CNBC Squawk Box on Technology and Education

Posted on September 30, 2005 by John Rutledge

CNBC Squawk Box on Technology and Education. I did 2 spots on CNBC Squawk Box last Wednesday. (I know, I apologize for not posting it ahead of time.) Had a great time. The first was about technology, the second about education. I think they are the same subject. In the first spot I had a disagreement with Mark Cuban about technology. Mark thinks American school kids have all the communications technology they need. I think that’s a load of crap. I have spoken with grade school principals who tell me they do not have access to high-speed networks. They don’t exist because our laws have made it uneconomic to invest in the fiber to the school/home/business. Thankfully, there are draft bills now in Congress that may help the situation. In the second spot I got to speak with Margaret Spellings, US Secretary of Education. She is terrific, and understands the problem. Education is the only reliable way to lift poor children out of permanent poverty. One of the anchors asked whether we could afford the money to improve education. We don’t need more money, we need more productivity in education to lower the cost so every kid gets all they need. Technology is the way to get it. I saw things in China that will make you want to make sure your children get the best training possible. More on that later.
JR

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0 Responses to CNBC Squawk Box on Technology and Education

  1. Paul Davis says:
    October 1, 2005 at 10:49 AM

    JR,
    I’m sorry I wasn’t aware that you would be talking about this on Squawk Box before it happened. Many of my clients are Connecticut public school districts and it has been my observation that the quality and breadth of technology and communications resources in the school systems, even the wealthy ones, is quite poor. The two weakest links seem to be teachers themselves and the communications/networking infrastructure. Most teachers are only minimally proficient in using computers themselves. I’m not talking about just the computer science teachers here, but rather the entire teaching staff. The result is that the kids learn about computers primarily as a technology – a discipline in it’s own right – rather than as an adjunct to all their classwork. An art teacher should be able to show kids how to draw and paint with computers, how to process photos, how to do research on Monet, how to detect forged paintings and digitally modified images. but an art teacher can’t do that if he/she isn’t proficient with the technology himself. The second weak link, communications/networking, is really an infrastructure issue. Usually each school building is wired and has a computer lab which is used for computer training of students and staff. Wireless communications within the building are rare. Communications between school buildings in the same district are problematic at best. This makes broadcasting of video and audio material difficult, if not impossible. The district’s IT guru invariably spends a tremendous percentage of his time just trying to keep the network functioning. Very few districts have fiber between school buildings and the Board of Ed. It’s too expensive for them when they have uncontrollable, non-discretionary costs like Special Education to cover.

    It is a sad state of affairs.

    Paul Davis

    Paul, Your observations match mine; sorry to say! I am hoping to visit with the Secretary of Education again in the next week or two and will see if we can get any help from there to improve things. But I believe the real answer is that local parents, children, teachers, administrators, and school boards need to make things happen. I am going to post your comment on the front page of the blog to see if we can generate some interest/action.
    JR