Miami Beach's "Virtual" Math Class

On my way to Miami earlier today, I read a New York Times story about a Miami Beach high school that offered "virtual" math classes. The kicker in the story is that the students were not informed prior to the beginning of the school year that their class would lack a live instructor. Instead, students are herded into a room filled with computer terminals and a lonely "facilitator." Many students and parents were absolutely allergic to this situation, which has been principally caused by Florida's class size mandate.

Of course, the tech drumbeaters don't like to talk about these stories in their relentless belief in the "smart" classroom. It seems to me not having a teacher work with students is flat out dumb, although it might be cheaper to create a generation of tech-savvy know-nothings.