Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

Inequ(access)lities

When I was a high school graduate going into college, I didn’t have Advanced Placement

(AP) credits or know that having AP credits was something that would benefit my college career.

I didn’t know this because I wasn’t encouraged to take AP tests or take AP classes in high school

by my teachers, mentors, or peers that surrounded me. I went to high school in a low-income

area were the long-term benefits of completing AP courses was not stressed to students.. In fact,

most of my teachers strongly influenced the students at my high school to go to community

college after high school. The fact that I was accepted into San Diego State was a significant

academic accomplishment. When I came to San Diego State, I made a friend who went to a high

school in a high-income area and found that she came into college with over 20 AP credits. We

met at orientation and when we were registering for classes I realized that she was specifically

two semesters ahead of me in classes before we even started our freshman year. This personal

experience means more to me now after thorough research of the topic of student inequalities

and unfair access to resources amongst students in correlation to their socioeconomic status. The

central text I examined, Digital Natives, by Danah Boyd, demonstrates that our generation of

young people is assumed to be digital natives, but she claims we are digitally divided because

not all students are given the same access to resources. She proves that it is illogical to make

such a broad assumption considering the fact that everyone has dissimilar advantages when

accounting the fact that some people have more technological resources than others. Since we

are in the digital age now, technology is inevitably present in almost any situation. It is important

that she addressed this topic because the text argues relatable and meaningful claims that can be

1

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

extended by a multitude of other texts and statistics. I will examine Boyd’s text and support it

using personal stories from a third grade teacher who teaches in a low income area. I know this

teacher very well because she is my Mom. I will additionally connect this text to another text,

How wide a web? Inequalities in Accessing Information, by Eszter Hargittai. I’ve also

interviewed a student from High Tech High in order to clearly show schooling options the

public may be unaware of. Furthermore, I will identify with some Pew Research Reports

concerning smartphone ownership, Internet usage patterns over a wide scope of

demographics, and various other topics. With this research I’ve found that students with a

higher socioeconomic class have more access to technological resources and young people

are not “digitally native” just because they’ve grown up in the digital age. There is an

evident digital divide and not enough of a focus on resolving this issue by incorporating

more digitally based classes. The importance of education and skilled faculty must be

stressed more, as well, and Boyd’s text exemplifies this.

It seems as though everything is online now and that everyone has access to the Internet,

however, the words everything and everyone discounts a huge sum of people. It’s impossible to

assume that all advanced technology can be equally accessed because not everyone has the same

resources. Boyd considers this claim in her text and highlights the importance of this matter

through credible examples and supported claims. She even states, “Teens technological skills are

strongly correlated with the quality of their access. Quality of access is also unsurprisingly,

correlated with socioeconomic class” (195). Boyd’s use of rhetorical strategies make the

argument convincing and persuasive to the audience because she shows how obvious it is that

2

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

some people have more access than others to resources due to their socioeconomic class. The

connotation of the word “unsurprisingly” holds that this claim is so substantial that it isn’t even a

surprise that the quality of access directly relates to socioeconomic class. It is unreasonable that

so many students aren’t given the same amount of resources other students have because it

doesn’t allow for an equal academic playing field. All students are required to take standardized

tests, but since students aren’t given the same resources to prepare for these tests, the system is

unfair. Valerie Strauss, a reporter from the Washington Post, wrote an article titled, Confirmed:

Standardized Testing Has Taken Over Our School. She stated, “the average student in America’s

big-city public schools takes some 112 mandatory standardized tests between pre-kindergarten

and the end of 12th grade.” This shows that students are graded and given the same tests, even

though not everyone is given the same technological resources in schooling. It is no surprise that

there are so many statistics about this subject matter regarding the fact students in higher income

areas have more access to advanced technological resources. Aaron Smith, from the PEW

research center, wrote an article about the smart phone ownership of 2015 and discussed how

people in higher income or certain demographic groups have access to smartphones. He stated,

“Smartphone ownership is especially high among younger Americans, as well as those with a

relatively high income and education levels.” This credible source directly demonstrates how

students in lower economical classes do not have the same access to resources. Both Hargittai

and Smith highlight and support Boyd’s claims in the central text I’m agreeing with, Digital

Natives.

