Elsewhere in this edition, you will find a story about the Hamilton Southeastern Schools’ board of directors approving the use of iPads for all elementary students. The district points to it as a learning tool. Maybe we’re just too “dollars-and-sense,” but as much as the exposure to technology can be a helpful tool on the pathway to the future, it seems to us that full-time textbook use is the more economical way to go. Kids, for the most part already are using Mom’s and Dad’s cell phones and tablets, anyway, to watch movies and play games – and maybe even do homework. Adapting to technology isn’t the issue. But there is a district-wide planning-and-training initiative under way, so a reversal of policy isn’t likely, not with the rollout coming next school year. Fiscal conservatives in our midst might wish join us in recalling this the next time an idea for a schools referendum is floated.
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We watch often for results of polling that media and educational institutions are conducting on the race for the White House. We know from history (and not revisionist history, either) that one oral gaffe, one revelation or one serious misstep can drive downward a presidential candidate’s favorability in a heartbeat. Donald Trump (R-Billions) trails Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in almost every poll. That’s all well and good, but it may not last with nearly 150 FBI agents now digging in on Clinton’s e-mail/server investigation. The outcome remains to be seen, and we assume it will end as if the issue never existed. Meanwhile, the candidates might want to switch from blathering to crystal-clear speaking on how they will solve the nation’s ills, not simply that they will.
