Computers Fail to Save Literacy:

School administrators, computer manufacturers, and parents who want to ignore their children were all thrilled at the prospect that isolating children in front of a computer screen would turn American youth into Einsteins, but the truth is becoming abundantly clear that much the opposite has been taking place.

IQ scores and just about every other form of testing indicates that kids, especially those on the bottom half of the economic scale, end up even more poorly prepared as a result of spending more time in front of their computer monitors. (See today's New York Times.) In fact, about the only thing that kids become better at while using computers is learning how to evade the "parental controls" placed on computers to prevent them from participating in "inappropriate activities."

This is bad news for computer and soft ware makers, who have raked in bundles of cash on the assertion that any sort of interaction with a computer would enhance learning. It may be even worse news for school administrators who live and die by enhancing their budgets anyway possible. (Parents who want to ignore their kids will do so anyway, so the news just means they need to find another way to assuage their guilt. In other words, they'll adapt.)

NOTE: Significant evidence indicates that actually having books in the home enhances literacy more than just about anything else one can do.


"Show Him the Money":

Washington Monthly profiles one of America's great scam artists, Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce. This is another example lobbying gone awry.

Here's the most telling paragraph:

What becomes clear from observing Donohue’s record is that, for all his opposition to federal oversight, he is a quintessential creature of Washington. Like the head of any bureaucracy or agency, he measures his success far less by results than by the size of his budget. That’s why the Chamber’s agenda hews so closely to that of its largest contributors. It’s also why, even in front of dues payers such as Birmingham business leaders, Donohue is happy to trumpet how much money the Chamber is taking from them. Those funds don’t need to lead to accomplishments; they are the accomplishments.

In other economic news: Wall Street is hiring. Analysts predict the hiring increase indicates the economic recovery is underway. (See The New York Times' story.)