Questions about Access.
To me access means being able to use knowledge critically. Therefore, I would reason that people who can not use the internet do not in truth have access to it. This being much in the same way a five year old would have physical contact with the novel Moby Dick…but still not have the capacity to understand (read), and access it. Likewise, and 85 year old American who has never used a computer could have one with internet capability, and still not truly have access to the internet.
Due to the fact that there is a plethora of knowledge on the internet. I would recommend that all people learn to use it. This is because almost 70% of Americans say that it has improved their jobs (Hadden April 2006). Obviously if 70% of American say the internet has improved conditions on the job, then one can ascertain that all people should get a working knowledge of the internet before they enter the workforce. This because there is a high chance than the average American will have to use a computer during the course of their working life.
Computer skills should be honed from an early age. However, the internet should be left out of the class room until middle school. I believe this to be true because to use the internet wisely, one must have a level of maturity. I guess I just do not want young children reading up on the latest crazes in drugs and so forth…that comes in middle school. As far as the one laptop for every child program being viable…I would have to disagree. A program like this, while well intentioned will not solve the poverty issue in the third world. To say that a laptop program will solve their problems, is like saying that Giving people money will solve it to. We tried it through the IMF, and we in the developed world failed miserably. Likewise, as back up by statements aforementioned in the entry, giving someone access to the information, does not mean they will understand and utilize it. Therefore, I believe that giving the third world laptop computers will not solve their poverty problem because there is no guarantee that their population can utilize such a resource.