I heard through the grape-vine that my child’s school could be implementing a program where he and his future classmate could be receiving iPads for educational purposes.
I was/am thrilled.
Then it was rumored that some parents were concerned by the program because a damaged or broken machine could put a heavy financial burden on a family.
Though I understand the concern, I feel it’s a mistake to not provide our children access to a technology simply because we as parents are afraid of costs. In essence, we are putting a price limit on our children’s education and it lies in the range of $500 or less.
That low?
Today, any one of us adults, could get a parking, speeding, texting while driving ticket that would cost as much if not more than the iPads we are worried about loosing. Should then we stop traveling our byways so as to avoid the heavy financial burden?
What about the cost associated with our children not having another educational opportunity that will help them accomplish more in the years to come? Is the potential $500 investment not worth the reward?
Are some parents simply giving up before we’ve even started and admitting that they have no intention of monitoring their child’s use of the tool?
I stand with giving children the opportunity to handle, work and become comfortable with a technology that will become more and more relevant in the years to come. The costs is real but our potential loss in education is more troubling.
If the iPad is chained to the desk this might work but i don't see 7 year old kids properly taking care of the device. That would just hurt me to the core! Now if you are talking about High School students using them to replace textbooks, I'm all for it!