3

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

It is also important to note that students of different classes possess different usage

patterns when using their technical devices. Hargittai stated, “research pointed out that it is not

enough to look at differences among users and non-users, it is also essential to recognize that

differentiated usage patterns among the connected have the potential to contribute to social

inequality” (94). Smith supported this statement and said that 15% of Americans own a

smartphone, but say they have a limited number of ways to get online other than their cell phone.

Based Hargittai’s supportive claim and Smith’s research, it is clear that those in higher income

areas are more likely to have a smartphone. Nevertheless, students in lower income areas with

smartphones use their smartphones as their only access to the Internet. Smith called these types

of students, “smartphone dependent,” in his analysis. This concludes they strongly rely on their

cellphone because it is their only way for them to access the Internet. In agreement with one of

Boyd’s arguments in Digital Natives, there is a wide range of usage patterns based on the

different areas and neighborhoods people grow up in and it is impossible to assume we are all

“digitally native.” There are large sums of people with computers, people who don’t own

computers at all, or solely rely on their cellphone to consume Internet data. These inequalities

stated in the supporting texts are a direct reflection of Boyd’s claim that we are not all digitally

native.

The digital divide is important to acknowledge because it highlights the fact that there are

different populations of people who have different experiences with technology. Boyd defined

the digital divide in Digital Natives, and stated, “The term digital divide is to describe the gap in

access between rich and poor.” She also made it clear that a wide variety of people have used

4

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

this term to explain the seriousness of this divide and elaborated, “scholars increasingly raised

concern about the unevenness of skills, literacy and ‘socially meaningful’ access.” She used

examples of different groups of people to further her argument and this made her claims appeal

to ethos. Journalists, academic students, and governmental agencies were just some of the

credible groups of people she mentioned and it made the overall argument more believable for

the audience reading the text. The digital divide noticeably exemplifies the distinction between

the different classes of people and shows that people in lower classes are unable to access the

same quality of resources. Hargittai also examined the digital divide and prolonged many of

Boyd’s stances. Her article titled, “How wide a web? Inequalities in Accessing Information,”

specifically supported Boyd’s arguments. Her statistics were very helpful in supporting Boyd

because she displayed monetary evidence that could more clearly examine Boyd’s arguments.

Hargittai stated, “The issue of differences in connectivity remains a concern as a sizeable portion

of the population—a quarter of Americans—continue to be offline.” The fact that there are a

quarter of Americans who aren’t even using the Internet at all is alarming considering we are

now presumptively in the digital age. Almost all of my college classes require a computer to

access online textbooks and my assignments to be turned in electronically. Someone who doesn’t

have access the Internet simply wouldn’t be able to complete assignments or read the textbook in

my classes, so a progressive change needs to ensue. This evidence also proves that young

people’s generation shouldn’t be classified as “digital natives” so broadly considering some

people are not even on the Internet at all. The digital divide clearly shows that people are offline,

but also discusses the reasons as to why this social inequality occurs and the negative effects of

5

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

it. Boyd said, “Those with a college degree or more were likely to seek health information,

engage in financial transactions, research, and look for job information and get news than those

with lower levels of education…education was negatively correlated with online engagement in

such activities as browsing just for fun, playing a game, or gambling online” (94). The divide

between the rich and the poor examines the harmful effects far beyond what meets the eye. The

evidence that Hargittai provides shows that there is a direct correlation with how you are using

content online with your socioeconomic status. Many people who are in a lower class may not

even know how to use the content online because they do not have the resources at home to do

so. Moreover, people who’ve grown up in a high-income area can be assumed to have advanced

technological resources at home to practice with on their own time. There is an unwritten

competition between these groups of peoples because people are blindly born into low, middle,

or high-class neighborhoods. I’m not saying you need to come from a fancy neighborhood to be

successful, but with Boyd’s text and support from other sources, I can see that people in a higher

class have an unfair advantage to use necessary resources. This access to resources has a lasting

impact on people and the proof from the digital divide verifies that.

Ever since the digital age has been taking place, there has been a rise of social media

amongst all age groups and cultures of people. One of the first social media websites people

began using was MySpace. In another one of Boyd’s texts, White Flight in Networked Publics?

