| Opinion |
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From
the November 23, 2001 print
edition |
Notebook
Gingrich: Students should have laptopsJim Molis
A computer lab in every school is no longer enough. Nor is a computer
in every classroom. Each student needs a laptop.
That's the idea that Newt Gingrich is pushing as a means of improving
education in the United States. The former Speaker of the House of
Representatives wants students in grades K-12 to have laptops.
Individual laptops would create a constant education cycle, where
students will yearn to learn in the classroom as well as at home, Gingrich
says. Such widespread use of technology also would help children who might
not otherwise have access to an education through technology and the
economic benefits it can generate.
"It would transform their personal belief that they had access to a
better world," Gingrich said, in a recent luncheon speech sponsored by the
Georgia Public Policy Foundation.
Gingrich told his audience of about 200 educators and business people
that a failure to invest in education is a national security risk. Today's
students will not be capable of leading tomorrow's world unless the
nation's education system is improved, particularly in the areas of math
and science, Gingrich said.
"You have to put modernizing education at the top of your national
security list," Gingrich said. And providing individual laptops would be a
significant step, he said.
Gingrich is spreading his message through speeches and newspaper
opinion pages. He also is working with government leaders like Georgia
Gov. Roy Barnes, who Gingrich said has supported efforts to improve
technology in schools.
Gingrich would like to see more schools like Towns Middle School in
North Georgia, where more than 200 students have laptops. He cites the
success that Towns has had using Atlanta-based NetSchools Corp.'s
integrated learning approach, which involves teachers, students and
parents.
That program has increased students' appetites for education, as well
as their parents'. More adults in the county have gone back to school,
including for high school equivalency diplomas, since children started
taking laptops home a few years ago, Gingrich said. Time magazine named
Towns County Middle School as one of the nation's best schools in the
spring, largely because of the NetSchools program.
Gingrich would like Georgia to be one of the first states in the
country where laptops are given to all students. "It's as big a
breakthrough as textbooks were in the 20th century," Gingrich said of
laptop learning in an interview.
Every Georgia school could offer laptops by the end of the decade,
perhaps even within the next five years, Gingrich said.
Businesses and foundations can help pay for laptops, Gingrich said. And
computer companies can offer better deals by selling in bulk, he said.
Some chambers of commerce and businesses have expressed interest in
helping, Gingrich said. "We can reach out to businesses and foundations
and convince them that it's worth the extra capital investment to put
Georgia schools on a totally new plateau," he said.
Individual laptops would provide a significant return in terms of
economic development, Gingrich said. "The more attractive Georgia is in
education terms, the better off we all are."
Contact JIm Molis at (404) 249-1025; fax, (404) 249-1058; or e-mail
(jmolis@bizjournals.com).
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