Morton Sherman, schools superintendent for Cherry Hill, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb, doesn't see children without PC's at home as the top issue in education. We have a responsibility to support these kids. There are also teachers who are haves and have-nots. There were kids in the 70's and 80's who didn't have calculators. For those who do not have it, the gap is getting wider.
Income is certainly a factor.
But at the same time, there are also more computers available in school buildings, according to Quality Education Data, a private education research company in Denver. There are now 85,900 public schools with computers, out of a total of 87,200 in the United States. While some technologically astute people are starting to question the need for computers in the schools at all, educators like Professor Tobin and many school administrators and teachers advocate granting access to computers after school hours at libraries, community centers and the schools themselves. Nearly 80 percent of the students in the affluent Cherry Hill district have home computers, said John Scarinci, the district technology director. He compares not having a computer at home to not having an Encyclopedia Britannica in the 1960's.