One Laptop Per Child pledge

[Michael Costolo]

On 5/30/06, Jeff Kinz <jkinz at kinz.org> wrote:
> On Thu, May 25, 2006 at 01:26:22PM -0400, Michael Costolo wrote:
> > I've never understood why giving laptops to kids who can't read or add
> > would make them better at reading or math.
>
> Please go see "reader Rabbit" or "Math Blaster" in action with kids
> who are in Kindergarten through fourth grade.  Then it will be clear to
> you.
>

Jeff,

I never implied that kids couldn't use them to learn. But generations
of us learned rather well with books.  Books that are relatively
inexpensive, don't require power, or break when you drop them.  Math
in particular hasn't really changed (nor has reading), particularly at
the grade school level, so (math, reading) books remain essentially up
to date regardless of how long you have them.

Laptops in particular are expensive, require power, break (often
catastrophically) when you drop them, and no one wants last year's
slow, bulky models.  How uncool...

And apparently the much less expensive desktops just won't work here?

If these are the hoops we have to jump through to get kids to learn it
is a rather sad commentary on the state of our society.  And our
ability/willingness to parent.

-Mike-
Father of a 2 and a 4 year old.

-- 
"The biggest big business in America is not steel, automobiles, or
television.  It is the manufacture, refinement and distribution of
anxiety."
-Eric Sevareid, American News Commentator (1912 - 1992)