Re:Mark Zuckerberg's Free Basics argument doesn't address co...
by icebraining on Thursday December 31, 2015 @06:11AM
(#10817165)
I'm glad you mention the Scandinavian countries, because they are an example that rejects your argument. 14% of the students in Sweden go to private schools, without "siphoning off" the parent's money, by using a voucher system.
Who funds education can and should be a separate argument from who runs the schools.
Re:Mark Zuckerberg's Free Basics argument doesn't address co...
by forrestthewoods on Thursday December 31, 2015 @03:15AM
(#10816784)
Germany has a three tier class system built right into its education system.
Re:Mark Zuckerberg's Free Basics argument doesn't address co...
by Tomte on Thursday December 31, 2015 @07:24AM
(#10817322)
Not everywhere. Schooling is totally state-dependant.
And maybe the fiercest and bitterest war waged in state politics over the last decades were about school systems.
In Hamburg there are mostly comprehensive schools. In the largest state, Northrhine-Westphalia, there are still those separate tiers, but comprehensive schools are probably the majority.
Re:Mark Zuckerberg's Free Basics argument doesn't address co...
by cmurf on Thursday December 31, 2015 @03:16AM
(#10816791)
it is not a class system, it's integrating some aspect of meritocracy. It is performance, not wallet based.
Private schools exist from an aristocratic history. England has this nonsense also. Meanwhile there are countries who take public education seriously and there is essentially no such thing as private education. Look at how Scandinavian countries do this. And the Germans are offering U.S. college students free degrees, many of them stay in Germany. And by and large the education level in these countries is more uniform, where in the U.S. it's again, quite classist.
So if you're in favor of feudalism, yeah private school is a great idea.
As for Free Basics, I think it's for the users to decide whether it meets their needs or not, but for that to be possible Facebook shouldn't be referring to what they offer as an essential service. Facebook itself is not essential. A full, unabridged Internet connection, is essential. But that's not what's offered. Further, the connection with the user requires dual certificates, so Facebook can see what everyone's doing even if they aren't using Facebook proper - something an ISP doesn't even get to do. The harm is the obfuscation.