Should school districts provide computers and WiFi for at home learning?

[Anonymous 6]

No. Schools need to be revamping curriculum and stripping it down to the essentials. That would solve a lot of problems. School can be done without computers but it would require books, paper and pencils. This over reliance on the internet has been a problem for years and we are face to face with why it was always a horrible idea. I had a principal tell me a few years ago, smugly, that the days of books are over and the internet is the way to go. I look forward to seeing him again so I can ask how that's working for him and his school now.

[highlandmum]

Can I just ask where do you think these schools would get all these laptops by the start of school? For example New York City has 1.1 million children lets say that 75% of them do not have a laptop and opt into the program. That means that the city needs to find 825,000 laptops (Chromebooks) by the start of school at a cost of (for argument sake) $250 each, that works out to $206,250,000 this school needs to find by the start of school. If you are talking about supplying Chromebooks to every elementary and secondary student in the US you are now talking about billions of dollars and tens of millions of Chromebooks - logistically it is not happening.

[Olioxenfree]

Yes. Children have a right to education and should not be forced to risk their lives in order to receive it.

[Anonymous 2]

No. Schools need to be revamping curriculum and stripping it down to the essentials. That would solve a lot of problems. School can be done without computers but it would require books, paper and pencils. This over reliance on the internet has been a problem for years and we are face to face with why it was always a horrible idea. I had a principal tell me a few years ago, smugly, that the days of books are over and the internet is the way to go. I look forward to seeing him again so I can ask how that's working for him and his school now.

Explain your problem solving ideas....and depending where that old school or yours is, maybe the internet is working out fine for that principal

[Anonymous 7]

The school district here is giving each student an iPad thing with everything they need loaded onto the iPad. All a parent has to do is schedule an appointment with the school, so they can go in and be given instruction on how to use it, and it has the data or whatever so if the household doesn’t have WiFi they will still have access to do their work and contact the teacher if there are any questions or concerns.

[Anonymous 8]

I like the CRANKY you. Well said!

This is a difficult situation faced by many school districts. But to expect for a school to provide both a computer and WiFi is a bit much. Where would the money come from? A magic printing press. Most schools are already operating on tight/reduced budgets. And what is the limit - if the household has multiple children needing to go online, how many devices are needed?

Our school system did supply to families one Chromebook in the spring. This was limited to 1x/family and only if there were no other accessible devices at home. Our school is doing a hybrid model in the fall with the option of fully remote. Devices will be available but limited. But I do live in a mostly affluent town so all households have wifi and most have some device. And to help working parents, the superintendent is looking to partner with child care centers/recreational centers to set up care pods for those in the online portion of the model.

In the case you presented, I don't think the school should provide WiFi. There are other resources for WiFi, including many service providers providing low-cost or no-cost access. Maybe at most, they should provide one device with a need/financial criteria for receipt of a device. Just because there is an in-school option doesn't mean the child can do that - what if they are immuno-compromised or live with someone who is. Where is the line drawn regarding the criteria for that choice and getting a device.

And at the end of the day, everyone from educators to parents need to step up and stop their whining and demands. No one wanted this situation but honestly, I have grown weary of the complaints about school ranging from things like this to the ineffectiveness of online learning to the difficulties it will be to get kids to social distance and wear masks. Even complaining about hybrid presenting difficulties for working parents (which is true). The virus is not going away and we have to be diligent until there is a vaccine. So people just need to make it work so we can all get through this. And yes- I am a little cranky today.

[Anonymous 9]

If it’s not the only option then no. But here we have to do remote learning for the first 9 weeks so they are providing computers and/or hotspots if you need them. But if you’re choosing to do The virtual learning when in person is an option it should be up to you to provide that.

[Anonymous2.0]

The local cable company offers free internet to
Low income families.

The school district also gave those same students and EVERY high school senior a chrome book last year.

With that said, if the district has the resources to do so then they should help those who don’t, but as a whole I don’t feel it’s a viable option.

Our local company started doing that earlier this year. Our quality of service went way down (frequent outages, harder to get through to customer service) and yet our bill didn’t. Not sure why having cable is a basic necessity as there were times when we didn’t have money for the extra bill and we survived....

[Traci_Momof2]

And at the end of the day, everyone from educators to parents need to step up and stop their whining and demands. No one wanted this situation but honestly, I have grown weary of the complaints about school ranging from things like this to the ineffectiveness of online learning to the difficulties it will be to get kids to social distance and wear masks. Even complaining about hybrid presenting difficulties for working parents (which is true). The virus is not going away and we have to be diligent until there is a vaccine. So people just need to make it work so we can all get through this. And yes- I am a little cranky today.

I definitely agree with this part. It all sucks, and it's all difficult for everyone in some way or another. But we all know now this is the way it is. So parents need to suck it up, stop whining, and figure out what they are going to do. Everyone needs to suck it up and do what needs to be done to get through this.

[mrsjules79]

Many schools already do. Perhaps districts should provide computers for students who cannot afford their own until we are back on track for in person learning.

Some school districts in the area do, Houston Isd does. But this is a smaller suburb and they just don’t have the money for it.

Which district? I’m in KatyISD but my DD graduated in 17.