Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social class achievement gap

Re:Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social cla... by skizm on Monday September 27, 2021 @11:33AM (#28671929)

I agree with this for like 95-99% of people. I do think there are a few internally motivated students who will thrive in this environment. Obviously you can't make policy around those few, but it would be interesting to give students the option going forward now that there is some sort of infrastructure set up around remote learning. The primary issue I see is that a large group of very non-motivated students will probably take advantage of this option and just slack off even more. These are the ones that need the in person structure the most.

Overall though, agree that it has been a total disaster apart from being a rare learning opportunity for policy makers.

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Re:Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social cla... by qsort on Monday September 27, 2021 @11:52AM (#28672220)

Yeah, I agree that a mixed model can possibly work, but I worry you'd be running into similar problems as those that came out during the pandemic.

I'm a big believer that meritocracy and an ethics of self-motivation can genuinely help disadvantaged but talented people, but that requires offering them a place where they can dedicate themselves to developing that talent. I worry that talented but poor people would actually those that get hit the most by mixed solutions like that.

> I agree with this for like 95-99% of people.

Honestly, K-12 education is completely useless for the top 5% in the first place. You simply can't design a system around those people.

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Re:Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social cla... by icelancer on Monday September 27, 2021 @01:21PM (#28673476)

> I agree with this for like 95-99% of people. I do think there are a few internally motivated students who will thrive in this environment.

No doubt. Perhaps ironically, outliers that thrive on independent study (I likely would have been one of these people) drive inequality up!

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Re:Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social cla... by odessacubbage on Monday September 27, 2021 @12:27PM (#28672735)

my high school actually had a good structure for this kind of model. all class attendance was effectively optional and there was no homework outside of a few big quarterly projects (every classroom has a drawer full of practice assignments you could refer to as-needed). you were essentially given complete freedom... provided your gpa stayed at least 3.0, if you fell below you'd be put on academic probation which required you to come to class and do homework etc until your grades improved.

in general i dislike the notion of 'unmotivated students' more often ime you have kids who not being provided an educational experience that aligns with their motivations.

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Re:Lockdown, distance learning likely to increase social cla... by 908B64B197 on Monday September 27, 2021 @07:29PM (#28677418)

> Obviously you can't make policy around those few

But you can carve out a path for them.

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