Ivanka Trump and Apple CEO Tim Cook visited a heavily Hispanic Idaho school district on Tuesday to trumpet her workforce development initiative promoting science, technology, engineering and math.
Apple in 2016 donated iPads to all students and teachers in the low-income school district in the small city of Wilder as part of a program to help students lacking access to technology. School officials said that the visit showcased how the district has combined learning and technology.
A small group of President Donald Trump’s supporters and opponents demonstrated outside the elementary school where the visit occurred, while several students from the high school next door walked out of class in protest.
The students primarily said they don’t like the way the district is using the new technology, but other protesters also decried Trump’s immigration policies, his daughter’s use of a private email account for government business and limited school funding.
Many demonstrated against Trump’s deployment of thousands of troops to the Mexican border after he said a caravan of migrants is a threat to U.S. national security.
“When babies at the border are under attack, what do we do?” protester Estefania Mondragon asked a crowd of about 30 people. They responded: “Stand up, fight back!”
About a dozen of the president’s supporters shouted “We love Trump!”
Thank you Wilder, Idaho and @Apple!
📷 Idaho Statesman pic.twitter.com/Bv8VaQF9s1
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 27, 2018
Crystal Solas brought her 10-year-old daughter, Jennavee Crabtree, to protest the visit. She said she was motivated by revelations that Ivanka Trump sent hundreds of government business emails from a personal email account last year.
“What was good enough for Hillary Clinton should be good enough for Trump’s daughter,” she said, holding a sign reading “Lock Her Up.” Her daughter held a sign saying, “Make America great again and tell your daddy to step down.”
The students said the iPads offer self-guided lessons that give them no interaction with teachers except to unlock quizzes and advance to the next learning sections. “We’re really known because we have the iPads, but we’re ranked one of the lowest academically in what we learn,” said 16-year-old Adriana Rodriguez.
Here's video of @IvankaTrump's arrival at Wilder Elementary. She and Apple CEO Tim Cook are visiting with students now. pic.twitter.com/vK0yIPDo76
— KBOI 2News (@KBOITV) November 27, 2018
Wilder Superintendent Jeff Dillon said the students are able to request additional help or different learning programs from teachers if they are struggling with the iPad-based curriculum.
The district is one of southwestern Idaho’s poorest, and was one of 114 low-income schools in 29 states that Apple helped with iPad donations. Virtually all of the city’s elementary students meet low income guidelines to receive free or reduced cost lunches and a majority of the district’s students are Hispanic.
Wilder has a population of less than 2,000 and has been largely Hispanic for decades, with many residents working seasonal jobs harvesting onions and other crops, and others who have full-time jobs at a meat processing plant.
Dillon said the visit went well, and both Trump and Cook were prepared with questions and insight into the district’s efforts. Trump said she’s visited 20 states across the country as part of her efforts in workforce development and STEM initiatives.
Bad video, but that’s @tim_cook arriving at Wilder Elementary, with protests in the background. pic.twitter.com/Jei7BAZpXv
— Nicole Foy (@nicoleMfoy) November 27, 2018
Apple CEO Tim Cook visiting with Wilder Elementary students in Idaho pic.twitter.com/2i4QR3RnSM
— Cynthia Sewell (@CynthiaSewell) November 27, 2018
Great being with @Tim_Cook in Wilder, ID today and meeting so many exemplary students, teachers and administrators. @Apple’s public-private partnership illustrates the power + potential of #Tech to revolutionize education and prepare America’s students for success! pic.twitter.com/AmjuxvOsl1
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 27, 2018
Visiting the Wilder School District today with Tim Cook to learn firsthand how they are preparing America’s future workforce using @Apple technology to transform the learning environment and personalize students’ educational experiences based on their unique needs and strengths!
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) November 27, 2018
(AP)
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3 Responses
Maybe one of those kids can explain to ivanka the difference between private and government email.
Surprisingly, I have no problems with Ivanka. She is a well educated, well spoken, well mannered and engaging addition to the Trump White House and Administration. Any intervention she can bring to bear on her father is most welcomed and appreciated.
That having been said…
As an educator I’m appalled at this notion that an iPad can step in and replace a teacher as a student’s main source of applied learning. As a teacher I can recognize a lost student in need of a different pathway to learning and I can recognize when that student, standing on the edge of “getting it” just needs one last little nudge in the direction of putting it all together. An iPad just tells you if you’re right or wrong and Next!
Technology’s place in education should never be allowed to rise above that of an enhancement. The solution to Jack and Jill’s inability to read or attain literacy isn’t technology. It’s a living, breathing, sit down beside you teacher. Had Apple been serious about their commitment to the education of the children in this under performing community they should have outfitted all of their schools with state of the art computer labs. As things sit at present they have turned these children into test subjects and glorified guinea pigs. With their entire futures hanging in the balance I would posit it that is absolutely no way to treat a child.
Wow that’s a heavily censored account. Try reading the reportage in The Idaho Statesman, the only reporter allowed to cover the story. A spokesman from the school said it was really a non event and not worth the hassle.
Apple has long had a presence in ID schools going back to the early 80’s when they and HP collaborated on The Bridge.