Yes, Computers can teach many skills very successfully. What they probably won’t do is raise verbal
SAT scores which, yes, have been falling for the last forty years. A habit of independent reading is necessary
for scoring high on the verbal SAT.
Consider how different are the skills gained through
computer games and reading. With games,
you learn dexterity, and how to make instant decisions based on rapidly
changing situations. If the game is
based on teaching facts, you can learn a good deal of information. You can learn math skills. Some very
complicated games, I understand, can even teach flying skills to pilots and
surgery skills to doctor. Apparently the
factual basis of how to lead can also be taught.
But avid readers learn a completely different skill set.
They learn how to concentrate and follow oral arguments. They acquire a sophisticated vocabulary (from
seeing words in hundreds of contexts) that enables more complex thinking on
their part. They become sensitized to
nuance and tone. Because they read
about a wide variety of experiences, through the eyes of a wide variety of
narrators, they acquire a better understanding of how people from various
backgrounds think and feel. I think avid
readers also become more thoughtful.
Obviously, both computers and books are valuable. I just worry that all of the emphasis on
computers is going to result in even fewer kids developing as avid
readers.
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