Microsoft's High School Opens in PA

Joopndufus writes to mention a CNN article about a Microsoft-planned high school, newly opened in the Philadelphia area. Funded entirely by that city's school system, Microsoft offered its management skills and personnel to design every aspect of the high-tech setting. From the article: "After three years of planning, the Microsoft Corp.-designed 'School of the Future' opened its doors Thursday, a gleaming white modern facility looking out of place amid rows of ramshackle homes in a working-class West Philadelphia neighborhood. The school is being touted as unlike any in the world, with not only a high-tech building -- students have digital lockers and teachers use interactive 'smart boards' -- but also a learning process modeled on Microsoft's management techniques."

Comments

Who wants to bet...

[isecore]

that open-source is banned in that school?

"Say, that's a nice school we helped build... wouldn't want any open-source in there, that would mean bad things, and we don't want bad things to happen, right?"

What are *you* doing?

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously. MS is trying to work in the ideas that made one of the largest most successful companies in the history of business. Sounds like there may be some carryover since making a good company is all about maintaining smart, happy employees. What have you done for education lately, besides complained about it? I applaud their effort, in the face of government and other big orgs who see 'business as usual' a fine mantra as our education system goes straight down the crapper.

Re:What are *you* doing?

[MECC]

"Seriously. MS is trying to work in the ideas that made one of the largest most successful companies in the history of business"

As in steal ideas from others, lie to federal judges, violate federal laws, and spin faster than a top?

"and other big orgs" Of course, MS isn't a "big org", and knows so much more about education than, say, educators. There are people out there who do turn around schools, and they do it by addressing the fundamental problems, not throwing technology at the situation as some kind of utopian panacea.

"What have you done for education lately"

One doesn't need to be a sailor to know that a ships float better than stones.

Really, from the article, it looks like MS just wants to train future MS employees. And have somebody else pay for it. And then not hire them.

Re:Interesting 'idea'

[CosmeticLobotamy]

What you're saying isn't entirely meritless, but

The current school systems are already being pumped cash, but still show horrible results. Especially when compared to private schools.

No, public school children show horrible results compared to private school children. The children of typically wealthy parents that care enough about their child's education to go to the effort of putting them in a private school perform better in school. Public schools could obviously be run better in many cases, but you sure as heck can't do a one-to-one comparison. Although I'm all for a test case, privatizing an existing, poorly-performing public school and forbidding an increase in expulsions (if you're going to do it on a large scale, you can't just send the less-exceptional kds off to public school to pad your "look how great the students that are still here do" numbers) and seeing how well things go. I'd absolutely love to see that data, 'cause I want there to be an easy fix. I just doubt there is one.

Students are rarely taught a solid foundation that they can grasp

Sure they are. They're taught until their teachers are blue in the face. But other than the 10% that are going to grow up to be the important people, the students just generally don't give a damn. You can't teach an interest in learning.

But you're right that Microsoft's stuff won't help much.