I spent the weekend debating elitism in education; especially the presence of institutional barriers that prevent impoverished individuals or minorities from accessing education. Thus, I have been contemplating these ideas a lot the past few days.
I arrived home Monday afternoon and was discussing the re-genre project with my roommates. I learned that numerous other classes are requiring something similar. Several of my friends are working on videos, prezis, etc. As we sat there we began to discuss how difficult it was for all of us to work with this technology that we had no understanding us. It then occurred to me that I had experienced this elitism in education at BSU.
Most of the re-genre projects require some sort of sophisticated, expensive technology. Many of them require things like printing or recording equipment that is hard to come by. I am not indicting Ballenger but the university itself. We create this expectation of a certain level of accessibility that may not necessarily be a part of several people's lives. I personally have access to the resources I need for this project but we cannot assume that all are like ourselves. By doing so, we have created a sense of elitism in education that has made education exclusionary.
Just something to consider.
Really good point. Scholars have pointed to the "technology gap," a phenomenon that describes how income disparities account for differences in access to technology. It's interesting, though, that I haven't read much about that in recent years. Is the gap closing? Seems unlikely, especially given even deeper disparities in income in the U.S. Any thoughts on how to address this "elitism?" Should we dispense with these kinds of assignments until university's provide adequate access for all students?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I feel the answer is yes. While these projects hold value and validity it is unfair to operate under the assumption that all will have access to these resources. There are two options; eliminate these sort of projects entirely, or provide the resources to students to accomplish these projects.
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