How Race and Class Shaped American Teen Engagement with MySpace and Facebook, she

discusses both the positive and negative factors of MySpace. She stated, “Some teens became

quite sophisticated technically as they sought to build extensive, creative profiles. Others simply

6

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

copied and pasted code they found online. But this technical glitch ended up creating an

opportunity for teens to develop some technical competency.” Clearly, MySpace allowed

students to use their creative eye and be original. Not only that, but this social media platform

also made students learn how to code, which is a very important aspect of our society now even

though it isn’t highly stressed. The fact that we are in the digital age is a reason enough that a

student’s education should focus more on techniques like coding. In Boyd’s text, Digital Natives,

she states, “when information flows through social networks and interaction shapes experience,

who you know matters. Youth who are surrounded by highly sophisticated technical peers are far

more likely to develop technical skills themselves. In communities where technical wherewithal

is neither values nor normative, teens are far less likely to become digitally savvy” (195). Her

point shows that inequalities regarding access also apply in the social networking world. Some

people don’t have the opportunity to participate in such sites like MySpace, where one is able to

learn how to code while also interacting with peers. Though MySpace ended up not being a very

secure site in the long run, it did allow this beneficial opportunity for students to become more

digitally competent.

Nonetheless, there were a lot of problems associated with MySpace’s security policies

and when these issues arose, people of higher income areas abandoned MySpace and moved to

Facebook. In Boyd’s, White Flight in Networked Publics? How Race and Class Shaped

American Teen Engagement with MySpace and Facebook, she stated, “teens from less-privileged

backgrounds seemed likely to be drawn to MySpace while those headed toward elite universities

appeared to head towards Facebook” (9). It’s fitting to assume that because Facebook was a

7

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

safer option, these categories of people moved. Boyd even stated that some teens were moved

because of the policies of their parents and called the move a “digital white flight.” She

explained that this is how cultures group together and go from fad to fad in their respected

demographic group. Though this has a racist connotation, Boyd showed this was true through

various statistics and examples. The “digital white flight” regarding MySpace and Facebook had

to do with people’s socioeconomic status and home life. People who grew up in more high

income areas were more likely to get off of MySpace and move to a safer social network site,

whereas students who grew up in a low income area were not aware and more likely to be

associated with the security issues. There were many serious security issues that resulted from

MySpace and the fact that these students weren’t as informed of them is absolutely desolate. This

research proved that people of lower income areas were more at risk in dangerous situations in

addition to not being as informed about the importance of building relationships with their

teachers and their education.

In Digital Natives, Boyd stated, “Educators have an important role to play in helping

youth navigate networked publics and the informative-rich environments and the Internet

supports” (180). To further support her argument, I identified with another source, my own

Mother, who is a third grade teacher in Ramona. Ramona is a low-income area North of San

Diego so she was able to relate her first-hand personal experiences as a teacher. She stated,

“Schools located in low income areas don’t have the same opportunities as schools in higher

income areas. There is no comparison between affluent areas and schools located in low-income

areas. They don’t have the same class offerings, technology, or resources.” This opinion of an

8

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

elementary teacher from a low income area can be supported by her own first hand experiences

She is also, for the most part, aware of what is going on in their lives at home based on the

information her students disclose to her. Boyd also examined that “a teen that uses a library

computer with filtered access for an hour a day has a very different experience with the internet

than one who has a smart phone, laptop, and unrestricted connectivity” (193). The affluent

schools my Mother was referring to have Ipads in every classroom, while her school uses

chalkboards. This example directly displays that students from higher classes are able to have

more resources to ensure successful futures and digital knowledge. My mom also stated, “some

kids definitely have disadvantaged home lives and don’t have access to the same resources as

others. Many of my kids don’t have computers,” which could support Boyd’s claim even more.

The fact that many students do not have computers is a concept that is important to address

because it is significant to address who actually owns the computers and how many people own

them. Also, identifying the laptop owners can more clearly display why certain people are high

class as opposed to low class. In Hargaittai’s text, she shared a graph regarding laptop ownership

9

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

in terms of parental education and there is a picture of this specific graph below:

This graph gives a clear idea of whose owning laptops and who isn’t based on the parental

education of students and emphasizes that a parent’s lack of education meant that there would be

less of a chance that their child would own a laptop. This statistical information is informative

because it visually displays the value of education and it shows that having a high level of

education can result in having more important resources in the long run. Some people are born

into wealthy families and immediately start out with the unlimited access to resources, whereas

other people are born into low-income families and have to work their way to the top. Though it

is beneficial to learn this work ethic, it still immediately ensures that there isn’t a level playing

field in access to resources from the time one is born. People who do not have these important

resources are the ones that are residing in low-income areas, come from low-income families,

and do not have the right level of education.

