You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Land of the Free
Not All Philly Students Have Computers So School District Cancels Remote Learning
2020-03-22
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] The Philadelphia School District canceled all remote learning for students while they are off from school because not all kids have access to a computer and high-speed internet.

So all online learning will be canceled.
Well, don't that sound egalitarianly reasonable.
The superintendent said, "If that’s not available to all children, we cannot make it available to some."
As is well known, Philthadelphia has no libraries, or as they're known on South Street "lah-berries."
TIME reported:

The Philadelphia School District will not offer remote instruction during the coronavirus
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
 shutdown, the superintendent announced Wednesday, citing equity concerns in a city where many students lack computers or high-speed internet at home.

School districts nationwide have been wrestling with the same issues as they explore ways to keep children engaged as classrooms are shuttered for weeks or longer.

In Philadelphia, where some teachers had been offering forms of optional remote instruction on their own, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said at a City Hall news conference that no students will be required to log on to a computer or submit assignments.

"If that’s not available to all children, we cannot make it available to some," Hite said.

Related:
Philadelphia: 2020-03-13 CDC Quarantine Advisor jobs posted 15 November 2019
Philadelphia: 2020-03-08 Soros Spends Big to Help Prosecutor Who Dropped Jussie Smollett Charges
Philadelphia: 2020-03-04 NH's 1st Coronavirus Patient, Told to Stay Isolated, Went to Event Instead
Related:
Philadelphia School District: 2015-12-10 At Washington High, a teacher's beating is the final straw
Philadelphia School District: 2013-01-01 Philadelphia School District Plans to Close Dozens of Schools
Philadelphia School District: 2011-09-30 Campaigning Philadelphia judges say Democrats sought $10,000 donations
Posted by:Fred

#28  triage, some of these kids should be given a free year at a trade school of their choice when this ends. The college bound ones will take up less bandwidth.
Posted by: ruprecht   2020-03-22 23:10  

#27  This is easy.

Give all the kids electronic notepads. Which will be then sold to someone on "the street." Kids get some $, street buyers get to turn a little profit as well.

Sneaker sales go up as do Nike profits. And business value.

China all good again.

Pilots out there: If you are asked do something as a courtesy (not a declared emergency or anything that may be a violation of 61, 91, 135 or the AIM, as appropriate) to aircraft tail number November One Kilo Echo, tell them to eff off. You'll be glad you did.
Posted by: Anomalous Sources   2020-03-22 22:34  

#26  Chaving: are you still getting that kind of response? Some colleagues said Team crashed under the load last week. I presume MS'll scale up the infrastructure to handle it. Zoom was giving grief for me on Thursday, and Slack was, with our small team meeting, pretty close to the limit.
Posted by: James   2020-03-22 16:54  

#25  One of my college roommates clipped part of an ad from somewhere and laminated it to the door to his room: "I'm getting a college degree without attending classes."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-03-22 14:59  

#24  Cookie Grab
Posted by: Ackoopmed   2020-03-22 14:57  

#23  #2 To hell with that antiquated bourgeois morality! Look out, kids, they're tryin' to put y'all back in CHAINS!

Where's Waldo, er, Plugz?
Posted by: Lex   2020-03-22 13:15  

#22  For Philadelphia parents and others, there is the Khan Academy.

School closed? We’re here for you with free resources to keep everyone learning.
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-03-22 13:10  

#21  From my experience as a reporter, I'd say the best feature of the public school system in America is how school boards give so many mediocre intellects somewhere to go besides into other areas of politics.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-03-22 13:05  

#20  I think the ones that were willing to learn, just got schooled
Posted by: Frank G   2020-03-22 12:39  

#19  How much learning is going on in Philly, anyway?
Posted by: SR-71   2020-03-22 12:36  

#18  The lowest common denominator. What the left wants for everyone except the commissars.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-03-22 12:12  

#17  #14 Do these kids have smart phones? --JohnQC
How many are watching music videos right now? How many have immediate family that they could borrow one (what a concept, that)? Sounds like some petty bureaucrat wants an emergency funding package...
Posted by: magpie   2020-03-22 10:42  

#16  Or their parent/parents?
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-03-22 10:00  

#15  Ever hear of correspondence courses? The postal system is still operating.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-03-22 10:00  

#14  Do these kids have smart phones?
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-03-22 09:59  

#13  #12 Uh, I work remote 95% of the time, collaborate with colleagues etc. We share screens, pass files around hold audio conferences. The application you ask? Microsoft Teams. My connection bandwidth, 15 Mbps. It sounds like you should look for another application. Try Zoom Video.
Posted by: Chaving Ulavise4972   2020-03-22 09:13  

#12  Screen sharing apps are real pigs. I am not a student, but a teacher, with one class, for example, that has 100 students. Just sharing my desktop (in Dingtalk) completely maxes out my PC at home with a 100Mbs internet connection. I think screen sharing is not the best model for remote education. Old educators like it because it feels the most like a classroom, but classrooms don't really scale well. Imagine Donald Trump teaching online to 1,000,000 viewers. There might be some technical problems ...
Posted by: Beau   2020-03-22 07:44  

#11  The end of the onerous, centrally planned, consolidated school districts begun in the 1950's. Goodbye to the Blue Bird school busing buses. Goodbye to the bloated school district administrations. Who knew it would take a pandemic.

Well I can dream, can't I ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-03-22 07:42  

#10  
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-03-22 07:35  

#9  Thank you for making a case to shut the system down and give all children vouchers. It's up to the parents to be concern whether they get an education or not and take the appropriate measures to make it happen ...or not. Think of it in your socialist term of Year Zero.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2020-03-22 07:26  

#8  they all have a cell phone I would assume
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2020-03-22 05:05  

#7  There is probably some sort of labor union component to this decision.

Quick solution to parents with internet access: find an online class room for your kids as it is most likely 5 times better than the class your kid is in now in Philly.
Posted by: Airandee   2020-03-22 04:37  

#6  Diana Moon Glampers approved system.

Harrison Bergeron is not surprised. Procrustes, on the other hand, is quite pleased.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566   2020-03-22 03:16  

#5  It just wouldn't be fair !
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-03-22 03:00  

#4  Stop and go back to the stupid - I mean, No cancel school idiots
Posted by: newc    2020-03-22 02:48  

#3  Uh, you y'all. [adjusting mask and rainbow fro wig]
Posted by: Flaper Dingle3777   2020-03-22 01:08  

#2   ways to keep children engaged

To hell with that antiquated bourgeois morality! Look out, kids, they're tryin' to put you back in CHAINS!
Posted by: Flaper Dingle3777   2020-03-22 01:06  

#1  they explore ways to keep children engaged as classrooms are shuttered for weeks or longer

Roving gangs of listless youts. Can't wait.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-03-22 00:52  

00:00