Digital Divide

The article on the Digital Divide got me thinking. I know all the reasons that politicians and others believe that giving the information poor access to technology will narrow the divide. I just can't wrap my head around the fervor with which they attempt to carry out their misguided plans and what they really hope to accomplish, other than making themselves look and feel better.

I mean if Johnny can't read how is a computer supposed to help? Information on a website is thrown at its users at an exponentially faster rate than text from a book ever could be, so how is this helpful? As a future teacher, I am compelled to ask this question. Susie, who may test lower than her grade in reading has no trouble reading posts on Facebook or Myspace or accessing YouTube videos and operating her cell phone, but her reading skills of more complicated text show she and Johnny lack the skills to comprehend and read critically. Skills they need to function in the world around them. Skills they cannot get from a computer screen that feeds the user information rather than making them work for it.

Politicians and others are putting a band-aid on a problem that requires stitches at the very least, and most likely major surgery to cure. The article points out that when low-income students were given calculators, it did not help their math standardized test scores. I would beg to guess that if they did a study on the schools that have been given computers to give to low income students, the results will be the same. The scores will still be low, because a computer cannot teach reading comprehension and critical reading skills that are required for scoring well on those tests. And yet, many schools still do it.

I enjoyed the article because it looked at the problem objectively for what it is, a larger social issue that cannot be solved in the click of a button. I am not saying that all students should not have equal access to technology, but I agree with the authors of the article that a computer is not going to magically level the playing field for all students. Instead, maybe the politicians should concentrate on making sure that there are programs to help struggling students gain the skills they need to be functioning knowledgeable citizens who can find the information they need to be sure they can succeed in life.