Thursday, February 27, 1997
EDUCATION:
Electronics do not hold substitute for parent, teacher concernBy
Elizabeth Schuett
New York Times
Mr. President, you’re wrong. The Internet is not a panacea to
the ills of education, nor can it ever be. Electronics, no matter
how "interactive," cannot take the place of a parent or teacher who
listens and responds to a child’s needs. Johnny needs personal
attention but unfortunately, for millions of "Johnnys," time spent
with a teacher is the only personal attention he gets all day.
Without question, a computer is a useful adjunct to a classroom,
but the plug-it-in, boot-it-up approach to solving the troubles
that beset education today is a pretty shabby dodge. Throwing money
at a problem may temporarily obscure the symptoms but it will never
cure the disease.
Education cannot be absorbed in disconnected bits and pieces. It
is a lifelong process that (ideally) begins at birth with parents
who talk to the child, read to the child and spend time with him,
teaching him right from wrong and showing him by example how to
respect himself and others. Education is not the end result of
couch potato kids skimming the cable with a remote controller or
surfing the Internet in search of the stimulus of the moment.
Classroom teachers are now dealing with the products of
electronic baby sitters  students with a 30-second attention
span. And the frustrations these students experience when they
realize they can’t click us off and move on to something with a
little more action than spelling or long division is chalked up to
"hyperactivity."
"My Johnny is ‘hyper’ and that’s why he wants to hang from the
window shades," a mother offers by way of explanation. So what is
done to socialize Johnny? Drugs. Soon, Johnny is a walking, talking
zombie, calmed down and clammed up on the drug of the moment.
I felt better about the old Johnny.
Clifford Stole, in his book "Silicon Snake Oil," makes the point
that data, information and knowledge are not at all the same
things. The ability to absorb data and information might land the
bearer a spot on Jeopardy but never a place in a Platonic
discussion.
Vice President Al Gore’s approach to the Internet’s potential
for providing information superhighways to school children is
inspirational. But it won’t wash. A student who can access the
Library of Congress to glean facts for a speech on Third World
countries is indeed fortunate, but that’s not going to teach him
how to organize or deliver the speech.
Gore speaks enticingly of youngsters having the option to
explore a universe of knowledge, "jumping from one subject to
another, according to the curiosity of the moment." Lord help us!
Doesn’t Gore realize that is the problem and not the solution? Or
maybe he was a window shade hanger, too.
Before I stumble off my soapbox, I’d like to share something I
recently clipped from a local newspaper. "Child care provided while
parents gamble" is the headline that caught my eye. A 9-year-old
Midland, Mich. boy describes his experience with casino day care as
"…better than any other place because of all of these fun games."
Casino officials proudly describe the innovative idea as part of
making casino gambling a "family event."
A "family event?" Picnics are a family event. A trip to the zoo
is a family event. Sometimes, even trying to take a bath turns into
a family event, but blackjack and slot machines a family event? Who
are they trying to kid?
And it gets better. We’re told that family will be emphasized
even more when the casino opens an arcade with 70 to 80 machines to
attract teenagers.
Nice going, guys.
For five bucks an hour, kids can play video games or watch
movies. There’s even a tots room with toys and baby swings for
infants up to two years old. Kind of makes one wonder what’s coming
up next on the child care horizon. Daycare at the local bar? An
early learning center in the backyard of Miss Effy’s Brothel and
House of Horizontal Refreshment?
So tell me, Mr. President, how are you going to fix that
one?