I will say Amen to that, considering that I just mailed 9 boxes of
MS-DOS 3.3 which were still shrinkwrapped and beign thrown away by
my school. THat has to be $500 right there that could have been used
on pencils. I won't complain about the fate the DOS 3.1 boxes met...
>
>>
>> Personally, I believe the "computer literacy in schools is
everything"
>> movement is a result of inept teachers and a haywire NEA.
>
>Amen!
>
>> students should be introduced to computers (read: word
>> processors/calculators) until the first year of high school after
>> mastering basic reading, comprehension, writing and math skills.
>
>
>The problem with introducing elementary and middle school kids to
>computers so early is that they either a) know more than the lab admin,
or
>b) aren't allowed to use them in any constructive way. I'm only in the
>tenth grade, but I've already seen seven new labs installed in area
schools.
>The school districts almost ALWAYS spend WAY too much on new computers,
>mainly from the worst vendors, only to have to replace them when the
>warranty runs out (with very little usage, BTW). The computers simply
>aren't used until high school, when word processing/database,
programming,
>and other such courses are offered. Anything before is mainly a waste
of
>money.
>
>What about the 'net? I don't understand why people think that the
>internet is such a great "tool" that will help schools. Just do a
search
>for "barbie" on Yahoo. Or, for that matter, try "video" or something
>general. Especially considering that most schools don't use any
>Internet blocking software..
>
>It takes most people a long time to get used to using search engines in
such a
>way to get what they want. Most people in my school don't have any
idea how to
>use the 'net, and could care less. That is the general attitude at
most
>schools that I have been to.
>
>In other words, most of the money spent on computer equipment is a
waste.
>
>
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at
http://www.hotmail.com
Received on Thu May 14 1998 - 15:40:45 BST