Laptops are quick. Minds are contemplative. Laptops can produce vast amounts of information. Minds can discriminate between the useless and the valuable. Laptops are new and subject to quick obsolescence.
Minds are ancient, ageless, and infinitely agile.
I am a volunteer literacy tutor at Fall City Elementary School. My two tutees most likely could be helped by some new, improved, reading program available for the school's desktops. But nothing, except the love and attention of their parents and the dedication of their teacher, can replace me and the time we spend reading together. The words on the page become part of our lives as we share reading with its full range of facial expressions, exclamations, laughter and amazement. Their thrill at decoding words and having someone with whom to share this triumph is what gives value to their efforts and elation to their spirits.