Computers for children

From: Miles O'Neal <meo_at_netads.com>
Date: Wed Jan 13 17:16:52 1999

Tony Duell said...
|
|Hmmmm... I am convinced that the age a child starts to read, and the
|interest he takes in obtaining information has a lot more to do with the
|parents than with computer programs.
|
|I never had the benefit (or otherwise) of computer-aided learning. But I
|was still reading by the age of 3. And a couple of years later I was
|reading just about every electronics/engineering book I could get my
|hands on.
|
|What I did have was parents who encouraged me to learn, who helped me
|learn to read (I don't mean they forced books at me, but as soon as I
|showed an interest in something they encouraged it), etc.

Yes, yes, yes!

And parents who read, read, read to their kids from the early days.
I'm talking day 1, if not in the womb. (almost 8^) We encourage
everyone we know to do this. We have friends who never got much
education, whom most people consider (at best) a bit dense due to
their chromosomes. They read to their kids since they were born,
and their kids learning abilities are excellent.

I don't know about other countries, but the US could probably cut
its education budget in half within 10 years if everyone just read
to their kids and encouraged them in what they wanted to do.

-Miles

(my brain classifies as a classic computer, as do my wife's
and childrens')
Received on Wed Jan 13 1999 - 17:16:52 GMT