One thing making me hopeful for our future is that as our technological powers and capabilities grow, our ideas of what people need to be fully included members of society grow as well to keep pace. Just think of how high-speed computer access is becoming something that it is obvious that all Americans—and especially all American children—very much need to have. The fact that we—or some of us, at least—think that the failure of us to make sure this is provided is a "gap" is something I at least, in historical perspective, find very heartening Delaney Crampton: Why Accessibility To High-Quality Broadband Matters To U.S. Schoolchildren: "Nearly 5 million households with school-aged children in the United States lack high-quality broadband access at home... 31.4 percent of households earning an annual income lower than $50,000 with school-aged children... 40 percent of those with annual incomes lower than $25,000...
...Alexsandr Yankelevich... Bianca Reisdorf and William Dutton... Mitchell Shapiro... internet-related skills have become increasingly important.... Increasingly, homework demands the use of the internet, with 94 percent of school districts serving low-income populations reporting that some of their teachers assign internet-based homework, including 73 percent of high schoolers reporting the need to use the internet outside of school daily. And when 40 percent of households with school-aged children and incomes lower than $25,000 lack broadband at home, low-income students face significant obstacles completing homework and applying to colleges, and are often forced to miss extracurricular activities that help enhance college admissions and going on to obtain a college degree. This is why academics must continue to study the effects of individuals who lack access to high-quality broadband in order to provide policymakers with more evidence about the links between the homework gap and economic inequality....
#shouldread #economicgrowth #moralphilosophy
