‘Homework gap’ shows millions of
students lack home internet
Associated Press,
by
Staff
Original Article
Posted By: mc squared,
6/11/2019 9:54:16 AM
With no computer or internet at home, Raegan Byrd’s homework assignments present a nightly challenge: How much can she get done using just her smartphone? On the tiny screen, she switches between web pages for research projects, losing track of tabs whenever friends send messages. She uses her thumbs to tap out school papers, but when glitches keep her from submitting assignments electronically, she writes them out by hand. “At least I have something, instead of nothing, to explain the situation,” said Raegan, a high school senior in Hartford.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
HPmatt 6/11/2019 10:12:53 AM (No. 95721)
no they don't they have it on their smart phones
0 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
jinx 6/11/2019 10:17:14 AM (No. 95729)
Those of us who grew up without cell phones and the internet learned to read, write, and do math. We used the library, our encyclopedias, and pencil and paper. We learned to read with Dick and Jane and learned to love reading. We memorized our multiplication tables and took handwriting. We fought in WW11 and made History which we were later taught. We learned good grammar and how to write a good paragraph. We learned how to think critically. The internet was suppose to make our lives easier and to make us smarter. What happened on the way to a good education? Our government got invoved and messed everyone up. Now third graders can't read or write. They rely completely on the internet and in the process, isolate themselves. Now we have lonely children committing suicide when other children and adults bully them over the internet. Go figure.
24 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
HotRod 6/11/2019 10:21:26 AM (No. 95730)
Students don't have to learn anything they are not interested in. They can look up the (PC) answers on the internet!
Besides, it's worse than millions. Until recent history, NO students had internet! How did we send men to the Moon, write great novels and plays, compose great music, etc? Of course, we had REAL teachers in those days...
19 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Melanie 6/11/2019 10:22:01 AM (No. 95731)
Sorry. A perfectly capable desktop computer (not cool, I know) is available to anyone for a third of the cost of many cell phones. This "gap" alert seems bogus to me.
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 6/11/2019 10:24:34 AM (No. 95733)
I did ok growing up with no internet to do homework. Just imagine kids lives if they had black and white TV with only 7 channels coming in on your rooftop tv antenna. We were the first family on my block to get a color tv. So I guess now we are going to see a new charge on our tv internet and phone bills to pay for more free home internet for these poverty stricken little darlings.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Rivetjoint 6/11/2019 10:32:22 AM (No. 95737)
And Number 5, those early tv's were so primitive and had so few channels that there were no such things as remotes and we actually had to get out of our seats to change channels and adjust the volume. Oh the humanity...
10 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 6/11/2019 10:33:18 AM (No. 95738)
Every single library has computers and the internet. We didn't have encyclopedias at home when I was a kid. We went to the library. We managed to get through high school and college using that method.
10 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
Nimby 6/11/2019 10:37:10 AM (No. 95740)
Learn to read books.
7 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
earlybird 6/11/2019 10:38:34 AM (No. 95743)
Oh, really? How did so many of us manage for so many decades? We had to use the encyclopedia at the public library. We learned to do research the hard way. Remember card catalogs? Cursive writing? All that ole timey stuff that made us so resourceful, so self-sufficient?
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
PESSIMIST 6/11/2019 10:42:04 AM (No. 95749)
A serviceable home computer costs less than the price of Lebron X Nike sneakers. STFU.
12 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 6/11/2019 10:47:44 AM (No. 95758)
FTA: At home, the family uses a satellite dish that costs $170 a month. It allows a certain amount of high-speed data each month and then slows to a crawl.
So they have money for the satellite dish but not for a decent internet connection.
6 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Pook60 6/11/2019 11:11:16 AM (No. 95769)
The folks from outside Starkeville, MS have internet access THROUGH the satellite dish. I live in a rural area and I had to go that route for years. Satellite internet access is slow, expensive and unreliable. Fortunately, cell coverage has increased into our area and I've gone to a cell based hotspot. We burn through 22 gigs in about 3 weeks and then have to put up with slowed speed for a week. 5G is coming, so we will be truly unlimited at that time. All that being said, kids can do their homework with resources available to them. The girl with the iPhone could buy an inexpensive computer and use her iPhone as a hotspot. Her granddaddy already pays for a plan that allows for that.
3 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
LeftCoast 6/11/2019 11:32:25 AM (No. 95788)
BS. The hidden Gore Tax has forced us to pay for families like Raegan Byrd's to have access to internet service. In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act, which included a provision championed by Al Gore to expand the definition of "universal service" to include high-tech services, and endow the FCC with a broad mandate to furnish schools and libraries with affordable service.
