What do they do? I couldn't tell you...but I'm quite sure one is enough. In fact, over 60% of the total "education" staff in my district isn't even teachers at all, but a huge array of "counselors", "program directors", "curriculum managers", and other odd titles.

The less than 40% of the people who actually interact with students spend very little of their time doing so. A 7 hour day, with one hour off for lunch, and a second hour off for "administrative" work such as grading papers. Three months vacation a year, plus another three weeks for personal and sick days. Oh, and 12 more weeks if the teacher gets pregnant.

And even still, half the time in these classes, the teachers either turn on some hollywood movie for the kids to watch, while they spend the time talking on their cell phone and answering emails. If they're not watching a movie, they're exchanging papers for each other to grade, or "sitting quietly" without any assignment, as a reward for actually performing five minutes of real work during the day.

That's on the days they're actually in class at all. Between all the "teacher work days", "early release days", field trips, and other excuses for teacher time off-- that isn't that much.

The actual amount of time spent teaching in these classes is minimal at best. One of my children actually watched the cartoon "The Emperor Has A New Groove" as an "educational experience about Egypt". TWICE. Along with some 40-50 other movies that year. When I found out their "science" teacher had shown the class a film claiming the Apollo moon landings were faked, I raised such a furor I almost wound up being arrested.

The problem isn't money. It's the bureacracy. Fire half the staff, give the teachers a 25% raise, but make them TEACH for it, demand real achievement from the students, and we'd give our children twice the education for far less than we spend now.




RE: The real problem.
By Spivonious on 5/1/2008 1:24:31 PM , Rating: 2
Great ideas in theory, but what happens when little Johnny is failing and Johnny's parents complain to the principal? Teacher gets fired and Johnny passes.

My sister taught 5th grade and she was the most hated teacher in the school because she actually made her kids do the work. Luckily, she had a principal that believed in her and the parents stopped complaining after their kids started showing that they were learning more things than before.


RE: The real problem.
By masher2 (blog) on 5/1/2008 2:27:47 PM , Rating: 5
The solution is inherent in your post. Make the principals do their jobs also, instead of taking the past of least resistance. Passing students through the system as fast as possible may cut down on parental complaints, but it doesn't get the job done.


RE: The real problem.
By TheDoc9 on 5/1/2008 6:03:45 PM , Rating: 2
Masher you alluded to it earlier, why do they need all the administrative staff? Well they might not, but like the post office - if they don't use the money in the budget then the budget gets cut and they certainly can't ask the gov. for more money.

Education is a huge business, I remember ten years ago the counselors even being so bold as to tell us to come to school or they don't get paid. I can't remember what the exact amount was but for everyday a student doesn't show up they loose something astronomical like a $1000. It could've just been how she explained it to my child mind but none the less it comes down to money.


RE: The real problem.
By therealnickdanger on 5/1/2008 1:37:42 PM , Rating: 3
Bra-VO!

Two of my good friends are teachers and work their arses off, but they admit (as long as the there are no union reps around) that the system is completely broken from the inside and most of their hard work is fruitless. Money does not increase knowledge, only bureaucracy.

I fear the day that I have to send my child(ren) to school.


RE: The real problem.
By Screwballl on 5/1/2008 1:55:18 PM , Rating: 3
I do agree, they need to clear out half the administrative staff and use the money they were paying them to increase the pay for the teachers.
The teachers that give a free ride or do not work for the money can be like any other job and fire them or terminate their contract. I know of all sorts of substitutes and fresh out of college teachers here that have to move elsewhere because some of the other towns and counties refuses to get rid of old out-of-date teachers and the ones who refuse to actually teach.
Luckily most of the teachers in this city are very good teachers. The school principals in this city make sure their teachers are doing their job and not slacking. Which is also why almost all of the schools here have consistently been A or A+ schools for some time now (based on the Florida school rating system).


RE: The real problem.
By 16nm on 5/1/2008 2:34:34 PM , Rating: 2
Michael, you are 100% correct. Also, today, teachers, for the most part, don't really care about educating their students. There may be a few diamonds in the rough, but most teachers absolutely care nothing about their students.

Another huge problem in America is the health system. American doctors are absolutely scamming our health insurers to death. These cost are just passed on to us and our employers. Doctors write prescriptions for the most expensive and unproven drugs on the market and as much as possible add every single charge that they think they can get away with to the bill. The greed disgusts me! There's too many doctors and too few patients. Okay, I'm off subject now, but these are the two biggest problems facing us, education and health.


