This occurred to me after re-reading the articles.
There are two groups in the article that are further contributing to Friedman’s educational gap. First, we have the students who are not immersed in technology once they leave their schools and then there are the teachers who do not use any of the technology that their schools offer.
I feel students should not be held accountable or be placed at a disadvantage because they are lacking technology at home. But the teachers who fail the embrace, or even the use, the technology that is available to them are not helping to get computers into their homes.
I am not saying that the role of a teacher is comparable to that of a computer salesperson, but with the changing of the educational paradigm, parents need to see computers as an educational tool, and not just something to play games with. Perhaps if more teachers used technology, there would be a greater sense of urgency, on the parents’ part, to open the digital world for their children. Which would give those students the opportunity to acquire the essential characteristics of the new middle.
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1 comment:
I totally agree! What a wonderful post...
Putting technology in our students hands is a "two-way street":
-Parents need to work with teachers
-Teachers need to work with parents
-Parents and teachers alike need to work with students
(So maybe it's a 3-way street??)
Anyway, I liked the way you leveled out the responsiblity: One person is not more responsible for "selling" technology than another. Even students have a role: they need to demand a chance to use they technologies that they're most familiar with...
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