> We could become more proactive in recruiting and retaining
> children from the target neighborhoods but that will require
> almost as much time and energy as conducting the classes or
> refurbishing the equipment.

There are some kids who live in the four-family across the alley from me who
would be perfect candidates for the classes. If someone can get me some
flyers about the program, I'll make sure they get one.

> We could concentrate more on "Fun and Games" in the
> "curriculum" but that gets us back into the same non
> productive mode as the public schools.

FWIW, I think "Fun and Games" *are* productive when it comes to learning how
to use a computer. I originally got interested in computers for one reason:
video games. That interest morphed into a career as a Web developer, even
though none of my three degrees are in computer science. If it weren't for
the video games, I would have never bothered learning how a computer works.
The funny thing is, I almost never play video games these days.

When I ran the computer lab at the Blind Boone Community Center in Columbia,
I installed games on all the machines and let the kids play them. Within a
couple of weeks, they were teaching each other DOS commands to find the
games and get them to run. The technology behind the new crop of games is
phenomenal; it's what's pushing the hardware industry forward.


Brian H. Marston
http://www.thecommonspace.org/