djs1sjd

I spell it out with examples in another comment here, but one shouldn't assume that everyone has equal access to the foundation and motivation needed to put out the "effort" to succeed in MOOCs.

The people who are really educationally disadvantaged are often that way because of some other difficult circumstances in their lives (violence, social breakdown, poor parenting, and the associated effects on motivation).

I'm not referring to (typical) hacker news types here (myself included). You could give us all the extra educational access in the world and you wouldn't make a dent in educational inequalities, whether in the US, or globally.

As others have noted, these MOOCs work great for people who already have a solid foundation in the skills of learning, whether they are highly-driven and parentally-supported high school students, college degree holders, or people who are equivalently self-taught.

If you don't fall into one of the above categories, it is _very_ difficult to overcome the practical, and motivational challenges that stand in the way of success in these classes.

Examples: a poor inner-city kid with serious challenges at home and at school, an out of work high-school/college drop-out who is years out of any sort of academic setting.

At least in the US, the disadvantaged side of educational inequality spectrum is defined by these types of of people. Without a great deal of in-person support (whether by government via schools, their communities, or their families), it is unlikely that such people will be able to increase their education, MOOCs or otherwise.

EDIT: added some clarifying wording.

Who said there is no problem? Not me. I'm aware and upset about many of the same problems. However, I think smashing bus windows under presumption that those inside are uniquely responsible for the problems sends the conversation backwards, not forwards.

I take that bus routinely (though not this morning), and I can assure you that its occupants are a diverse group of East Bay residents of many races and ethnicities (black, white, asian, hispanic, etc), and though I haven't done a survey, I doubt any of us are 1%s.

Many of us, myself included, support strongly progressive economic policies, but there is no real conversation to be had with people who will resort to violence like this. Sadly, use of violent and illegal methods to convey a message seems to be somewhat common in these parts.

I suspect that these "protesting" groups are acting out some sort of imagined war between rich and poor, and since the real 1% don't take a bus of any kind to work, we're their next best target.