NPR Stories

Commentary on: San Francisco schools and segregation

I've lived in California all my life -- I'm a product of the California public education system, from elementary all the way to university. I never really thought about which school I was being sent to, or what politics were involved. I didn't think deeply about the indirect racial segregation that existed. When I was going to public school, we were just sent to the school that was defined by our boundary lines. Choosing to go to a different school wasn't really an option until after I had graduated. I think one of the reasons I still look at the issues surrounding education is that I'm able to see how education can make a difference in one's life.

The story is about how in San Francisco, Chinese children are sent away from their neighborhood schools to attend other schools miles away for the interests of "desegregation". I grew up in the public school system where your school was determined by your distance from the school. (There was one public jr. high/ high school in the system which existed outside of those rules, but that's a topic for another time). The schools I attended had a diverse mix of students, which was achieved without bringing in students from other other parts of the city, but rather by determining the school by the location of your home. I would say distance, but that's not quite accurate -- they basically "zoned" the city for schools. In contrast to my hometown, San Francisco appears to first do a zoning, then based on race redistributes some ethnic students to other schools. While I think it does promote ethnic diversity, there are better ways that do not create racial discrimination. One thing people have to realize is that there are always going to be concentrations of ethnic groups in the big cities -- even in little cities, it's going to happen -- you can't control communities.

One of the arguments that one of the school administrators presents is that of classroom overpopulation. Classroom overpopulation has existed for sometime now, and honestly, the only way to solve it is by hiring more teachers and building more classrooms -- either that or start packing the classrooms like sardines.

I know that if I was a taxpayer in S.F., and I had children going to school miles away when there is a school 5 blocks away, I would be majorly angry. Not just because my family is being discriminated against, but that my tax money is essentially funding a school my children cannot attend.

Commentary on: Fuel Cells vs. Hybrids

I like the idea of a Fuel Cell vehicle, but there's no technology there yet for mass market consumption. Maybe in 20 to 30 years. On the plus side, at least if I purchase a hybrid, I don't need to worry about fast obsolescence.

Commentary on: Fewer Students enrolling in Computer Science classes

A couple of points:

• In the last 2 years, enrollment in CS has dropped 1/3.
  
  The money isn't there anymore, so it's no wonder that young people are looking for pastures with more green.
  
  
  
• CS students and perspective.
  
  CS students had unrealistic expectations of what their degree would get them. They thought during the height of the boom that they could do CS and make millions. As a result, now that the money and job potential is gone, they want out. Some have chosen different fields instead and there are some students who, given the opportunity, would not have taken CS, but would have rather gone into a more profitable field -- Biotech, for instance.
  
  
  Despite what people say about outsourcing and the economy, there are CS jobs out there -- the problem is that it's not entry-level CS people that people want -- those are a dime a dozen -- it's CS people with experience, and those who are 'special'. What do I mean by special? I mean those who did more than they had to at the University. Those who are really curious and interested in the field of CS are going to want to do their own independent projects, and it's going to help build a portfolio of material that can be shown to prospective employers.
  
  
  
• CS profs don't know how to increase enrollment
  
  
  The profs want to offer something to the students, but let us be realistic -- in other majors, people go to those majors for two main reasons 1) they are interested in the material or 2) it's a stepping stone for jobs. Why should it be any different for CS as opposed to English or Business or Electrical Engineering?
  
  
  
• They forsee CS to boom again, and feels the U.S. will be behind if this happens without enough Computer Scientists.
  
  
  What has to stop first is the outsourcing to other nations. It is harmful to the economy of the country in the long term. Right now, outsourcing occurs mainly at the customer service level and at the grunt programmer level, thereby denying fresh college graduates job experience. What graduates can do to help their chances is take advantage of internship opportunities during their school years to build a resume.