Who makes these decisions

BC is giving Newton City Schools $100k a year for technology in the class room.  While I applaud a local university supporting the schools, I have to wonder if education is overpriced.  It should also be noted that my children’s school is wisely using their portion to purchase 15 mac books.  What!?!  It is really easy spending money people give you I guess.  For that they could have bought 30 non mac laptops.  Or, gasp, even more desktop or shuttle computers. 

 

The problem with the Mac is that while it is overpriced by a lot.  Then you have the problem that a vast majority of home operation systems are windows based and while showing the kids diverse operating systems is cool, maybe not doing so for kids learning to use computers would be great.  The teachers all use the google docs program because it is in the cloud and kids can work together and the teacher can check their progress.  Why not get a butt load of chrome books, then.  What happens when one of these machines breaks and it cost $500 bucks to fix it the Apple store.  Or cost as much as two chrome books to fix. If you have desktops, hardware could be bought and replaced by a knowledgeable teacher or parent volunteer. 

 

I guess Macs are just hipper and show how affluent the Newton City Schools are.  Chromebooks would have been the best choice this, they should have just bought 20 iPads.  I mean who makes these decisions and why aren’t they good at math.  Each class has at least 20 something kids, so there are not enough to service an entire class at one time.  Dumb, especially when there is a much cheaper alternative that would allowed enough computers to be purchased for an entire class. 

 

The cheapest MacBook is $1,000, but I bet they went with Mac Book Pro starting at $1,200.  You can get Acer Chromebooks for as low as $300.  Even if Mac is giving a 50% discount the chrome books are almost half as expensive.  But I am sure the school system could have gotten a discount on the chromebooks as well. 

 

Private schools wouldn’t have been so wasteful. 

 

 

 

why nerds are not cool.

I found this and thought that is was a really interesting take on the subject. 

http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html

 

My wife keeps telling my daughter that she has to be really smart so she can be popular in high school and I keep telling her that doesn't happen in the U.S.  She disagrees.  I mean I am sure it happens in a very few schools, but not a vast majority and almost never in a public school. 

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Update:Letter to the Principal

The car drop off ladies seem to be smiling more.  I have dropped her off twice in the past two week without incident and this morning I saw the lady smiling and waving a father playfully along as he took too long pulling out of the line.  This could be due to the school year ending but I like to think that my letter had something to do with it.  I am a glass is empty because I drank however much was in it type person.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Letter to the Principal

Below is a letter that I faxed to the school today:

 

Principal M,

            I am writing with a complaint about the ladies that do “car rider drop off” in the mornings.  This morning as my daughter gets out of the car and the door shuts, I look over to the other lane to ensure that I will not be running over a child or pulling out simultaneously as the car in that lane.  As I look back forward, I hear one of the ladies screech, “move.”  Had this been the only incident I have experienced I would have let it slide.  But, every time I drop my little girl off at school I have a similar experience.  My wife has had the same experiences as well as other parents we know. 

            To be hateful towards me as a parent is one thing, but these women do not present themselves well to the children either.  I have never seen either one of them smile.  They have never even spoken to my little girl as she exits the car.  It is the child’s first experience with school for the day and it starts off poorly due to the attitudes of these women. 

            These women are nasty and hateful women.  I am not sure what else they do at the school, but they hate the drop off lane portion of their job.  This is a bad representation of your school as these are people that are seen day in and day out by some parents.  I pray that these ladies are not teachers in your school.  To be frank, the fact that these women have such a position makes me lose confidence in you as an administrator.  I wonder what kind of people you hide inside the walls if these are the ones you display for the world.  If I had a choice of schools, the presence of these women would be enough to make me choose another school. 

             I seriously hope that you speak to these women.  I also hope that you understand my utter distaste for them as I have toned down my language in order to be respectful to you.  These women put a negative face on the school as a whole and really know how to ruin a person’s morning.  It is my honest belief that they are on a personal mission to blot out all happiness in the world.  I don’t always expect service with a smile, but these women do not even try to be warm.  I believe my daughter, as well as everyone else’s sons and daughters would benefit from a warm reception as they exit their cars for school. 

                                                                                    Thank you for your consideration,

                                                                                    An Upset Parent

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

QotD: No shouting on the bus!

What was your most memorable or favorite school field trip?

We went to see the Gengis Khan exhibit when I was a senior.  It was Gengis Khan, perpetuator of senseless violence.  I am a huge fan.  On the bus ride back, I fell asleep.  I freaked everyone out because my eyes were not closed, but you could only see the whites of my eyes.  I seem to have passed this trait on to my own children.  I think it is cute.  "Look honey, Ashli is possessed again.  Awwww!"

Read and post comments | Send to a friend