You Exist Within the Context

By Lynda Otero

Technology and school have become intimately tied together. They can interact to create equity or cause chaos amongst students. 

When my school shifted into online learning in 2020, my school board scrambled to find computers for every student to take home. Given the lack of sustainable funding, they were forced to buy computers with shorter life spans. Just a couple of years later, while they were trying to get students back into the classroom, all of the cheap computers broke.  They were again forced to scramble to approve bonds and seek one time funding again. There was no precedent for how to deal with scarce resource distribution during a pandemic, but it ultimately hurt students to have schools  constantly scrambling for money. 

As social media grew more and more and so did the conflict surrounding it, school administrators just threw more and more invasive security at the issues arising. Cyber bullying was disregarded until it turned to real life scratches and bruises. All campuses had more security guards than counselors, putting a band aid on the situation but not actually treating the underlying causes. This is the first time in history students have been connected all the time outside of school, the first time school staff has to teach children online etiquette. As students are learning to be in community with each other, the online landscape significantly alters education and the approaches schools must take to it. However, without sufficient funds schools cannot really remedy anything.

The world challenges schools in new ways all the time. There are no real paths laid out for schools to adapt to everything perfectly all at once. Still, there would be more flexibility for schools to address unprecedented issues if they had the tool to get things done in our society: money! Schools like people exist within the context of a society that requires them to use money to get anything done. As they continue to return to their tried and true methods of stopgap fundraising and discipline, which we know to be ineffective, we know what the real solutions are. To make it clear: reform Prop. 13 to generate $17 billion that schools desperately need.

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Digital Literacy Is Important!