Computers VS Books

I love books. One of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes is "Time Enough At Last" with Burgess Meredith. And what Star Trek fan can forget "Court Martial" and Samuel T. Cogley's love of books? But even with my great love of books, I see the logic in schools switching away from cumbersome and expensive textbooks to lap top computers for their students.

This makes sense on several fronts. First, lap top computers are about the same price, perhaps even cheaper than a student's textbooks (which cost $50-$100 a piece). Students average 6 textbooks a year.

Second, how many of us, as parents have been dismayed by our children's back packs loaded down with heavy textbooks? (I homeschool now, but my two oldest children both attended public schools).

Third, it is important for children to learn how to use computers for other things besides video games and what better way to do this than to put them in their hands every day and requiring new skills from them.

Fourth, textbooks are sometimes outdated when they are published. And talk about the environment...what about all those trees we cut down and turn into textbooks that may be used for a few years before being tossed (and yes, I do mean tossed) into a nearby dumpster?

And finally, think about the way we live and learn today. An interactive website is going to be much more intriguing to a child than a textbook, and perhaps will encourage them to look beyond what is necessary for their assignment.

Computers play a big role in our homeschool day. My son is learning typing. There are a wide variety of computer games that are educational on the market and for great deals, you should check out this site.

I applaud the education system for making these changes to enhance children's education and I am glad to see that books are still on the agenda for extra reading! Ahh...so many books... so little time!