My daughter’s class was asked to have personal devices at school in order to engage in learning. She currently does not have her own laptop that can be taken to school. She does not have a fully functional iPad. We balked at the expectation that she should. I communicated this to her teacher, and she was given a device on behalf of the school board. My daughter told me that the iPad was very slow and did not have the most up-to-date operating system which was very frustrating for her. This is an excellent example of ways in which our systems and structures disadvantage people, in this case children. Our family has the resources to get her a device that will allow her to learn the way her teachers want her to learn. Rather than forcing her to struggle to keep up with the expectations in class, and to feel stressed and waste her cognitive energy trying to get the device to work, it makes far more sense for us to get her her own iPad. However, not every child has that opportunity. Not all children’s families have the resources to make this a priority. It seems to be contrary to the spirit of public education to have such discrepancies in the resources to which children have access, even within a single classroom. It’s not a stretch to appreciate that a child who doesn't have a functional device in a classroom where it's expected will not have the full capacity to learn the content or skills that her classmates will. In addition, the persistent stress will measurably alter the anatomy and physiology of that child's brain, setting her up for lifelong health impacts. If that child is in a socio-economic circumstance that prevents her family from getting the device that she needs, she is already at a greater risk of adversity whether it is inadequate nutrition or sleep, noise or light pollution, etc. That child is going to fall behind. That child will be disadvantaged by the system - even if she is bright, even if she is resilient, even if she has loving caregivers - she is measurably disadvantaged by the system. That is not the way a public school system should operate. Unless all children have access to the same resources, no child should be expected to or even permitted to use them. Until every child has access to the same level of support no child should have access. Do I prioritize my child's individual opportunities or do I boycott out of the principle that all children should have access to the basic necessities of learning (although arguably iPads are not a basic necessity in grade 7, despite the cool ways they can enhance learning). Advocating for this is not mutually exclusive with ensuring that my own child has the best possible advantage with which we can provide her. But I will also continue to engage her in the process of critical thinking and critical allyship that will allow her the skills and the attitude and the confidence to speak up when she notices structural systems of privilege and oppression.
0 Comments
|
Archives
January 2024
Categories
All
|