10

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

It is important to recognize just how much a student’s success depends on the education

he or she receives. In some families the parents believe that it is an accomplishment to receive a

degree from high school. Others expect a degree from a university along with graduate, medical,

or another specified study directly after the four years at a university. Many people are not

aware that there are a variety of different education programs before college that prepare students

to go to college. One high school that is not only properly preparing students to get into college,

but also allowing students access to technological classrooms is High Tech High School. A

friend of mine, Griffin Gillmore, who is now a student at San Diego State, went to this high

school in North County. High Tech High is a technology and lottery driven school that seeks

students of all socioeconomic statuses to apply for admission. In fact, Gillmore stated, “My high

tech high school was a lottery system. The goal of that was to get as much diversity in the school

as possible. There were kids there that had next to no money, and then there were kids who’d get

a $50,000 car for their 16th birthday.” At this specific school, the goal was to provide educational

services to a diverse group of people, rather than people who only grew up in a higher income

areas. It also provided technology that was far more advanced than the average public school and

offered an inclusive environment. On High Tech High’s website I found that the mission of the

school was to “develop and support innovative public schools where all students develop the

academic, workplace, and citizenship skills for postsecondary success.” The word “all” clearly

delineates that this high school has an accepting and inclusive environment. Also, it is evident

that the faculty encourages student success far beyond attending high school by using advanced

resources. Gillmore even said, “We actually didn’t have any text books, we all used computers

11

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

instead. There were close to 30 MacBook’s in every classroom and people could bring their

computers to school too. We had a 3d printer, too.” This exponential access to resources is

undoubtedly substantially positive, but there are only thirteen High Tech High schools. In

Gilmore’s graduating class there was only 40 students, 500 students all together, and less than 40

teachers. This school is a step in the right direction, but many do not know about schools like this

or know how to apply to these schools. The number of these schools compared to the 21,000

public high schools in the United States that don’t have mutual access to computers in every

class is a drop in the ocean. Nonetheless, this concept of schooling is an optimistic start for

society and encourages the necessities to succeed in postsecondary schooling. There is almost a

100% graduation rate and Gillmore believes this is because “you or your parents have to go out

of your way to sign up for the school and everything.” This extra push to apply for schools

prepares students for the application process for college and which is worthwhile. This

preparation is substantial for the future of students. Also, being surrounded by students who had

to go through the same admission process shows he or she had the drive and eagerness to

succeed in years after high school. This motivated group of students is more reason to succeed

for all who are attending. Unlike this advanced high school, many community colleges don’t

have access to computers. Dian Schaffhauser, a freelance writer, wrote a feature on community

colleges titled, When Students Can’t Compete. She identified, “There was a Pew Finding that

only 70 percent of students at community colleges had a laptop or desktop computer and only 78

percent had broadband at home and could connect wirelessly.” She then prolonged that 89

percent of college grads had access to broadband at home. This is further proof that the lack of

12

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

technological resources of those who are not as educated is present. Schaffhauser also extended,

“ community college students lack the tech skills – and the access – to take advantage of

resources.” In conclusion, it’s clear that students at a community college level could be attending

community college just because they were not aware of options like High Tech High School or

their families didn’t encourage academic success. Not to say community college is a negative

route to take after graduating from high school, but the various socioeconomic statuses of a

family relates to their access to resources and the overall motives of a student at a very young

age. Parents who are successful and encourage their children to further their education

statistically have more access to resources and contribute to their child’s academic future. Boyd

even stated, “ many high-status opportunities—from higher education to new forms of

employment—expect people to be media literate and technologically advanced” (198). This is a

serious matter considering the fact that if someone has more access to resources he or she has a

higher chance in furthering their education after high school. Since education is so important in

today’s job market, furthering one’s education after high school is mandatory depending on what

one wants to do and a lot of jobs require their employees to have attended graduate school. In a

study from 2010 regarding how different types of students value writing, a researcher stated,

“participants who attend master’s granting institutions were significantly more likely to have

written cover letters….academic genres, digital genres and more.” This wide set of skills could

benefit so many students for future job opportunities so it is unfair that not everyone gets the

same opportunities due to their social status and unawareness about the importance of furthering

one’s education to postsecondary schooling.

