> From: Heather Martens > >> PLEASE convince me that our schools are not wasting money and time on > computers. > > -------- > Heather, first thank you for starting a thread on a topic that gets me > cranked up, that is not about the Twins.
Amen to that. > > My credentials: I am a computer consultant. I have worked in the field > for almost 20 years. No Luddite here, either Similar credentials ( a few years short). This debate needs to go beyond computers and also cover the use of calculators in school. I have been told that calculators are standard issue in math classes. Calculators are good tools in Jr-Sr High level courses in accounting, chemistry, physics etc but NEVER in a math class. Why? Because they are a crutch which prevents the student from learning math. Like Walt said, kids learning this way have no feeling for numbers. When they get to college they will find their calculators useless. In 1984, as a college freshman I bought a beautiful and expensive calculator. IT was very useful in my labs but had no value in my main classes because we never dealt with real numbers. Now I go to stores and cashiers can;t even count change. They just lump it into your hand. When I was in Ireland I watched a 9yr old girl count change better than most adults. There is a result of a focus on the basics. Now I don;t have much experience with the local school system but it appears to me, especially in the low-income areas, that "computer skills" are word-processing, data-entry and so forth. Where is the emphasis on teaching these kids programming? I'd support computers in art classes part time. As research tools they are phenomenal. Even as note-taking tools. I type faster than I write. I organize better with computer than without one - but this is a matter of personal style. You can't put a classroom of kids in front of computers and believe they are all suddenly going to be great note takers. My bottom line is that computers are great tools and necessary in schools but that, so far, they have probably been poorly used. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
