County Executive Candidate Councilperson Chris Merdon and incumbent School Board Candidate Josh Kaufman have proposed giving incoming freshman at our local highschools free laptops. (Some of us oldtimers can remember when the Newt was pushing the same snake oil). They must not have thought this one through. First of all, laptops and the software that makes them useful are expensive, and freshman are numerous. Whose taxes are you going to raise or which programs are you going to cut to fund this inititiative?
Moreover, laptops, unlike textbooks, are prime targets for theft. At least one study indicates that almost half of all laptops are either stolen or accidentially rendered inoperable. (One group that would benefit most from this proposal would be the school bullies: Laptops would be a lot more profitable than lunch money).
Chris and Josh, if you want good new ideas, try looking someplace other than Newt Gingrich.
3 comments:
Hi Steve,
I agree with you about these laptop computers. They are a bad idea and let me count the ways:
expensive, easily damaged if dropped, become obsolete in a short period of time, target for thieves (both in and out of school)to name just a few. Who will get them? Who will pay for them? Who will pay to maintain them? Is this another case of the kids who need them the most will be the ones to get them last because they are not performing at some teacher's idea of high achievement? This money would be much better spent upgrading the computer labs in the schools that are available for all to use. Another election year boondoggle.
Melody
It's another Merdon election-year promise that has been prefaced with 8 years of cuts, arrogance and apathy.
Would this significant capital expense be a procurement on which his employer or possibly affiliated companies would bid?
Beyond the cost of the initial laptop purchases, what would it cost to support these thousands of computers and keep them running for four years?
Would this signficant capital expense put too much emphasis on a technical education, building skill sets that most benefit his employer's industry, diverting funds from other educational efforts?
While someone who's in the business of selling computer-based solutions to government could be biased, perceiving technology to be a panacea for improving education, it simply isn't.
Where would an education dollar be better spent? How about here? A 17-to-1 return on investment that provides societal benefits across the board sounds pretty good to me.
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