The Price of Education

We recently discussed in class about the intentions and potential "evil" of large tech companies and when I was reading The New York Times article I couldn't help but wonder what the intentions of these major companies who are pushing the adoption of technology in schools. 

At the end of the day, we all know that the sole purpose of a firm is to maximize profit, therefore, building relationships with school districts and becoming the providers of their tech needs is a huge business deal. In the article, the U.S Secretary of Education said “As a country we spend $7 billion to $8 billion a year on textbooks. My simple question is, ‘Why?’ ” Referring to the six-year textbook-adoption cycle some states still use, Duncan said, “That’s a Neanderthal system.” 

I find this a this mode of thinking a bit ridiculous considering the residual costs of technology.  The life cycle for new devices are about 3 years before they "need" to be replaced by something newer and shinier. Additionally, the technology must be fitted with protective cases and protectors which can range in price and into the hundreds of dollars. Not to mention the new tech people that need to be hired when the technology (inevitably) fails in some fashion. 

When I was in high school I had an amazing teacher who, in her own time and without the help of the school, applied for a grant that would allow us access to ipads for our classroom. She used them in an extremely effective manner, showing us the use and power of social media. As great as this technological integration story sounds, I think the key message is the fact that the teacher made the experience great. The teacher was the one who was innovative and had great ideas to implement tech in a fun way. Without her, I wouldn't have had an enriching experience. 

Therefore when the article talks about a Los Angeles school district " cut costs in recent years by laying off thousands of teachers yet is now using bonds to finance the spending of $500 million on iPads", it makes me really sad. This only continues to perpetuate the ideology that teachers and teacher-student relationship building is less valuable than tech. 

The real investment needs to be in our teachers. I am aware that technological integration is important but it shouldn't trump our focus on long-term success that is brought upon by the impact only a teacher can have on a student.