Giving out cell phones as academic incentives may become a reality
Andrew Zaleski
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: Opinion
To the extent of what I'm understanding about this matter, I figure there are ultimately only two ways to look at this idea of utilizing cell phones to help foster academic achievement. Either it is a really, really good thing, or it's quite possibly the dumbest educational reform to have ever been proposed.
How could such a proposal be dumb? Well, look at it this way. Are we really at the point in American history and society where the only thing that will keep a student motivated in the classroom is a cell phone? What happened to the good old days when kids just wanted to achieve for fear of feeling stupid, being ridiculed and having one's father slap him upside the head? It seems counter-intuitive to think that a program which will voluntarily give kids what is arguably a form of educational demise -- cell phones -- could have any impact on the general academic trends in a city like New York, let alone the entire country.
But, then again, how could such a proposal be dumb? We live in an era today where people are constantly bombarded by the media and various forms of communication. We watch T.V., we frequent the Internet, we're all switched on and hooked up to our iPods and portable DVD players, and we are all slaves to our cell phones. Let's face it, no one reads anymore. Heck, I'm fairly certain a large portion of this country has forgotten what reading is or that it still exists. We practically get every scrap of our information, communication and education from some technological source.
You could say this is pathetic.
You'd be right, it is pathetic. But, we have to work within the context of the times. If the world of today says, "you're not going to reach through to under-achieving, poor, minority students in New York by telling them to read books," then you have to find some other way.
What better way than to use cell phones? Think about it -- what would happen if cell phones were gradually associated with academic achievement? They become daily, at-their-fingertips reminders for kids about the importance of an excellent education and doing well in school. Sure, it's only a text message, but it's certainly a better message than many kids from impoverished families are receiving. After all, would you rather have some young girl reading some cliché like "knowledge is power" or hearing about the latest article of clothing Paris Hilton neglected to put on her body?
Therefore, I say good for the city of New York and the Bloomberg administration. It's true, it could turn out that their idea doesn't have the desired effect. But, it's creative, innovative, and new. It's a step toward the bigger question of how to improve educational standards in this country as a whole. And so even if you disagree with what is being proposed, you should at least give credit where credit is rightly due.
How could such a proposal be dumb? Well, look at it this way. Are we really at the point in American history and society where the only thing that will keep a student motivated in the classroom is a cell phone? What happened to the good old days when kids just wanted to achieve for fear of feeling stupid, being ridiculed and having one's father slap him upside the head? It seems counter-intuitive to think that a program which will voluntarily give kids what is arguably a form of educational demise -- cell phones -- could have any impact on the general academic trends in a city like New York, let alone the entire country.
But, then again, how could such a proposal be dumb? We live in an era today where people are constantly bombarded by the media and various forms of communication. We watch T.V., we frequent the Internet, we're all switched on and hooked up to our iPods and portable DVD players, and we are all slaves to our cell phones. Let's face it, no one reads anymore. Heck, I'm fairly certain a large portion of this country has forgotten what reading is or that it still exists. We practically get every scrap of our information, communication and education from some technological source.
You could say this is pathetic.
You'd be right, it is pathetic. But, we have to work within the context of the times. If the world of today says, "you're not going to reach through to under-achieving, poor, minority students in New York by telling them to read books," then you have to find some other way.
What better way than to use cell phones? Think about it -- what would happen if cell phones were gradually associated with academic achievement? They become daily, at-their-fingertips reminders for kids about the importance of an excellent education and doing well in school. Sure, it's only a text message, but it's certainly a better message than many kids from impoverished families are receiving. After all, would you rather have some young girl reading some cliché like "knowledge is power" or hearing about the latest article of clothing Paris Hilton neglected to put on her body?
Therefore, I say good for the city of New York and the Bloomberg administration. It's true, it could turn out that their idea doesn't have the desired effect. But, it's creative, innovative, and new. It's a step toward the bigger question of how to improve educational standards in this country as a whole. And so even if you disagree with what is being proposed, you should at least give credit where credit is rightly due.
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cathrob
Cathy Robertson
posted 12/31/08 @ 5:10 PM EST
I think it's brilliant -- as someone doing research on how to bring disconnected young people back to school in D.C., I've been thinking about this problem, which your article doesn't mention: the main reason kids drop out of or fail out of school is that they are really poor, and they have parents who are too stressed to care whether they go to school or not, they often have trouble getting to school, or are sometimes in danger (or hungry or homeless) with no one to help them. (Continued…)
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