13

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

Obviously, there is a clear issue at stake that students are unable to access the same

resources when evaluating their level of socioeconomic status. However, there are definitely

ways to begin to solve this issue and Boyd emphasized that throughout her text. She stated,

“Rather than assuming that youth have innate technical skills, parents, educators, and

policymakers must collectively work to support those who come from different backgrounds and

have different experiences” (180). Her optimistic tone is reassuring that there are ways to solve

this issue, but it is first important to recognize that all of youth should not be classified as “digital

natives.” In order to stray away from this assumption, people should focus on everyone having

equal access to resources. This general assumption that young people are natives in the digital

world shouldn’t be assumed until there is equal access to resources for everyone. Schaffhauser

extended Boyd’s argument and illustrated, “students often have difficulty navigating to different

pages, distinguishing between pop up ads and a legitimate one, saving files to a folder, or using

the mouse and keyboard to enter information in a field.” Considering most schools do not offer

or require digitally technical classes, there isn’t proper education on these matters so no one

should really be considered “digitally native.” Students simply do not understand the phonics

behind computers, but it is not their fault because they are not taught these essentials in a

classroom setting or by an online tutorial To add, Boyd even stated, “Most formal educational

settings do not prioritize digital competency, in part because of the assumption that teens

natively understand anything connected to technology and in part because existing educational

assessments do not require prioritization.” There aren’t many big steps that can be taken

immediately, but there are ways to improve the current education system. It should be ensured

14

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

that all students in both public and private schools could use computers, for one. Also, there

should be digital media classes from early on so that students can become more digitally

knowledgeable in their youth instead of their older years. Schaffhauser said, “by providing a

consistent computing experience, explains Victor Navarro, director IT at Chandler-Gilbert,

faculty don’t have to worry about whether students are able to pull up programs or get to

particular research sites.” By achieving the goal of having classes that allow students to learn the

phonics behind computers, there will be fewer questions about how to operate the systems and

more focus on education. Furthermore, all students should be offered the same courses and

encouragement to go to college so that students are granted the same opportunities, awareness

and experiences, regardless of where they came from. It is most important for all students to have

mutual experiences and opportunity to learn. Gillmore discussed his experience with the faculty

at High Tech High and stated, “The classes were really small so you got to know your teachers

really well. I still text my high school Math teacher and keep in contact with my English

teacher.” This strong bond between Gillmore and his teachers, which has lasted two years after

him graduating high school, is something all students should have the opportunity of having. If

more students had this type of relationship with their professors or teachers, the inequalities have

the potential to be far less apparent. These may only be baby steps in the grand scheme of things,

but these steps could be beneficial for the academic future of all students.

All in all, there are ways to solve this problem, but achieving these goals may take time. I

may have gone to a high school where AP tests weren’t encouraged so I wasn’t able to get AP

credits transferred over, but I have still achieved a lot of personal academic goals in my life thus

15

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

far. It might take long to achieve my long-term goals, but it’s worth the effort because I want to

end up with a career I am passionate about. It’s possible that this goal wouldn’t have been the

same if I wasn’t encouraged by a supportive family or motivated by my fellow classmates.

Ultimately, it’s up to the student how to react when adversities arise, however, if there was fair

access to resources in all schooling there is potential for more academic success. Boyd’s text was

inspirational because it prompted the desire to accomplish goals to improve our system and to

focus broad assumptions. The text was also informative because Boyd clearly defined the digital

divide and influenced the importance of teachers and education. It made one consider the fact

that many people are not given the same advantages as others and it is important to realize that

many people do not have the same access to resources because of their socioeconomic class.

16

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

Annotated Bibliography

Boyd, Danah. "Are Today's Youth Digital Natives?" (n.d.): 176-98. Abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.

This journal article addressed the assumption that young people in our generation automatically

know how to use all of technology, just because of the age we were born in. She argues that this

is not the case and that our generation is actually digital immigrants. Even though we are born in

a digital age, it doesn’t mean that we know all of the technical details and Boyd goes on to

express that throughout the article by evidence and proof.

To evaluate this piece, I can say that it was very informational and was very interesting. I easily

agreed with most of the arguments that were presented. The evidence that she provides supported

her arguments and the structure was also very organized. She was very thorough and her points

were clear, furthermore.

Grabil, Jeff, and Stacey Pigg. "The Writing Lives of College Students." Weblog post. Matrix, n.d. Web.

