Technology in Urban Schools

Chapter three discusses the integration of technology into the urban classroom. I hate to be a spoiler, but there is none (at least not a lot!). These school districts have three major factors working against them when it comes to finding the monies necessary for integrating education, the buildings are old, the teacher turnover rate is astronomical, and the areas tend to be poor (describing them as anything else would not do them justice). When these factors are added together, the outcome is not positive.

Inner city (urban) schools tend to have some of the oldest school buildings. While the buildings may be steeped in history they are also filled with problems. In order to integrate technology correctly, schools need to be able to be wired to a school division WAN and then wired to create their own LAN. It is also good practice to wire in electrical outlets that are solely for the computers (Gallagher, 2001). This wiring alone will cause a large bill to appear, however, if any city is like the Northern Virginia area, once you go into a wall to improve the school you are obligated to fix all of the problems within that wall; problems that were probably overlooked due to the advanced age of some of the buildings (asbestos, faulty wiring, faulty plumbing, structural upgrades). Once all of these problems are solved, the schools are not out of the woods yet. They need computers and they need people who know how to use them properly. The actual tools and training for the people who are going to use them will also add onto a bill that is seemingly going to reach the sky (Gallagher, 2001).

The teachers create a problem that is two-fold. Money is necessary to train the teachers on the technology and teachers are not easily retained in urban schools. Why is it so hard to retain good teachers? Would you want to teach in an environment where there is little technology, where the students need to worry about getting money to help their families survive, where there is no technology, and the teaching tools you have are out dated? How about in schools where the air conditioning does not work on a ninety degree day, or the heat does not work on a day that does not reach freezing? The good teachers leave because of all problems they face in the school. What is left (and I do not believe this is always the case), is a group of teachers that are struggling to get by as much as the students are, because the teachers are not properly trained, they too begin to just do as much as necessary to get by-a teaching to the test mentality (Gallagher, 2001).

How do we fix these problems? Easy….MONEY!!!!!!!!!! Where is the money going to come from? That is not so easy to answer. Because urban areas tend to be poor, there is not a tax base that can support technology initiatives or school repair initiatives. The Federal government subsidizes some of the cost, but when there is still a percentage that has to be paid by the individual school….something is not getting any money, and in the shape a lot of these schools are in, it tends to be technology, because other issues are deemed more important, and I am not sure I disagree with that, within reason.

There is a quote in chapter three that I felt was extremely well put, and I thought, “If only everyone looked at education like this, I’m sure it would be a lot higher priority for our local, state, and Federal governments.” The quote is,

"Preparing all children for viable futures may seem expensive, but it
will be money well spent. The cost of graduating class after class
of students unprepared to meet the needs of today's and
tomorrow's workforce will be far more expensive"
(Gallagher, 2001, p. 41).

It made me think that if it is so hard to find capital to improve the schools and to include technology into the schools why not find sponsors for the schools or find other ways to improve the schools. In this month leading up to your taxes being due, why not give technology companies a tax break for donating USEFUL technology to a school division? Why not give teachers more than a $250 tax break if they have their own laptop with a wireless card for anytime access, or if they buy their own projector that they use in the classroom. I am not looking at this as a long term solution; I am looking at these suggestions as a bridge to allow today’s students to be successful until a long term solution can be figured out.

Reference:

Gallagher, E.M. (2001). Technology for urban schools: Gaps and challenges. In LeBaron, J.F. & Collier, C. Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.