To the Editor,
Re: High school to get wireless web access, March 24.
As a teacher, I was shocked at Saturday’s paper proclaiming that wireless coming to schools will bring “Improvements to give teachers more classroom resources”.
It is great news that schools in District 68 are getting wireless access, but make no mistake, this is not a gift to teachers if it comes with the expectation that, “teachers in all schools will soon be able to bring personal tablets and laptop computers into classrooms to incorporate web-based resources into lessons.”
The suggestion here is that it is the individual teacher’s responsibility to provide technology for the classroom.
So now, the quality of a lesson will depend on the income level of the teacher and that teacher’s desire to bring his/her own technology (which is not insured by the district) into the classroom?
A teacher, who cannot bargain for a raise to buy a device, who does not receive a tax deduction for any purchases made for his/her own classroom, who is being told by the provincial government how important technology is for the future of education, must now provide his/her own laptop, tablet, or other wireless device?
Where is the money for this supposed to come from?
If this is a tool needed for the job then the employer needs to provide it.
The onus is being put on the individual teacher to make up for district/provincial shortfalls.
And some teachers will do it, despite the personal risks, like they always have, carrying the financial burden of supplies and technology in an overcrowded classroom with no personal benefit other than a lesson that comes to life for students. Shame.
Maryah Bell
Nanaimo
