Editorial: Kids need ABCs and computers

Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

GOV. Bob Miller wants to spend $175 million to put computers into every classroom in Nevada.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., told the Legislature that students should be learning the basics before moving to computers.

It's hard to find fault with either of these arguments. Maybe they're not arguing at all -- just providing different perspectives.

Miller has touched a responsive chord with voters, emphasizing that the school must keep up with the high-tech demands of the workplace. Public schools must provide students with the basics of computer operations and Miller's plan will at least give the students the needed tools.

But Gibbons also has hit a sore point. Too many Nevada students are not learning the basics of communication and math to equip them for any meaningful role in later life.

It would be idiotic to equate education with mere equipment. Computers are tools, nothing more. The better the operator, the more effective the computer, and otherwise. As wags have long said, "garbage in, garbage out."

Gibbons well understands that, without a foundation in English and math, computer education may be limited to making cute designs and playing games. For years, teachers have been leery of calculators, sensing students would use them to bypass learning arithmetic tables. When the equipment fails, good students can still hand compute the weight of a gallon of water.

So should they be able to write an English sentence without resorting to a computer's spelling or grammar checks.

The Legislature should approve the first phase of Miller's plan -- $35 million -- to improve the state's ranking of 36th in the nation in classroom computers. Then future sessions can determine whether to expand it and how much of that is affordable.

Meanwhile, the school boards must ensure the basics are provided so every student is literate and can understand elementary math. Computer classes should supplement, not replace, that education.

Ideally, Gibbons and Miller may have given us a vision of the best of both worlds. It remains to be seen whether it can become a reality.