They can’t be serious
Kasia April 12th, 2007
Whose bright idea was this?!?
Look – I am really sympathetic to education. Especially public education. And I’m also really sympathetic to keeping kids abreast of new technology. It’s very rare for me to look at some sort of education funding proposal and say “Heck no.” But this qualifies.
I would be willing to reconsider my absolute opposition to taxpayer-funded iPods for every kid in Michigan if:
- We didn’t have a several-hundred-million-dollar budget shortfall in this state right now;
- Someone could point me to what possible necessity there could be for kids to have iPods for school. The article mentions podcasts, but all you need to listen to those is a computer with a sound card (and, preferably, an Internet connection). I don’t see the prima facie case for this;
- Related to the first point, if schools weren’t slashing things like special ed already. Special ed seems to me to be a far more compelling use of taxpayer funds than iPods.
Someone fulfill – oh, let’s be generous and say “any two” of those conditions – and I’ll consider your case. Otherwise, stick a pitchfork in my hand and call me Devil’s Advocate. Better yet, stick my taxes back in my hand and tell me I can contribute them to the educational endeavor of my choice. I guarantee you it won’t go to purchase iPods. (Not even for me.)
At least they’re attempting to cloak it in a somewhat education-driven desire, to use “new technology” to help kids learn (though I totally agree with your comments).
My husband works at a high school…you know what he found out this week? The disctrict is going to be spending $50K on ipods for kids to win. You know how they get put in the pool to win? They have to pass their standardized tests. And not even the WHOLE test, just like one part of it! If they past one part, they get put in the raffle to win an ipod.
How sad is that? We have to WASTE money bribing kids to do what they’re supposed to be doing in the first place?!?!?!? Does no one see a problem with this?
Ugh…it’s just absolutely ridiculous. I really wonder about the sanity of the people in charge making these decisions.
Wow.
I could see, for example, giving some sort of prize to the kid with the highest score – sort of a small ‘carrot’ to motivate them a bit more – but THAT is just ridiculous.
Although to be honest, I don’t feel a lot better about our legislators trying to pass this off as an educational need/desire. To me, it just makes any effort they try to make in the future that much more suspect, and gives public-school-funding opponents ammo to try to shoot down future proposals. We’ll see though.
[...] Apr 13th, 2007 by Joseph Tremblay The Clam posted about a proposal in Michigan to purchase iPods for every elementary and high school student in the state. I don’t have anything new to add to her analysis of the situation ’cause she did such a good job of summing up what’s wrong with the proposal (massive budget deficit, iPods aren’t necessary to listen to podcasts [the motivation for the proposed purchase] and so on), but I would like to elaborate on what this says about kids today. [...]
Hey, I was going to post a comment saying that I wrote a post commenting on your post, but the little gremlins that run the interweb beat me to it.
The day this came out, a study came out which showed that….drumroll….increased use of technological aids, whether computers, TV’s, whatever….did NOT increase knowledge….No, really, you mean I have to READ to learn something, oh no, oh, work, oh, I can’t bear it…etc…
Oh well, I am a bigger nerd than you, dear clam, and by the way, in this run-on crazzzzzy sentence because it is late and i am tired, I was 59 % moron…oh yeah. Must be those fires, explosions, the drool, I don’t know…But no, I do NOT laugh at fart. My kids do, but I don’t,,,,still I am 59% moron. Good night!