by David Gelernter

About the author: David Gelernter is a professor of computer science at Yale University.

Over the last decade an estimated $2 billion has been spent on more than 2 million computers for America’s classrooms. That’s not surprising. We constantly hear from Washington that the schools are in trouble and that computers are a godsend. Within the education establishment, in poor as well as rich schools, the machines are awaited with nearly religious awe. An inner-city principal bragged to a teacher friend of mine recently that his school “has a computer in every classroom . . . despite being in a bad neighborhood!”

Computers Teach Some Things Well

Computers should be in the schools. They have the potential to accomplish great things. With the right software, they could help make science tangible or teach neglected topics...