Posted By: Gary Baird
In 1776 Thomas Paine wrote, and had anonymously published, a pamphlet advocating the complete separation of the American colonies from England. This publication turned out to be instrumental in influencing public opinion toward the cause of independence. It is no coincidence that the title of that work was "Common Sense".
At the Monday, April 16th school board meeting, several technology bond advocates spoke during public comments and made disparaging remarks about this website, the people behind it, and those that post comments here because they choose to remain anonymous. By that logic, they must find Thomas Paine to be cowardly too.
Of course, the penalty facing Thomas Paine was death. Those that dare to oppose the School Board, Administration, Teachers, and their minions, only face character assassination and the ostricization of their school age children. If you don't think this can or does happen, you are being naive. On the other hand, what risks are the technology bond advocates taking? If anything, their children will probably get preferential treatment for the effort. Who's the coward here?
I've put my name and some thoughts on a letter to the editor published in last weekend's edition of the Town Courier. In case you missed it, below is a copy of that text. I plan on expanding on those thoughts here in the coming weeks before the election, where I'm not limited to 400 words. I encourage you all to do the same. Like Thomas Paine, I fully understand why many choose to remain anonymous. Thinking people will judge your writings on their content.
Text of my letter to the Town Courier, April 15th edition:
I am planning on voting NO on the Technology and Transportation bond proposal on the May 8th ballot and I urge everyone to do likewise. Although I respect the motives of those who are in support of the bond, I am not persuaded by their arguments.My children attend Okemos schools and I want them to have every opportunity for success. However, I believe the current emphasis on technology is at best having a neutral impact on their education, and quite possibly a negative one due to financial pressures on the budget.
For example, traditional shop classes, which I found to be invaluable in my eventual career in engineering, have all but disappeared in high schools across the nation to make room in budgets for computer technology. The current plan calls for not only replacing rapidly obsolescent equipment, but adding yet another layer of hardware, which will no doubt quickly become obsolete and need to be replaced down the road with yet another bond.
After more than two decades of computer technology in schools there should be overwhelming scientific evidence proving computer technology's value in learning. Outside of special education use, the results are mixed. However, a study just released by the US Department of Education concluded that there was NO significant difference in reading and mathematics test scores between classes that used selected computer assisted learning software and those that relied only on traditional methods. Given the long fad-following track record of school districts across the country, a healthy amount of skepticism is in order.
I'm a mechanical engineer who's used personal computers since the original IBM PC in the early 80's. Computers are my hobby. I understand what technology can do for me, but I also know it can be a distraction. Computer technology is a tool, as is a hammer, but just because you have a hammer in your tool box doesn't mean everything needs hammering.
Computer technology has its place in schools, but its not the answer for everything. It seems to me that the schools are looking for new ways to "need" technology so they can justify the high expense of having it.
If you'd like to read more about what people who oppose the bond are saying, please visit: CommonSenseForOkemos.org
Gary Baird
Okemos