If your teacher cannot give the answer, go to your PC

If your teacher cannot give the answer, go to your PC

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta

In this digital age, to be a teacher in this country is harder
than ever. On the one side, teachers do not earn enough to
support their families. They have to do other jobs to supplement
their monthly salaries, while their cost of living and of
fulfilling the needs of their own children continue to skyrocket.

That is why a good majority of our teachers provide private
tutoring to their pupils and students after school hours. It is
not uncommon for teachers even to earn additional income by
offering ojek (motorcycle taxi) services. Understandably, our
teachers today cannot afford the time to upgrade their knowledge.

In fact, this problem, which has been plaguing our educational
system for decades and has led to the dismal quality of our human
resources, is not unique to our school system up to the secondary
level. Many of our university professors are also super-busy
people, as they hold key positions as consultants to government
bodies, run their own businesses or teach at more than just a few
different institutions.

On the other hand, in this digital era, knowledge has become a
person's most important asset. We compete by using knowledge, not
physical might. What can we do if we can no longer expect our
children to learn much from their busy teachers? Where can they
go if their teachers cannot give them the answers to the
questions that they have in their inquisitive minds? Children's
curiosity should be nurtured, but in most cases it has been
suppressed because the teachers happen to have to be limited in
their knowledge.

In this situation, we might employ a teacher substitute called
personal computer. We need a relatively fast PC or Mac, of
course, as we cannot blame our children if they get bored quickly
using a slow machine. It has to have multimedia capabilities,
too, to enrich the learning experience. It has to have Internet
connection as well, as that is where the world's largest
repository of knowledge exists. And then there should be a good
collection of educational software.

What should be in the collection? First of all, it should
include a few multimedia encyclopedias in their latest editions.
Just keep in mind that not all encyclopedias are the same. Some
have more information on specific topics than others. To find as
much information as possible, your children may need to check out
more than just one encyclopedia.

The list of good multimedia encyclopedias includes Grollier
Multimedia Encyclopedia, New Millennium Encyclopedia & Home
Reference Library Deluxe from Simon & Schuster Interactive,
WorldBook Encyclopedia from Topics Entertainment, Compton's
Multimedia Encyclopedia, Microsoft Encarta, Encyclopedia
Britannica and so many others.

Do not let the price of multi-volume, leather bound printed
encyclopedias discourage you. These are not the real
encyclopedias anymore, they are just to fill the showcases in
your living room. Their electronic versions cost between US$20
and US$ 30 each, which may include up to four CD-ROMs. Do not buy
the Standard version, buy the Premiere or Deluxe version. Your
child will appreciate it.

Does your child have a knack for science? There are
encyclopedias of science, such as Simon & Schuster New Millennium
Encyclopedia of Science. Do you want your child to be good at
algebra? Try Algebra Booster. Does he seem to be interested in
attending a medical school later on? Give him Human 3D and Body
Voyage. A good source of educational software is, of course,
Amazon.com. Another, especially for pre-school and kindergarten
levels, is Broderbund (www.broderbund.com). A site that you must
visit is Riverdeep (www.riverdeep.net).

However, the personal computer is only a partial solution to
the problem. Partial, because no computer software -- no matter
how good it is -- can ever replace a human teacher who inspires,
teaches and becomes a role model for his student. In the absence
of such a person, the computer and its software is the best
alternative that we have.

But, before you turn the computer on, remember that the best
learning experience with the machine will be possible only if
parents accompany their children as they go through each lesson.