Posted on 07/14/2021 4:39:05 PM PDT by LibWhacker
A new study from the University of Missouri found the unanticipated transitions to virtual schooling due to COVID-19 exposed the lack of digital resources among Black families in the United States, including access to Wi-Fi and technological savviness. As two-thirds of the country's Black children are born into single-parent households, the findings help explain the extensive stress virtual schooling caused for many Black families trying to keep their children learning and engaged online while at home during the pandemic.
"What we found was parents and caregivers often felt disempowered in the rapidly changing environment, as they did not necessarily feel equipped with the tools or technological savviness to effectively engage in their children's education the way they felt they needed to," said Adaobi Anakwe, an MU post-doctoral fellow and the study's lead author. "Schools were sending students home with devices for online learning without first ensuring families had reliable, consistent internet access to utilize those devices, and this was a big contributor to parental stress and burnout."
Anakwe and Wilson Majee, an associate professor in the MU School of Health Professions, interviewed parents and primary caregivers of Black families in Missouri with school-aged children to better understand their experiences suddenly shifting to virtual schooling due to COVID-19.
Anakwe explained the sudden shift to virtual schooling highlighted the digital divide that already existed for many Black families, as a lack of access to reliable internet can have long-term negative impacts on learning and health outcomes.
"The COVID-19 vaccine rollout showcased how important technological resources can be for making an appointment online," Anakwe said. "And the sudden shift from in-person health care visits to telehealth highlights the role technology can play in facilitating access to health care as well as education."
Anakwe added that even before the pandemic, Black families were already disproportionately faced with single-parent households, disparities in income and unequal access to transportation, housing, healthy foods and recreational facilities.
"We already have a cafeteria menu of social determinants of health that impact Black and minority populations," Anakwe said. "We need to be proactive to prevent the digital divide from becoming another issue that gets added on to an already very long list of challenges Black families deal with."
The COVID-19 pandemic also caused an increase in technology use among students, causing some Black parents to worry about the potential impact on their children's mental health.
"Before the pandemic, parents were tasked with minimizing screen time for their kids and ensuring they spent enough time outside engaged in physical activity," Anakwe said. "Then all of a sudden, parents were forced to encourage their children to use technology to stay engaged in their school work while at home. As COVID-19 lockdowns are starting to end, it will be interesting to see how the messaging around screen time evolves."
Majee said MU Extension and the University of Missouri System Broadband Initiative have helped increase access to broadband internet for rural Missourians, but more collaborative partnerships among community leaders, schools, local governments and families are needed to assist underprivileged Black families.
"Technology is becoming increasingly necessary for success in our lives, so this research can help us better understand the technological challenges facing Black families," Majee said. "Our overall goal is to improve the health of Black families by helping our community members who are most disadvantaged—it's a labor of love."
This sounds like a semi-truck load of triple-distilled BALONEY. I doubt if I’ve ever seen a black kid without a smart phone. And guess what? Those can be used as computers. I guess they never heard of public libraries either, where there are computers and printers available for public use.
“Schools were sending students home with devices for online learning without first ensuring families had reliable, consistent internet access to utilize those devices..”
that’s where parenting comes in.
Besides the current Emergency programs avail right now, internet providers, some time ago, started providing internet for free to low-income homes that had at least on child k-12 in school and $9.95 plans where no free plans were avail.
here’s a blog that runs down some of the many options:
https://www.cabletv.com/blog/low-income-internet#:~:text=Summary%20of%20cheap%20Wi-Fi%20for%20low-income%20homes%20,%20NSLP%20SSI%20%202%20more%20rows%20
I know an elementary school teacher in a medium sized city. She had something like 2/3 of her kids, mostly black, that did not have wi-fi in the home. And the only available device for accessing online stuff was mom’s iphone. The solution, of course, was to give these homes hot spots and ipads, but that didn’t happen until well into the school year.
Ain't gonna happen - black, white, yellow or brown.
“The left thinks black people are too stupid to survive on their own. They should be called on it more often.”
According the our government, black African Americans can’t:
get state issued IDs
get on the internet
get a lawyer
get an accountant
do math
speak proper English
I am overly sensitive when someone ignorantly criticizes people from the south. If someone made comments like this about us I would be ready to go to war. Black people, except for a few conservative pundits, seem to be okay with it. I don’t understand it.
“The ultimate goal is... Just give ‘em all doctorates at birth. That ought to even things up. Why have ‘em go to school at all?”
Lie the Wizard of Oz giving Scarecrow a diploma. Now you are smart.
“As two-thirds of the country’s Black children are born into single-parent households,...”
I’d say start with that aspect. But who am I to say anything, I’m just another white male racist earning my way with a home, wife, 3 kids, and a dog.
Books. Should have sent them home with books instead anyway.
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