The Washington Post online featured writer Jay Mathews’s
article “How
computers can hurt schools”. Mathews
wrote about a lawsuit in Michigan. His
article discusses a lawsuit that involves a 7th grade boy who took
English classes online. The student states
that the teacher sat at the desk as students worked and seldom walked
around. The teacher did not provide any
instruction about the material; the teachers only graded papers and made sure students
were keeping up on work. The student is
suing because he has fallen behind academically speaking. Scholastic was the creator of the online
program that this particular student used. Mathews writes that a spokesperson, Kyle Good, said that programs don’t work “unless teachers
are actively involved”.
From the administrator’s point of view I’m sure they see
this as an opportunity to make larger class sizes thus removing teachers.
From the student’s point of view I’m sure they like that
they are able to work at their own pace and don’t have to listen to a teacher
lecture.
From a teacher’s perspective…BORING. I would not want to sit at a desk and grade
papers with minimal student interaction.
I like to talk to the students, see what they think about topics, and have
students even teach me a thing or two. It
sounds like it is against a teacher’s Hippocratic oath”. If used correctly, say in cooperation with
that crazy concept called teaching, I think programs like Read 180 can be
helpful, if used appropriately.
In my opinion, it sounds like the boy involved in the
lawsuit has been cheated of his education.
Hopefully, it isn’t too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment