Through the Web

I was heartened to see that Maine educators were “wary of the Web” (BDN, Sept. 24). Access to the Internet is like living next door to a huge library: There’s a lot of information contained there, but that doesn’t automatically make you smarter.

In simplest terms, a computer is just an overgrown calculator, and the Web is just an overgrown collection of those calculators. Of course, the Internet has strong points in the areas of advertising, communication and pop culture; but I have yet to see its value in traditional education. (Try reading “War and Peace” on a computer monitor.) Too many parents stand mute on this subject because they don’t feel qualified to pass judgment on such a popular technology, so in the end we spend millions for something we don’t even understand; and our students still can’t read their own diplomas.

There is a fine line between education and propaganda: Both provide information. (Look it up.) The Internet is called the information superhighway for a reason. We should not be so quick to believe everything it proclaims about itself. Jeffrey K. Jacob Corinna