[Discussion] Election 2020

Seems like the board is set. Let’s see how this goes.

And this

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFU6W27UAAAu-Zq?format=jpg&name=large)

Notice that jdzappa is full of sympathy for white people who are spooked, but not the black people being murdered in the streets. And boy, if white people are spooked, why then, if protesters can be labeled Communists (accurate or not), why then why then the only answer is the fascist jackboot, right?

mudbunny wrote:

Distance learning works...when he school system is properly set up for it. For example, the school my daughters go to requires you purchase an iPad. All lesson plans and homework are available through the iPad (as well as on paper). Parents can easily see marks and communicate with the teachers and administration. However, it has taken the school the better part of 10 years to get to that point. They have spent loads of $$$ on the internet infrastructure, have experts in lesson planning and teaching to support the teachers and the students with IT support. It is also semi-private and costs $4k a year per child.

It also requires the students be ready to do online teaching. They be motivated to pay attention to the teacher when watching on their iPad at home. They have support at home with parents who can help. They have internet at home that has the bandwidth and data cap that comes along with at-home learning. That the living situation is such that you can have more than one kids at home, at the same time, in e-learning and not have them distracting each other.

Yup. I don't doubt that distance learning can work for some (mostly relatively affluent) families who have self-selected for being good candidates for it, and from educators who are experienced with providing it.

I have more doubts about whether it will ever be effective as the default educational environment on a national scale.

And it CERTAINLY is not effective for all, or even most, of the students and educators who are grappling with it right now.

Okay, okay, I get it. Remote learning isn't there yet. I naively thought that after being forced to work with it, schools or at least some entrepreneurial software vendor would have risen to the challenge by now. Kind of depressing that it's still awful.

Maybe something more like Khan Academy? Admittedly I don't know how that works either, but it's been around a while.

Anyway, sorry to drag this out in this topic. My optimism was unwarranted.

hbi2k wrote:

Yup. I don't doubt that distance learning can work for some (mostly relatively affluent) families who have self-selected for being good candidates for it, and from educators who are experienced with providing it.

I have more doubts about whether it will ever be effective as the default educational environment on a national scale.

And it CERTAINLY is not effective for all, or even most, of the students and educators who are grappling with it right now.

Right, the part about costing less in terms of infrastructure and reaching more people is what seems inconsistent with my reality. In order to reach just the students that were already being served by the in-person approach, you need to provide them with a home existence that has all the prerequisites that mudbunny outlines. That would take a level of support for the disadvantaged that this country has shown little appetite for and requires significant investment.

It's always been easier to pretend that all students get the same education because we try to treat them the same while on campus. Remote learning is making that long-standing fiction even harder to ignore. Providing every student a Chromebook isn't a complete solution.

Natus wrote:

And this

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFU6W27UAAAu-Zq?format=jpg&name=large)

Notice that jdzappa is full of sympathy for white people who are spooked, but not the black people being murdered in the streets. And boy, if white people are spooked, why then, if protesters can be labeled Communists (accurate or not), why then why then the only answer is the fascist jackboot, right?

FFS you can be pro Black rights and equality and still be concerned with the violence which has escalated on both sides, you know that right?!? I’m not supporting the fascists nor do I consider myself racist. (Yeah I have biases but I do my best to work on them.) I’ve gone to peaceful protests and given money to the Harris campaign as well as supported local races for WoC.

And IMHO both parties should be driving out the fringe crazies. There should be no room for communists among the left as there should be no room for fascists on the right.

BadKen wrote:

Okay, okay, I get it. Remote learning isn't there yet. I naively thought that after being forced to work with it, schools or at least some entrepreneurial software vendor would have risen to the challenge by now. Kind of depressing that it's still awful.

Maybe something more like Khan Academy? Admittedly I don't know how that works either, but it's been around a while.

Anyway, sorry to drag this out in this topic. My optimism was unwarranted.

Should? Yes, absolutely and I'm disappointed it's not further along after the Spring. But money and manpower seems to be the major limitation rather than specific tech.

jdzappa wrote:

And IMHO both parties should be driving out the fringe crazies. There should be no room for communists among the left as there should be no room for fascists on the right.

What's wrong with Communists? Fascists are abhorrent, sure but what is ideologically wrong with Communism?

r013nt0 wrote:
jdzappa wrote:

And IMHO both parties should be driving out the fringe crazies. There should be no room for communists among the left as there should be no room for fascists on the right.

What's wrong with Communists? Fascists are abhorrent, sure but what is ideologically wrong with Communism?

We’re really having this conversation? Traditional Communism requires a violent overthrow of the ruling class, which in actual practice means anyone slightly above minimum wage. Basic human rights don’t matter, all religion is outlawed, and the state has complete control over every aspect of your life. Not to mention the deaths of tens of millions in the worst ways imaginable.

lunchbox12682 wrote:

But money and manpower seems to be the major limitation rather than specific tech.

There is no amount of money, manpower, or technology that is going to make trying to teach a distracted 6-year-old through a screen work.

*Legion* wrote:
lunchbox12682 wrote:

But money and manpower seems to be the major limitation rather than specific tech.

There is no amount of money, manpower, or technology that is going to make trying to teach a distracted 6-year-old through a screen work.

Not with that attitude!

What has changed since the heyday of educational software for kids on PCs and Apple IIs?

~mod~
This thread is moving too fast to resolve issues via private message. We're drifting into personal attack territory. I suggest Natus and Jdzappa disengage if the intent is anything other than a peaceful resolution. Any further back and forth between you two (or anyone else) that crosses into further ad hominems will be modded out at the discretion of anyone on the mod team.

jdzappa wrote:
Natus wrote:

Notice that jdzappa is full of sympathy for white people who are spooked, but not the black people being murdered in the streets. And boy, if white people are spooked, why then, if protesters can be labeled Communists (accurate or not), why then why then the only answer is the fascist jackboot, right?

FFS you can be pro Black rights and equality and still be concerned with the violence which has escalated on both sides, you know that right?!?

But it's not both sides, and I wish you would stop implying that it is. There's only one side cheering on white supremacist terrorist militias.

jdzappa wrote:

And IMHO both parties should be driving out the fringe crazies. There should be no room for communists among the left as there should be no room for fascists on the right.

Again, where are the communists? The *entire GOP* is a raving death cult: QAnon, Proud Boys, Nazis, and MAGA. There is nothing like that on the "other side."

edit out

jdzappa wrote:

We’re really having this conversation?

Sure. You lumped Communists in with Fascists and suggested that they have no place amongst the left of our political spectrum. I'm interested in why you feel that way, and how you've reached that conclusion.

Also you are all off topic.