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Terry_tr6 6/11/2019 12:07:59 PM (No. 95801)
Bbbbut you can't cut and paste from a paper encyclopedia.....
2 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
ladydawgfan 6/11/2019 12:13:40 PM (No. 95809)
IIRC, my mother bought us a set of encyclopedias on a subscription. We had them while I was in school and there was a complete set to use. And with five kids in the family, they got a lot of use. I remember reading through them even when I didn't have homework to do just to see what was in them.
We didn't have internet OR cable television when I was growing up. And yet, we survived and all made it through school without it. Our local library was a favorite trip and I was always carrying a book around (I still bring a book if I have an anticipated wait somewhere).
If this child has a phone, she has access to the internet. There are now bluetooth keyboards that connect to a smartphone if she is worried about "writing" papers. And there are cheap home inkjet printers that also connect through bluetooth.
It's a solid shame that whining to the press is so much easier than finding an available solution to a perceived problem.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
GillyO 6/11/2019 1:05:14 PM (No. 95845)
We live in a rural area and have satellite internet. My son is just finishing community college and it's been a nightmare. Our access is spotty and not reliable so he spends a lot of time in the library and in McDonald's and various parking lots that he's learned have internet access, (all the rural kids figure this stuff out and let each other know where they can get wi-fi). The problem is that it is assumed that everyone has reliable internet and there aren't always accommodations offered to those that don't. Yesterday my son had a term paper due and took two hours trying to upload it and he missed the cutoff time. Fortunately, he had advised his teacher that uploading was often a problem for him so the teacher let him have the option to send it via email, (which uses less broadband than uploading).
We often hear about kids in the inner city who don't have internet access but the struggle is worse for those in rural areas. Internet is available in the cities, it just needs to be paid for. In our case, no providers are interested in providing the service. We pay 4 times as much as people who live 4 miles away for terrible satellite service. Nobody cares because there aren't enough of us, and frankly, we tend to be conservative.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
cartcart 6/11/2019 1:10:35 PM (No. 95848)
A few years ago, the LA schools put a laptop into the hands of every student enrolled. In short order, they were rendered useless because they did not take care of them and used them for non-academic purposes.
The library is the place to get all of this--if you can unseat the porn-viewing groups.
2 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Tennman 6/11/2019 1:55:13 PM (No. 95875)
Yet another fake "gap". Guess the Un will declare it an "international right" to highspeed internet and a laptop. Poor dears can afford smart phones with service but not internet??? Go to the library loser!!!!
0 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
cor-vet 6/11/2019 2:53:24 PM (No. 95942)
I truly believe this article is the start of an attempt to get the Federal Government (we the taxpayers) to pony up for Internet access and computers for the poor. The Obamaphone started with a simple phone and the ability to call 911 or the police in an emergency. Now they have Obamasmartphones with up to 400 minutes, and the advertisement says that now you can stay in touch with the grandkids. How long before they'll have to have Facebook accounts and be exposed to more liberal slant?
1 person likes this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Luandir 6/11/2019 3:45:56 PM (No. 96001)
There is an information source called a "textbook" which can contain everything needed for a basic education: read the chapters, do the exercises. If it's worth learning, it's been written down.
1 person likes this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
lakerman1 6/11/2019 5:20:54 PM (No. 96084)
Youngest son is in college, built his own desktop computer, then conned me out of my laptop.
I bought him a Samsung 9 cell phone, and he told me his 9 has more computing capacity than his PC and Laptop combined.
About a decade ago, Governor Rendell of Pa bought laptops for all public h.s. students. The laptops were obsolete as they were unpacked.
Finally, schools have printers available for students.
0 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 6/11/2019 5:21:32 PM (No. 96086)
I’m in a very rural area and have extremely reliable internet. I think the tower the broadcasts my signal is on top of a corn silo. We even have a few different options for service providers out here in the boonies. But like a poster above said, it’s got to be paid for.
1 person likes this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
MickTurn 6/11/2019 6:23:10 PM (No. 96133)
Quit the whining, go to a Library and look it up OR read a FREEKIN BOOK you lazy slugs!
0 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
FamilyGuy 6/11/2019 6:30:55 PM (No. 96138)
I bought a cable that allows me to connect a keyboard, monitor, and mouse to my phone.
0 people like this.
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Here we go again. The 'study' says students with homes with home internet do better than those without. Of course, there could be far more reasons for their achievement. There is mention of doing homework on their phones. If it's that important, give up the phones and get internet. Watch your wallet.