OLPC (One Laptop per Child) wiki

[Paul Sutton]

Open source aside,  by giving a child a laptop you are allowing that 
child to learn, in the same way a child who can afford a computer can, 
that child can gain computer skills, do homework,  do better work adn 
get better grades,  as a result they are then more employable,  get 
better jobs and hopefully get out of poverty, so their children will 
have a better life than them. This is far better I guess than gving them 
money to spend on what they like.   Of if these kids are homeless you 
need to deal with this first, but once you have you need to give them a 
good education and give them the tools they need to survive in a modern 
educational environment,  getting a C to a child who would normally get 
a grade lower is a big achievement and helps confidence,  if a notebook 
is the difference, then that can set them on a path to   greater things.

Of course whats on that computer probably does not matter,  a teacher 
asking you to write up a science experiment wants a good write up the 
tool used is irrelevent so here is where OSS comes in as it's accesable 
to anyone,  because it's free,  in cost,  the  philosopy of free 
software can be taught later. If it does the job then it's good.

Also I think some charities take this view in other areas,  rather than 
take shiploads of food to a villiage in africa (for the sake of 
argument),  that food will last so long, then that villiage will be no 
better off,  however if you take over tools, and the means for that 
village to be self sufficient, and grow their own food,  those tools 
will last generations,  and they should have a constant suppy of food,  
once you have a more healty village move in and provide education or 
rather the means to provide education,   teach locals to teach their 
kids to read, the farmers to teach their skills, these skills get passed 
on to the next generation.

Perhaps sending everyone notebooks is not the answer but as I said above 
send the tools they need to learn skills.  Kids who will work on the 
village farm don't really need computer skills,   however  these may 
help, in the longer term. even as teaching aides.

Paul


Yanni Chiu wrote:

> Phillip Qin wrote:
>
>> I don't object to any charity work. But I am wondering if so many 
>> kids are under poverty, no food, no place to live, what's the point 
>> we send them notebooks? Why don't we just spend this much money 
>> helping them surviving first?
>
>
>

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