LA Teachers, Students Protest Reliance and Spending on iPads
As daylight faded and red brake lights of rush hour cast their eerie glow, a group of LA Unified teachers and students marched through downtown streets yesterday, demanding a reversal of district policies that value testing over “authentic” learning.Drivers honked and pumped their fists in solidarity as students waived their banners:
“Technology for Teaching, Not 4 Testing”
“iNeed a College Counselor, Not an iPad”
“iPrefer Better School Food!”
Organizers said the rally was one of 20 across the country, protesting a national education policy that they say prioritizes and funds standardized testing and curriculum that is detrimental to student learning.
In LA, the timing couldn’t have been better, said substitute teacher Charles Brandick.
The protest came on the heels of a special school board meeting devoted to scrutinizing the district’s billion dollar iPad program. With the first of three phases complete, board members are now debating whether to continue with the controversial tablet rollout.
Alex Caputo-Pearl, who is running for UTLA president against incumbent Warren Fletcher, helped organize the demonstration.
“I fought for more technology in schools for years when I was teaching at Crenshaw
