Don’t teach computers to young people, they can learn when they are older.
I don’t agree with you.There is no age limit for anyone to learn computer.Kids learn computer for playing games and older learn computer to work on it.
Read the article.
Why is this thread in a technical forum? It belongs in the lounge imho.
I think it is an interesting take on education. And I think it might even be a good thing.
Now, the flip side is most of those kids probably get a great exposure to computers and technology at home. School should really be about what the parents could not deliver, not what they can.
I was first introduced to technology at school. Granted, this was before home computers were commonplace…
In the world of IT, I’ve noticed that many people who aren’t tech savvy have a lot of trouble performing even the most basic of tasks–even when they are using a computer during most of their school/work day. Considering technology is quite prevalent in the workplace, having a decent level of proficiency is a basic skill nowadays, thus should be included in a school curriculum. Eliminating it completely only hinders students. After all, they aren’t going to train themselves on how to use a word-processing application when all they use is twitter, facebook, and play games at home–using technology for entertainment and using technology for work/school are two entirely different things.
Considering technology is quite prevalent in the workplace, having a decent level of proficiency is a basic skill nowadays, thus should be included in a school curriculum. Eliminating it completely only hinders students. After all, they aren’t going to train themselves on how to use a word-processing application when all they use is twitter, facebook, and play games at home–using technology for entertainment and using technology for work/school are two entirely different things.
Don’t all the kids use facebook, twitter and play games regardless ? As the article says Google is making using the basic of technology as easy as possible, so why not wait until the kids are 17+ to introduce computers. Learning how to write is a essential thing, and should be taught, and there is many others. Instead the school system shoves computers in front of the kids while the teacher sits and reads the paper with their morning coffee. The school system including post-secondary is broken especially in the Western World.
Hopefully they have learned to do that long before they are 17. 
I’m a fan of the concept. While my daughter HAS been exposed to technology all her life (she’s now 17), I see the value in treating it as a means rather than an end… kids today are so reliant on technology that the most amazing computer, the one between their ears, is in danger of being undervalued.
That said, reliance on technology is not new, nor the reserve of the feeble minded:
Never memorise what you can look up in books.
- Albert Einstein
(borrowed from Simply SQL)
As a 80 year old women told me, technology is destroying out society. Especially the advent of smart phones. There is a complete dependence on them. For many it is their second brain. Whatt ever will they do if these phones become useless, stand their in the middle of the street asking people, what to do.
No, most people don’t have a brain, so at least now they have one.
Some years ago, I worked in a teacher training college. One of the offices had a poster proclaiming “We teach the Three Rs - reading, writing and replacing calculator batteries.”
I agree that cell/smart phones are mostly just a distraction while in class. What about other forms of technology in the classroom?
Computer access to library databases, for instance?
Minitab for math classes?
Foreign language software like Rosetta Stone?
I personally believe that kids should be taught about the basics of newer technology but i agree with this thread at some extent. Before 15, you cannot trust the internet media that it would not affect the child’s innocent mind. Even if you have taken the internet access, i believe it is far better for a child to play outdoor games rather than he sits on the computer and plays games.
15 is still young. It should be the age of adult which varies between 18-21 in most of the world. If Children/Teens have to wait till that age to drive the same should be said for access to computers.
I’m sure there was a similar argument before the existence of the internet when teenagers were tying up phone lines all the time.
I think web use at that age should be monitored by a parent, but blocking it complete seems quite extreme.
I don’t agree with you. Teach computer to the young can make them get more konwledge and so on, isn’t good?
When they are older,they may not want to learn computer ant more…
It’s getting them to learn and play without a keyboard. Technology has reversible effects, when kids are young.
When you are old, it is too late for you to learn. The best time to learn anything is on the young age.
Nonsense. I’ve been teaching basic computer skills to some elderly folk and they make excellent students. They also have a sensible attitude to computers, seeing them as a means to an end. not an end in themselves.