Comments about ‘Upgrading schools for a digital world’

What a simplistic article. Does Mr. Florez totally misunderstand the role of computers in our society? Is he not aware that a computer is a machine? Does he not know that the purpose of computers is to "compute"?

In grade school, I learned to count by counting my fingers. I was "computing". In High School, I was introduced to a slide rule. I was computing. In 1976, I bought my first computer, an IMSAI, which was a box full of parts that I had to assemble.

Neither my fingers, my slide rule nor my computer thought for me. I had to know what I was doing. I had to define the problem. I had to know how to solve the problem. My fingers, my slide rule and then my computer made solving the problem faster and easier, but neither my fingers, my slide rule nor my computer worked until I told them how to work.

Teachers teach us to think. That is the most important part of solving any problem.

We learn quickly from qualified teachers. We learn slowly or not at all from unqualified teachers. Evaluating teachers is essential. Using machines is not essential.

Yes, evaluating teachers and any employee is critical. Mike, I agree with your comments regarding the simplistic nature of this article. I have to wonder whether the author has set foot in a classroom in the last 10 years. Utah classrooms are laboratories of innovation and technology. Those who would like to privatize our public education system like to say they are antiquated. Please visit some schools and see the great things going on.

Unfortunately, the lack of resources to purchase the necessary technology does hamper our system; but our teachers do wonderful things with limited resources.

While this article is off the mark on one level (more teachers are using creative ways to teach including using technology in ways he doesn't seem to realize), too many teachers aren't. And often it isn't because they don't want to, it's because they don't have access to this technology. Teachers are being taught how to teach creative thinking and critical thinking. Yes, this innovation is taking place and teachers seem to be making efforts but too many classrooms and too many schools are behind the curve and often being behind the curve isn't because of the teacher, it's because of the resources the teacher lacks and the size of the classes that too many Utah teachers face.

When the school boards talk to computer experts, they will find that setting up Linux based thin-client networks is not expensive, about $300 per computer. Those computers have no DVD or CD (or other I/O), so students cannot upload or download any unauthorized materials. Those computers have full Office Suites, (OpenOffice). They have full SQL databases. They have full ability to run web sites, FTP sites, Mail sites.

Having a resource room, or two, or three with twenty computers or thirty computers would allow almost any school to stay up-to-date with technology. Students would have at least one class period per day to do research, write papers, do advanced study that required access to computers, all at a very moderate cost and with complete security.

Thinking outside the box enables innovation to complement good teachers.

This is not new, unproven technology; it have been available to more than a decade. It is used widely in less developed nations to allow them to compete with the (technologically backwards) United States. They're beating us because they care enough to use what's available to them.