We expected the unexpected to occur. And now it has. John Engler, foe to Michigan's teachers who forced the MEA to endorse Geoffrey Feiger, is now being surprisingly friendly. Critics of Engler, who must find some evil or wickedness in this uncharacteristic move, complain that a laptop would be of little use to teachers in poorer urban areas. Their argument is weak.
Computers are more than an alternative to snail mail and the telephone.
They are an excellent teaching resource and computer knowledge for students is a prerequisite to academic and professional success. More importantly, it is the poorer urban districts that are in sorest need of computers and computer literate teachers to empower those without. These students would most benefit from this proposal because, sadly, they lack both opportunity and experience with a computer. In short, the anti-climatic turn of the century has now reached a dynamic climax.