October 06, 2005
One more for the night
Lowell Monke has a very insightful essay on the role that computers can play in education. In short, the computer is the single most powerful informational tool ever invented, and Monke's thesis is that by giving children tools of such power before they are able to responsibly deal with that power, we stunt their opportunities for internal growth that would normally be gained by things like, oh, recess.
wow, great article. thanks for the link. I think I'm on board with his thesis, but I'm wondering what is to be done? I'm a programmer, so we'll probably always have a computer around. should I just not let the kids on it? we may homeschool, so perhaps I'll have more control over my kids relationship with computers, but probably not a whole lot, especially when they get older. there's got to be a balance somewhere.
Posted by: bobw at October 7, 2005 11:58 AMYou don't let your kids use a hammer, a stand mixer, a knife, an oven, a drill, or a circular saw till the right age, and without supervision, do you? Would the same thing work with computers?
Posted by: Krista at October 12, 2005 01:14 PM