Although I would agree with Seiter that economic disparities will greatly diminish a student’s ability to become proficient with technology, I am not certain that remedying that specific category will really provide the solution for which we are searching. She presents the startling evidence of those who are at the bottom of the socio-economic spectrum and their small probability of gaining the computer proficiency that they need to succeed. She presents the problems yet neglects to provide some hint of a solution. What if our country were to realize a true and equitable distribution of wealth? What if our country were to dramatically decrease the number of citizens who lacked the computer hardware, broadband access, and software updates? Would this solve the problems she enumerates? I would suggest that it would not, for the two other categories from Bourdieu , that of cultural and social capital, will provide roadblocks that money cannot solve by itself. Even if every American student had a sufficient amount of technology in his or her household, a lack of cultural capital will present some tremendous obstacles to that student. If a child’s parents are interested in going to NASCAR races or enjoy the local demolition derby, the probability of that child having aspirations of attending a top 20, or even a top 40 university, is nearly nonexistent. How do we change this? And do we really want to change this in all circumstances? Of course we want to decrease the social and financial inequalities in the country to the best of our ability. But we should seriously reconsider the notion that a person without a diploma and broadband access is below our esteem and cannot share the worth of a college graduate.
1 comment for “Seiter: A Pessimistic, Yet Realistic Essay Regarding Technology”