[ExI] out of school

Wed Jul 1 23:59:20 UTC 2020

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of William Flynn Wallace via extropy-chat
Sent: Wednesday, July 1, 2020 4:36 PM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Cc: William Flynn Wallace <foozler83 at gmail.com>
Subject: [ExI] out of school

Some really bad statistics are reported on those who have been out of school for months.  

As expected, those who lack internet access to the school's programs are hurt the worst. 

Question:  should basic internet be available to every household?  Cost based on income. Some will get it free. Online learning, as Spike keeps preaching, is the future, or at least a big part of it in education.  We will create even bigger gaps between the various minorities if we don't do this.

Yeah, another government welfare program, I hear ya.  But look at the statistics of the education achievements of those in prison. Pathetic, esp. re minorities.  Prison costs run about $30K a year here per inmate.  Some of them, of course, are just psychopaths and mentally retarded etc.  But some would be able to get jobs if their education was better.

We need school reform.  We need prison reform.  We need to change some laws about sentencing.

Would you be in favor of internet welfare?

bill w

BillW, this is a most timely post, being as our local school board has formed multiple volunteer citizen committees to figure out how we are going to do school next year.  I volunteered to be used in any capacity they wished, recognizing that there are some areas, such as mental health, in which I know nothing.  Never heard of mental health.  I was assigned to the tech tools group.

We have set up free internet for students who have local school district accounts, and others can sign up to access that.  It is to support our online learning program.  The students can get free ChromeBooks loaned to them as well.  If they have a place to charge a ChromeBook, they can go to school, as well as every person in the family.

Of course I support that.  

I am also on the School Site Council, which meets regularly with the school leadership.  At the last meeting the principal gave a report on how the last 3 months of school went: mixed results.  Some students accomplished far more at home, but the principal was compelled to report that as many as 15% of the registered students had never logged on.

Some of them might have been foreign nationals who fled the area.  The principal went to the home addresses of the non-responders to see what he could do to encourage them to participate.  I am personally acquainted with one family which has a strict rule: their children are allowed a maximum of one hour of screen time per day.

More later, 

spike

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