It has been a while so many might have forgotten but bill
Gates first idea was smaller schools. He reasoned that if small schools on the
plains of Nebraska were successful why couldn’t we translate that t the inner
city. Well the reasons are legion and he eventually gave up on it admitting it
didn’t work out like he hoped. http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/18/gates-foundation-schools-oped-cx_dr_1119ravitch.html
Next after pondering why he would pay an experienced
landscaper more than a rookie (teachers are landscapers in the analogy) he
decided the best way to improve education was to come up with the best teacher
evaluation system possible. And after spending 50 million dollars he decided
that kids should evaluate their teachers (a major component of his new
proposal) or what teachers like to call one of the worst ideas of all time.
A few months ago he called for spending 5 billion dollars to
put cameras in every classroom. He says it is so teachers can get feedback but
his previous distain for teachers makes many of us think he doesn’t quite trust
us. Say you were to divvy that 5 billion
out over ten years we could put about 700 social workers in our most struggling
schools so they could tackle what Bill Gates and others to be fair, continuously
ignores and that is what happens outside of the classroom is just as important.
http://news.yahoo.com/bill-gates-5-billion-plan-let-put-camera-201014925.html
Now we get to his latest humdinger high tech bracelets. According to Yahoo Voices, Gates
Foundation, started and run by Bill and Melinda Gates has stepped into he fray by
offering cash to Clemson University to study the effectiveness of using sensors
worn on the wrists of school children to measure how engaged they are in their
lessons, and thus, the effectiveness of what is being taught. Oy Vey and
WOW!! http://voices.yahoo.com/gates-foundation-funding-wrist-bracelets-monitor-11465184.html?cat=15
Not only would I welcome a webcam in my classroom, I have asked for one! When I told my students about my request they were mortified, arguing about the legalities, of all things. Their real objection was that they didn't want their conduct captured for parents and administrators to see. Bring them on. As far as Gates and the other monied people like him are concerned, they may be well-intentioned, but they live in a bubble, sheltered from reality. They don't want the bubble pierced, which is why WE are not consulted and even when consulted, are marginalized. So very sad.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great idea to have cameras in the classroom aimed at the students. Think of all the misbehaviour it would prevent when the students know that their actions are being recorded on tape and they can't lie about it to the dean of discipline or their parents. There are cameras in the school busses and in the hallways, so why not the classrooms?
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