University Aid to High School Teaching and Educational Equality

University Departments’ Aid to High School Teaching and Educational Equality in the Time of the Pandemic.

We are immediately concerned about the behavior of Police Departments to Black Americans, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of racial inequality in America.  As a State and University System, California has established fair and exemplary programs of recruiting and funding minority and poor students.  But before the University, students from poor school districts have to contend with a lack of educational facilities and advanced placement courses.  The University can help high school students and teachers with a release of its relevant intellectual property, which can be used over the web to bring relief and equality to these schools.

In the realm of Physics and Astronomy, as well other sciences, we have tapes of classroom demonstrations.  Since we may still be shut out of our own teaching labs, we can record how lab experiments and courses are run, and make relevant ones available to high school students.

University departments teach breadth courses for the general University student population.  In Physics and Astronomy, we have the 20 series, including a course on energy as well.  Many of these are recorded, and others could be recorded.  These could be used for high school and advanced placement courses.  Clearly, we have to meet and coordinate with high school teachers and students to find appropriate subjects and criteria.

This time when high school is being taught over the web can be used to advantage to allow poor high schools to access advanced placement classes elsewhere, which they don’t have on their own campuses.  Is this already being done, and can we aid such classes, or provide aid to start them?  Can our students, who are inclined to become teachers, aid in this expansion of high school classes?

As we gain experience with the Coronavirus, we may triumph over it and return to a normal with modified in-person classes.  If we don’t, the University can contribute to the online educational universe, in ways to aid in bringing about educational equality of opportunity.

About Dennis SILVERMAN

I am a retired Professor of Physics and Astronomy at U C Irvine. For two decades I have been active in learning about energy and the environment, and in reporting on those topics for a decade. For the last four years I have added science policy. Lately, I have been reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic of our times.
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