This text was about how students value writing and the inequalities associated with those values.

It was a study that addressed many different points of this topic by an assortment of different

researchers and authors. There were surveys that were discussed and an explanation of why

students write how they do over various social media platforms, text and email.

I thought this text was very helpful because there was information on how students from

different institutions compose and value different kinds of writing. This helped me realize the

17

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

types of education students have and how education after high school is very important. This

increased my research on my paper and helped create a new claim for me.

Overall, this text was very informational and helped me understand a new claim. It was also

structured and very organized, which made it easy to read. The visual and color coordinated

graphs were also extremely helpful.

"High Tech High Student." Telephone interview. 14 Dec. 2015.

My interview with a student from High Tech High, Griffin Gillmore, was informational to say

the least. There was discussion about the admission process and all the factors of this advanced

high school. He shared that there were no textbooks and only computers, which was

unbelievable.

This interview was invaluable for my report because it showed different sides of the spectrum. It

also showed that there are people out there who are encouraging increases in technology,

digitally based classes, and a more diverse community all in one. I was also able to share in my

report that having all of our schools like this would benefit all students.

Hargittai, Eszter. 2003. How wide a web? Innequalities in Accessing Information Online. Princeton, NJ:

Sociology Department, Princeton University.

This piece of writing stressed the argument that socioeconomic status directly relates with the

resources that students have growing up. She presented statistics that showed that students that

18

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

don’t have the same resources as more privileged students, are given an unfair advantage and are

more successful in life.

Hargittai’s piece was very enjoyable for me because it presented evidence that was engaging and

appealed to ethos and logos. She appealed to ethos because her evidence was very credible and it

even said that she attended “Northwestern University” write at the bottom of the title. Her

writing appealed to logos considering it had graphs with information and statistics. This aspect

also made it more visual for the viewers all together.

Schaffhauser, Dian. "When Students Can't Compute -- Campus Technology." When Students Can't

Compute -- Campus Technology. Public Sector Media Group, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Schaffhauser’s article was informative with various statistics and examples. The statistics and

examples provided a feature on community colleges, which opened up a new perspective to

analyze. She described the inequalities related to demographics, the broadband divide, and

shared invaluable claims.

Though this was a community college feature, there was only one section about community

colleges and I was expecting more details on community colleges specifically. There was a lot of

useful information, but there should’ve been more of a direct focus on community colleges if it

was labeled a “community college feature.”

With my own research in comparison to Schaffhauser’s, I’ve found that there isn’t a lot of access

to resources in community colleges. Also, many people who do have access to resources don’t

19

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

actually have connection to broadband at home. There is actually more access to technological

resources in some high schools.

Smith, Aaron. "U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. Pew

Research Center, 01 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Dec. 2015.

Smith’s research was regarding smart phone ownership in 2015. He credibly approved that

students with successful parents are more likely to have laptops. In opposition, students that

come from low in come areas do not have this same access and use the internet in

disadvantageous ways.

This research was extremely helpful because the information was accurate. There were a lot of

examples that were on graphs so it was very visual, as well. The article was filled with concrete

information and didn’t offer opinions. It was a serious report and added more depth to my paper

because there was clear examples that could further illustrate my claims.

Strauss, Valerie. "Confirmed: Standardized Testing Has Taken over Our Schools. But Who’s to Blame?"

Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

This was an article that discussed standardized testing. It was very informative in detail because

it discussed facts of standardized testing people don’t essentially know about. There were many

percentages and direct examples displayed that could help the public understand exactly what

and how many tests students are expected to take each and every year.

This article was very informative, but I only used one quote to further demonstrate one of my

claims. I still really enjoyed reading the article, however, and it was enlightening to learn about.

20

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

It was also overwhelming to think about how many tests students are essentially forced to take

even though students aren’t given the same resources.

Telephone interview. 11 Oct. 2015.

I talked with my Mom about her experiences with her students. She is a third grade teacher and

in a low-income area. She told me that her students do not have the same resources that people in

high class areas do. She used the examples of Bishops High School, which is a private high

school, in comparison to the high school I went too to further her evidence.

The information my Mom gave me was valid and helped support the main arguments. She was

very helpful in explaining the details regarding this topic and about her students. She also made

comparisons that I didn’t think of myself and that creativity also helped support the main

arguments.

21

Hanna Van der Linde

Professor Werry

RWS 411

16 December 2015

22