One Laptop Per Child pledge

[Tom Buskey]

On 5/31/06, Michael Costolo <michael.costolo at gmail.com> wrote:

> I guess my point is that computers aren't a magic pill.  Kids will
> learn if their parents spend the time with them to teach them.  It
> seems increasingly more common that parents (in this country at least)
> take to some sort of electronic substitute for what have been their
> traditional jobs when it comes to teaching their children. We don't
> have time to sit and read with our kids anymore, but have no problem
> plopping them in front of the computer so we don't have to miss
> American Idol.
>
> I'm not arguing that there's no place for such programs (Reader
> Rabbit, etc.).  But a computer will never be as effective a teaching
> tool for young readers as their parents.  It just seems to me to be a
> confusion in priority.


At the risk of sounding indignant, I think you're over reacting.  My son (
2.5 yrs) seems to treat the computer & all the things he does on it as just
another toy.  Sure I let him at it while I watch TV sometimes.  I also let
him play with legos, the chalk board, running around the house, the swing,
etc.

In some ways the computer is better because it interacts/reacts better.
Just like I'm a better jungle gym becaus I react when he crawls all over me.

The computer is just another toy.  Sometimes we sit down together, sometimes
he wants to do it himself.
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