Wk_8 Functions of the Panacea
I am of the opinion that PDAs are nice, but a full-scale integration of technology in all aspects of the school system would be nicer. I like the idea of an open campus where students who need the help actually show to class and those who do not... don't.
Those students who have little social training and are a burden to the teacher and actively destroy school equipment (some students took all of the mouse balls out of the mouses in the computer labs and disconnected the peripherals from the back of the desktops for no apparent reason), then they can stay home or at least out of the classroom.
Those students who want to learn would be allowed to learn in peace, without discipline interruptions. I have several students out on maternity leave at the high school level, others who take days off to see about their babies or sick parents (a few with cancer or living with aging grandparents). Synchronous and asynchronous education can greatly help these students. Other cases, where students are truant and should be logged in or are just not showing to class, then an automated system can call their parents’ cell phones and report their absences immediately.
I also like the idea of school not being compulsory at the 10th - 12th grade level. Once students have achieved the basics through the 9th grade, they are employable for certain jobs. The Japanese system has 10th - 12th grade for students planning to attend college only. If you want to join the military, you can do so at the 10th grade level, or used to be able to anyway. Now, a lot of countries are mimicking the dysfunctional system of the United States.
The school system at the K-12 level has multiple functions. One such function is the housing of students to keep them out of the job marker. The other function is socialization. Compulsory education gives parents a place to put their children during the day while they are at work. For this reason, a wireless environment would still consist of desks and chairs, classrooms that can house as many students as comfortable, and computers, such as tablet PCs and PDAs that are convenient to use, but do not take up much space. WAPs will be needed in every classroom, possibly even the lunchroom. Students would have wireless cards in their computer of choice (laptop, tablet, or PDA – hopefully not cell phone, though some of the notepad features on cell phones are just as good as wordpad on laptops). There would also be a wireless printer access point allowing students to print from anywhere in the building using the schools intranet.
Perkinson, H. (1995). The imperfect panacea: American faith in education. McGraw-Hill.
posted by Rhodes-O'Neill @ 7:50 AM
2 Comments:
I think student from 10 to 12 grade are in approximately fifteen to eighteen year of age. I do not believe they should go and join the work force full time or the militia. I do agree they all do not need to go to college. They can go to vocational schools. Learning their mechanics, construction, machinery, plumbing, etc. However, we should be very careful about why some should not go to college. Many of the problems we see with kids in schools are reflect of social issues around those kids. We could be punishing them for the illness in our society.
Larissa
In ancient times, 12 used to be seen as an adult. An unmarried female of 13 was considered an old maid as recently as the 1900's. Children are maturing faster these days. My six year old niece can use electronics and is doing math and reading activities that I didn't do until the third grade. We have to take into account that generations mature at different rates. When I have 14-16 year old mothers sitting in my classroom, it is really difficult to treat them as children. Some have matured and are ready to start their lives (most already have work permits and jobs by the eleventh grade). I just believe we should let them.
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