Earlier this week on a very rainy morning, parents were allowed to bring the kids directly into the school rather than wait in line outside on the playground. It was a rare opportunity for me to have a peek inside Stephen’s classroom at the start of a busy day. To my amazement, the teacher was setting up laptops for them. It was the weekly Laptop Day and they were all very excited.

laptop caseOut of a huge aluminum shipping container (that looks something like the one pictured but much larger) came 15 or so laptops for the kids. Each silver laptop was placed in groups of three on the low tables. Stephen told me that they work on the computers with a partner and play some kind of teddy bear game. I was really pleased to see that the school was preparing the children for a high-tech future.

But would you believe that not everyone thinks children as young as kindergarten should have access to computers? One commenter said in a post at TechCrunch about a children’s website, Kindersay:

I don’t see why kids need a laptop for? Sorry if you are the kind of parents allows childen to play games all day.

*steam shoots out of my ears*

My favorite analogy in response to this type of attitude:

The computer is becoming as common and vital as the toilet. Parents who think they should or can keep their kids from it might as well have an outhouse. After all, a toilet and outhouse serve the same function and the latter may be more environmentally friendly!

Stephen has his own laptop at home on which he spends between 0 to 60 minutes each day totally supervised. What he sees online inspires him and yes, teaches him. I figure now that he’s got the toilet thing down pat, it’s time for him to conquer the computer!

FYI, here are some of Stephen’s favorite websites:

What websites do your kids like?

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