RE: The real problem.
By Spivonious on 5/1/2008 3:01:37 PM , Rating: 2
Psychiatrists I agree with you on, but other doctors? No way.


RE: The real problem.
By 16nm on 5/1/2008 6:27:40 PM , Rating: 2
Well, that's sad. I'm happy to say that I don't have much experience with psychiatrists, but I would hope that if one group would not let greed stand in the way of thinking of the patient first, it would be these doctors.

I've never found a bad pediatrician. They strike me as a good lot generally speaking. Regarding other medical doctors... I've noticed that a lot of doctors will not allow you to visit them for several problems if they can avoid it. They will try to score you on multiple visits since they get paid more. I recently went to the doctor for a few problems like soft tissue damage in my back and other ailments and I had to visit her on two separate occasions for absolutely no other reason than because she wanted to get paid twice! I had a dentist that wouldn't diagnose some cavities until worse enough to require more work, possibly a root canal. The cavities were VERY obvious and I'm lucky I was wise to what was happening. I had another dentist crack my tooth while replacing a filling. I heard it crack while he was working on it but had no idea that it was what it was until later. He wouldn't fess up to it when I returned complaining of pain. This same tooth now has a crown on it but the dentist that installed the crown screwed up and two years later I have a big hole in it and since it is so new my insurance will not replace it. I'm afraid that in this day and age we must visit several doctors to find an honest diagnosis to our problems. I've begun to notice that a doctor will give a correct diagnosis if it means winning your business, so that's one good thing, I guess.

Look at the prices that hospitals charge for a bandage or aspirin. That is absurd. I don't blame them so much since I know a lot of hospitals are treating uninsured patients effectively free of charge, but this certainly is part of the problem. Greed and the AMA/ADA are dragging our health system, which should be flourishing, through the mud.

This all comes back to education. Perhaps there would be less problems like these if our education system was better. I sure can't see the harm with requiring more ethics courses for medical students! That would seem to be a good place to start.


RE: The real problem.
By Spivonious on 5/2/2008 11:21:33 AM , Rating: 2
If your doctors are treating you like that, you need to find other doctors that don't. I don't know the details of your multiple visits for the back problems, but is it possible they had to wait for lab results or something similar? Also, the threat of malpractice is always looming, so a lot of doctors are afraid to jump on a seemingly obvious diagnosis for fear of getting it wrong and getting their pants sued off. My general experience is that private practices are usually better than large hospitals because the private practices need the patients to stay in business.

As far as hospital prices, if insurance is footing the bill, why not charge as much as possible? It's the same with car insurance. If you go to a body shop for an estimate and say that insurance is paying for it all, the price you get will be much higher than if you were paying out of pocket.


RE: The real problem.
By 16nm on 5/5/2008 9:52:53 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
If your doctors are treating you like that, you need to find other doctors that don't.

I keep changing doctors trying to find a competent and honest one. I cannot snap my fingers and make it happen. I must stay with in-network doctors.
quote:
but is it possible they had to wait for lab results or something similar?

Nope, two different issues that I just wanted to handle at the same time. Instead, I had to take time out of two of my days that could have been handled during the same visit. Not even 5 minutes each day with the doctor. She just wanted to get paid twice. I certainly tried to understand how anything but greed drew this situation.
quote:
if insurance is footing the bill, why not charge as much as possible?

Because it drives up the cost that we pay for coverage. I'm too proud of our system to standby watching this happen. The problem is that there are too many doctors and they are unwilling to compete with one another. As a result, the price of medical care keeps going up as the number of doctors practicing goes up.

quote:
It's the same with car insurance. If you go to a body shop for an estimate and say that insurance is paying for it all, the price you get will be much higher than if you were paying out of pocket.


Ah, but you see, automotive bodyshops DO compete with each other. Doctors do not. I've never heard of a patient shopping around for the best pricing.

Auto insurers investigate claims. Qualified investigators photograph all the damage. They will know what repair is needed and if the bodyshop tries to add additional charges then they will be wise to it. And it's not like bodyshops can get away with price gouging insurers.

Doctors can break up a valid single visit into two or more and the insurer will never know why. Or they can add unneeded x-rays to a bill without the insurer ever knowing if it was warranted. Being a doctor requires someone with high ethical/moral values, which, unfortunately, has become an uncommon in general medicine.


