Responding to the ridicule of teachers and the teaching profession by politicians and self proclaimed "experts"!
"Where is Albert Shanker now that we need him?" - Walt Sautter

Wednesday 28 October 2015

The Consequences of Technology in Education and Elsewhere

I recently wrote an article (June 2015) http://teachersdontsuck.blogspot.com/2015/07/i-robots.html about the rise of robots. Here are some of the things which I mentioned.

"Another question becomes – what happens once robots assume an overwhelming presence in the American job market?"

"Not so fast (with your applause) – the people who will be working less and enjoying all the extra leisure time (unemployment) will not own the robots – they will be owned by wealthy corporations and individuals and I don’t believe they will be inclined to share the rewards the robots provide with the society at large."

"So now the robotic age will have another startling, back door effect on education. If only a very few jobs will be left by robotization what kind of jobs will they be and what skills can be taught to allow people to obtain those remaining jobs?"


The other night I viewed a piece on NJN News which provides an example validating my observations about the ever increasing rise of technology and the threats it carries. Here is that clip.

Video Note:
An interesting point about the influence of technology on the automobile repair business is, that starting way back in the 80s, manufacturers began  producing vehicles which required specialized tools for repairing each model. The result was the independent shop owner had to buy a myriad to tools to stay in business.Many were driven out of business by these increased costs. But that was not the end of car manufacturers attempts to eliminate their competitors.
With the advent of computer run vehicles, manufacturers no longer have to develop and produce manufactured parts needing special tools. Now, all they need do is write a few lines software code to box out independent competition for good!

Saturday 24 October 2015

There's Gold In Them There (Charter) Schools !

I had a conversation with a friend the other day about the "non profit" status of professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA and MLB and their accumulation of tax free monies which then pay gigantic salaries to the head honchos . Eventually, the conversation became one about charter schools and their "non profit" status. I was quick to mention that I won't be surprised if the same might be true in the case of charter schools as it is in pro sports. Thus I went to the Internet and found two eye opening articles which validated my suspicions.

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/charter-school-executive-profit_b_5093883.html

  https://greatschoolwars.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/eic-oct_11.pdf

Here are some excerpts from those articles: