Todd Oppenheimer expresses concern over what he sees as unfounded enthusiasm for computers and technology in the classroom. According to the article, a poll showed that U.S. teachers "ranked computer skills and media technology as more "essential" than the study of European history, biology, chemistry, and physics; than dealing with social problems such as drugs and family breakdown..." and many more essential subjects. While I would not agree with these polled teachers, I have a harder time agreeing with Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer places funding cuts for the arts on money invested towards computers. In this scenario, I do not see computers as the villain, but rather the school district as victim to underfunding in general. As a history teacher, I utilize computers on a daily basis for student research through scholarly articles bases, primary source databases and online encyclopedias. Computers also allow other forms of expression for the students to be assessed on. They are not a waste of money in the classroom.
However, I do agree with Oppenheimer that we should not be cutting the arts in schools. We should be directing our focus away from blaming technology, and look deeper into the effects of No Child Left Behind and other State Legislation on our schools' budgets.
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