RE: The real problem.
By tedrodai on 5/5/2008 11:39:36 AM , Rating: 2
You've got some valid points, but you need to do more research before you preach this.

Obviously there are doctors out there that are crooks, who will run every lab they can possibly think of on a patient that know damn well has a cold. Then they bill the insurance for all these unnecessary labs, who can't know if the case warranted these labs. Etc., etc. But you've also got doctors who do NOT do this, and despite what tests/procedures they need to perform on a patient, they are at the mercy of the insurance companies who dictate how much the doctor gets paid for every thing he does. Insurance companies are trying to maximize their profits as well, so if they feel the cheapest equipment or procedure provides a satisfactory solution to a patient's problem, you or your doctor may not agree on what is a satisfactory solution. Yet insurance will pay up the the agreed cost of that solution no matter how you or your doctor decide to deal with it. Medical facilities have costs like any business, and if the insurance companies won't pay them enough to cover expenses (personnel salaries, costs of labs & equipment, mortgage/rent, continuing education/licenses) plus some profit, they go out of business like anyone else.

As far as repeat visits--I'm sure your cases are for the reasons you mentioned. Many doctors will do that, of course. However, beyond bringing this up, I won't even begin to discuss the topic of a large cause of repeat visits: patients that are addicted to prescription drugs or trying to get them for reasons other than their specified purpose.

Also, there is no shortage of ethics classes in medical school. My wife is completing her 3rd year of medical school this spring, which was basically her 1st year of hands-on training. Already she has witnessed a case or two wherein a doctor she was working under ignored the ethics involved that she and the other med students and doctors around her fully understand--but she has also witnessed many doctors across the past 10 months who have upheld the ethics inherent in the medical field (disclaimer--she isn't privy to their billing dept's). Regarding ethics, it is up to the individual to practice that which he/she has learned. Or not.

The point of my post is not to shift blame from your target to some other--I'm just pointing out your current view is very narrow-minded. Greed and the AMA/ADA are not THE problem here. Doctors get conned by insurers and patients. Patients get conned by doctors and insurers. Insurers get conned by doctors and patients. There are greedy crooks at every level of society, and there always will be.

Steps must be taken to improve the health care system, I'm sure we can all agree on that. But if you target only 1 of the 3 players, it's not going to be the patients that benefit.


RE: The real problem.
By 16nm on 5/6/2008 12:53:29 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Obviously there are doctors out there that are crooks, who will run every lab they can possibly think of on a patient that know damn well has a cold. Then they bill the insurance for all these unnecessary labs, who can't know if the case warranted these labs. Etc., etc. But you've also got doctors who do NOT do this, and despite what tests/procedures they need to perform on a patient, they are at the mercy of the insurance companies who dictate how much the doctor gets paid for every thing he does.

Well, let me tell you then that the honest doctors, which indeed exist, can only blame their colleagues for this.
quote:
Insurance companies are trying to maximize their profits as well, so if they feel the cheapest equipment or procedure provides a satisfactory solution to a patient's problem, you or your doctor may not agree on what is a satisfactory solution.

Yes, insurers need to make money, but I promise you that the blame lies directly on the the doctors with this one. There's too many of them and they are GREEDY. I think once doctors start to wrap their mind around the idea that they may not be able to make the money they thought they were entitled to when they began their internship then things may start to get better. I don't mean to discount all the hard work that medical school requires, it's just that with so many doctors now, they can not honestly win their predecessors' salaries. With other industries, the more competitors there are the cheaper the product or service.

Other insurance industries really do quite fine. The auto insurance industry, for one, does really well. Also, home insurance does well. Health insurers, nope. Every year our coverage weakens and rates increase faster than inflation. Insurers want to grow their earnings by insuring more people, not increasing rates. It's hard for them to pickup new clients when rates keep increasing and coverage keeps dropping.

quote:
The point of my post is not to shift blame from your target to some other--I'm just pointing out your current view is very narrow-minded. Greed and the AMA/ADA are not THE problem here. Doctors get conned by insurers and patients. Patients get conned by doctors and insurers. Insurers get conned by doctors and patients. There are greedy crooks at every level of society, and there always will be.


Yes, but understand that the weak link here is the doctor. The problem for the insurer, unlike in other industries, is there really is no way for them to investigate claims. This would require that the insurer hire doctors as investigators, which really is not practical. They must trust the doctor, and the doctor totally takes advantage.

