Poverty and ICT
A blog response to – How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century
WALLIS, C. & STEPTOE, S. (2006). How to Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century. Time. Dec. 10, 2006 (link to article)
Before walking to every classroom I would take the work for the day, my classroom keys and my giant pencil case. I hear you thinking. Why a GIANT pencil case? Surly she only needs a couple of pens.
In this pencil case I have
50 blue pens
20 red pens
20 pairs of scissors
20 glue sticks
20 lead pencils.
I brought these so that my class could perform their work. Many of my students did not bring anything from home, for some if was because they were lazy but for a lot it was because of their homelife. Many of my students are dealing with things that I would never want to let alone a child. Many don’t have the funds for stationary for students.
Rather than make these kids feel inadequate or that they are not good enough for school I always bring my GIANT pencil case. If my classrooms turn into digital classrooms I a wondering what I will carry in my GIANT pencil case. I will always have the students through no fault of their own will not have the resources to perform up to par I the classroom. At the moment I do not set homework because I believe that personal time is for personal interested not to complete half a textbook of math questions. If the digital classroom goes ahead in all areas of schooling how are students who can not afford a computer going to complete school work at home? Will the government be giving a computer to each students and a computer to each family? I can lend out my pencils and pens and not worry, homework can get done and at the end of the term and head back to woolies and stock up again. But I will never be able to lend out software? Will the digital generation harm the poorest of our students?
October 13th, 2008 at 12:49 am
This kind of thing is my constant worry about technology in the classroom. Does it create a bigger divide between the haves and the have not’s?
(Now please come check my blog, drowning not waving at chigurh@edublogs.org, thanx mate!)
October 13th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
[...] writes an interesting (and amusing) point about the time article i have commented [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
i think that ICT can be incorporated by the teacher by using their own laptop and projector. Whilst the students might not have their own computer, the web can be used in a way that the whole class can benefit from it whilst not actually doing it themselves. I did this in a public system school. The cash outlay was entirely on my own shoulders (i took my own laptop, projector and wireless broadband connection), it still gives the students the opportunity to experience the net at school, and the students can review what was shown at home on their own computers.
October 27th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
[...] on from Katryce’s discussion on poverty and [...]