A Pause in the Rush Toward Technology

School Administrator, April, 1998 by Andrew J. Rotherham

Inevitably new technology brings with it lofty predictions about its potential as a balm for various ills of society.

Education frequently has been an object of these affections. Even the great inventor Thomas Edison was convinced that the phonograph would revolutionize education by making teachers obsolete. Apparently he envisioned classes centered on rote learning where phonographs dispensed knowledge efficiently and inexpensively without all the distractions caused by human interaction. Later, people made the same predictions about the filmstrip.

Of course, both of these advances helped society and its schools, but did they live up to their billing of effecting radical change? When was the last time the work stoppage of a filmstrip or phonograph delayed the opening of school?

Despite all the innovations and new technology, education fundamentally remains in the hands of caring, qualified adults working with children who are able and ready to learn.

An Alternative Priority

Today, we are engrossed by the exciting possibilities of new technology in schools--computers in every classroom and access to the Internet. These advances have the potential to make valuable contributions to student learning. The Internet can give students fingertip access to distant libraries and research facilities, art galleries, science centers, historical documents and newspapers around the world. In rural communities, this access will help students develop the skills so necessary for success in an increasingly technological and computer-dependent workplace.

Congress' most significant contribution in this area--the E-Rate discount for Internet access--is truly one of the highlights of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. It will benefit students nationwide. However, a little hesitation may be in order before we rush down the road of new technology.

In fiscal year 1997, Congress spent about $267 million on its major K-12 technology programs. The amount more than doubled to $541 million for fiscal year 1998. Clearly Congress is reacting to what it perceives as the public's desire to have new technology and all it promises in their neighborhood schools.

But juxtapose this surge of money against a recent report from the National Education Coals Panel about early childhood development. Regardless of one's opinion of the national goals, everyone can agree that the intention of Goal 1--"By the Year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn"--is laudable.

Yet the NEGP report, intended to benchmark the beginning of the "I Am Your Child" public awareness campaign, paints a disturbing picture of early childhood conditions in this country. This is a crucial education and child advocacy issue because these conditions are affecting children prior to their enrollment in the public schools.

According to NEGP, only 78 percent of two-year-olds in 1996 had been immunized against major childhood diseases. Both the data and common sense tell us that children who are not healthy cannot learn. And while 73 percent of the children of college graduates were read to daily in 1996, only 31 percent of the children of parents without high school degrees had the same experience. Ironically, these children are the most in need of this sort of activity to ensure they do not follow in their parents' footsteps academically. In his book Reading Without Nonsense, Frank Smith points out that kindergarten students begin school with a vocabulary ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 words depending on their early childhood experiences.

Catch Phrases Rule

These statistics are not a surprise to educators, who are acutely aware of child poverty in this country. More than one in five American children live in poverty and the percentages are much higher for people of color. Some may see this as abstract data, but for public school leaders, it frames the biggest challenge they face.

AASA member Cheryl Wilhoyte, superintendent in Madison, Wis., and a former reading specialist, has noted throughout her career a steady decline in the number of sound-letter relationships that students possess when they enter kindergarten.

Unfortunately, the problem of school readiness is not necessarily a glamorous one that lends itself well to flashy initiatives. Despite consistent advocacy by Rep. William Goodling, R-Pa., chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, the Even Start program, which is targeted at some of these readiness issues, received only a $22 million increase for FY '98. Moreover, although Head Start enjoys considerable political support, Title I is conspicuously wanting for it.

Even in today's tight fiscal climate, these spending priorities are not an either-or situation. Investments in technology and technology training will pay dividends for our society in the long run. However, pouring money into technology, charter schools and other catch phrases while neglecting readiness and early childhood programs is a classic example of closing the barn doors after the horses have run out. No Internet connection and no number of computers can replace the powerful effects of a caring teacher on students. If students aren't coming to school ready to learn, the best of this stuff is for naught.