Re: what should we change???!!!

Sharon Smith (ssmith@ADMIN1.AUGUSTA.TEC.GA.US)
Tue, 4 Feb 1997 15:16:21 -0500

Clinton will be here in Augusta, GA tomorrow with Gov. Zell Miller the
inventor (or someone else in his administration) of the Hope Scholarship
program. Zell's education program has many sides. The Hope program
provides tuition and books WITHOUT the required B average for students in
diploma and certificate programs in the tech schools. They must maintain a
C average to stay in school, however. In this way programs requiring skills
are also being helped. He is using lottery money to fund this. Lottery
dollars are paying for other educational goals he has. He is filling our
schools with computers and satellite dishes, and every classroom in OUR
school will eventually have monitors. He has raised the salary level of
teachers at ALL levels for the last two years and will do so for the next
two. He is doing redirection of funds - taking revenues from some schools
and redirecting to others - the determining factor being efficiency. Doing
most with the least people. Teachers will be cut and replaced by more
efficient methods - ie monitors transmitting the presentation from one
classroom to multiple rooms. Already all fulltime instructors in the prison
systems have been cut and will be replaced by a subcontractor (if I
understand the news correctly)at less money. County systems are strapped
with the additional costs brought about by the salary increases and so they,
too, are having to cut positios. The feeling seems to be - what human
teachers have failed to do (educate the masses) computers will be able to
do and be able to do it cheaper. What the final outcome will be is yet to be
seen. Perhaps the younger generations raised on TV and video games will
learn better by computer. As for me, right now I have a 25 computer lab
with 11 computers down and can't get the electrician or the computer
specialist up here to fix the problems. Half our building can't send or
receive email(our campus communication system). Meanwhile, we have 100 new
computers waiting to be installed on campus. Sorry about the length, but
with Clinton coming tomorrow to look at making this a national plan, I'm a
little concerned.

At 09:06 AM 2/4/97 -1000, you wrote:
>. . . So what do you think will be the effect of Clinton's effort to
>guarantee at least two years of college to _everyone_ and to reward
>students with grants who maintain a B average? More math/science avoidance
>and fewer skilled artisans?
>
>Why can't this society show equal value for skilled workers as for skilled
>thinkers?!
>
>John M. Flanigan <johnf@hawaii.edu> The equation is the final arbiter.
>Math Resource Instructor --Werner Heisenberg
>Kapi'olani Community College The scoreboard is the final arbiter.
>Honolulu, Hawaii --Bill Walton
>
>
>On Mon, 3 Feb 1997, KC and Patrick Hillard wrote:
>
>> >
>> > X-To: "The Technology in Mathematics Education (TiME)
committee of"
>> > <MATHEDCC@VM1.MCGILL.CA>
>> > To: Multiple recipients of list MATHEDCC
<MATHEDCC@VM1.MCGILL.CA>
>>
>> >
>>
>> >
>> > The question is, what should we change and how should we change it?
>> >
>> > Gary Helmer
>> >
>> > Lets start by assuming that 1/2 the kids I see in 6th grade are hands
>> on not paper pencil kind of people and lets face the fact that we are
>> facing a real shortage in skilled trades men like good plumbers
>> (my plumber is over 75 but he can fix my30 year old boiler in my 90
>> year old house when he dies......)
>> I am not sure there is anyone left in this state who can lay an arch of
>> stones over a hearth. I shudder at some of the shoddy electrical
>> work...
>> and and and
>> We need to re think the kind of curriculum we are pushing and get away
>> from the need to shove 80-90% of our kids into college.
>> Somedays I wish I had taken up building trades
>> Good wood workers are a dying breed.... it starts with being able to
>> read a ruler and if you want a real scare ask any group of 8th graders
>> to measure 2 and 3/8s inches......
>> There is no reason why and apprenticeship program for the manually
>> gifted should not be put in place starting at 6th grade and let these
>> kids graduate with a skill and a means to make a good living.
>>
>>
>> What should we change???
>>
>> Everything!
>> KC Hillard
>> 617 East Division St.
>> Cadillac, Michigan 49601
>> 616-775-8785
>> fax: 616-775-1303
>> hillard@netonecom.net
>> +++++++++++++++++++++
>> Baker College
>> 9600 East 13th St.
>> Cadillac, Michigan 496901
>> 616-775-8458
>> fax: 616-775-8505
>> hillar_k@Cadillac.Baker.edu
>> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>> Cadillac Middle School
>> 500 Chestnut St.
>> Cadillac, Michigan 49601
>> 616-779-9360
>> fax: 616-779-9306
>> ++++++++++++++++++
>> PERSERVERANCE FURTHERS
>>
>
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sharon Smith
Augusta Technical Institute
Math Instructor
Isa 43:1-3
email ssmith@augusta.tec.ga.us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~