Napolitano: Online Education Isn't Silver Bullett

The year is 2080. Janice Neapolitan, head of the Free University of California, speaking at the Public Politick Institute, delivered biting criticism of California Governor Brownie's claims that face-to-face instruction is the "silver bullet" for education.

Neapolitan argued that not everyone can learn with other people. Classroom situations, which require human-to-human interaction, could be places of bullying at worst and stress at best. Instructor actions, though usually not intentional, are known to show favoritism to some students and are prejudiced against others. Neapolitan mentioned heart rending cases of children who raised their hand, only to not have been called on, because the instructor preferred some other child. "Research shows that children with excessive pimples, or obese children, usually aren't selected as class presidents. With the computer, everyone can be a star!" Neapolitan spoke at length of the beauty of the computer, which has helped humanity overcome bias. Governor Brownie refused to comment. For more info on this, click here.