A Laptop for Every Child?
July 26th, 2010 by cmhw
Let me start by saying that I mean no disrespect whatsoever to the one laptop per child initiative. The one laptop initiative provides a donation opportunity where a special laptop is donated to a child in a developing country for the price of $199. The fact being that children in developing countries do not have access to education or the internet, so the laptop really opens many opportunities. I think this is a fantastic program. I just have one question.
Why doesn’t a program called one laptop per child exist in the United States? I think that it is a valid question considering the number of children who live on reservations with limited internet access. Often times road conditions are so poor that children cannot attend schools for long periods of time. I also wonder about children in the inner cities and urban areas. The poverty in these areas is so extreme that I wonder how many children have access to the internet and other forms of school enrichment. We also have many rural students who rarely go anywhere besides school and their home. They live miles from anywhere. No matter where you live I am certain that you can identify a group of children who are incredibly underserved, and unrepresented who would greatly benefit from a laptop. A technology gap exists in the US that directly relates to socioeconomic status. Getting technology into the hands of these children would begin to close the technology gap and perhaps the achievement gap.
Technology is a form of educational enrichment, not to mention the fact that nearly all post-secondary jobs require the use of some form of personal computing. Children have taken to googling as their favorite verb. I encourage students to further research topics we have discussed in class or continue to practice a skill on the computer. I know the children who have a computer at home have a greater advantage because when they go home and delve further into a topic we have discussed in class they have an edge. I also know many students in my classroom do not have the means to have a computer at home. If all children had a computer at home it would give them access, allow for them to extend lessons at home, and help them refine their skills. All students are motivated by technology. I think that it would be an incredible boost for underprivileged children to know that people cared enough to provide them with a laptop in hopes that they would become a better student. Not to mention the fact that it could put them on a path to attend college.