In the past, some wanted to be doctors to help people. The huge salary was just icing on the cake. Then, everyone decided they wanted to be doctors for the huge salary. I remember in the nineties it seemed like everyone you met was going into medicine to get rich. This is why it is so hard to find those doctors that always have a smile on their face and are happy to shake your hand and discuss your ailment. Now they are like teachers in that they just don't care. They don't care about people. The only concern they have is their retirement fund. It's nuts. And honestly, it's because of doctors practicing that really aren't cut out to be doctors, that malpractice insurance premiums are so high.

quote:
Already she has witnessed a case or two wherein a doctor she was working under ignored the ethics involved that she and the other med students and doctors around her fully understand--but she has also witnessed many doctors across the past 10 months who have upheld the ethics inherent in the medical field (disclaimer--she isn't privy to their billing dept's).


I hope she reports that doctor so he can be investigated and if found to be acting unethically then repremanded. But tell me honestly, would her career come to an end if she did this? Me thinks yes. What good are those ethics courses your wife must take? The system is broken.


RE: The real problem.
By Cyclone7D on 5/7/2008 8:34:07 AM , Rating: 2
Has anyone who has posted in this thread actually spent a whole day in a school recently? Does anyone know what most teachers, and administrative staff go through on a day to day basis? If you havent maybe you need too. These remarks that teachers dont care, work (unless the union is around!), or that throwing money into the education system doesent do anything seem to be made by third parties that are only offering an uneducated opinion. Everyone has a valid right to their opinion, but making blanket statements that teachers dont care, or that dont work seems pretty antagonistic.

From these posts that state these broad statements I assume that you first hand knowledge that most of us dont have, such as parental support? The education system may be faltering, but does anyone ever stop to think about the pivotal role parents play in a childs education? I am not a teacher, but my whole family to include my spouse is. Can you even imagine having to be both mom and dad to 100 plus students everyday? Maybe thats why teachers seem so ineffectual to you is because instead of teaching they have to do do the childrens parents job for them?

Lastly I can safetly assume that everyone who wrote that the education system doesent need more money came from a very wealthy school district. I know of first hand school systems that spend roughly $500 per child per year. Why because they dont have anymore money than that. Why should our children not reep the same benefit of the OLPC as the rest of the world? Because our teachers and education system suck? I have a hard time believing that you agree that Peru needs these laptops more because their education system is better?


RE: The real problem.
By Kenenniah on 5/1/2008 4:14:00 PM , Rating: 3
This reminds me of when they were talking about a local option sales tax in my area for educational use. Now I have no problem with some of my tax money going to education, but the ads they showed on public television explaining where this money would go were ridiculous. Showing a picture of a school and saying it needs millions of dollars just to renovate the bathrooms? Come on, in the private sector I could build a brand new building with the kind of money they were talking about for many different small projects, so I voted no. The problem as Masher stated isn't more money, but using the money they do have wisely. If I had believed the extra money from the sales tax would have actually gone to what was truly needed and spent wisely I would have voted yes in a second.


RE: The real problem.
By onwisconsin on 5/1/2008 8:39:58 PM , Rating: 2
I know at where my father works, they are having problems with the budget (ironic being probably the 2nd wealthiest district in the entire SE Wisconsin...) because a few teachers got raises because the school district could afford it. Now that more kids are leaving the school district then coming in, more and more staff have to be cut because of the few teachers earning a ton.

The system is a mess. Beyond your point about the staff, the problem I've seen for the past decade is HOW the schools here are funded...heavily reliant on local property taxes, a big one-time payment conveniently (sarcasm) placed near Christmas, which is used by vote-hungry politicians and are frozen.

And is the funding changed? Nope. The 'representatives' say they care about the future but aren't doing anything. They won't listen to their people (as I said in a different topic unless your name is Franklin, Lincoln....)


RE: The real problem.
By lompocus on 5/3/2008 2:43:24 AM , Rating: 1
Make them teach for it is exactly what's done.

The problem? They just cheat the system. Again. Over and over again. So, while it sucks, it isn't the best answer. At least the system in my area is shitloads better than yours! Lompoc is no where near what your place is (at least i think).

They'll just fill in correct answers for the kids, virtually raise teh kids' grades, present the 'results', and get a raise.

I suggest we put an officer in every classroom that has the teacher at gunpoint!