Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!burl!codas!usfvax2!pdn!reggie
From: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Knowledge Gap
Summary: The haves and the have nots
Keywords: knowledge, gap, technology, society
Message-ID: <1903@pdn.UUCP>
Date: 15 Dec 87 15:54:14 GMT
References: <8712132230.AA10889@bu-cs.BU.EDU> <968@uokmax.UUCP>
Organization: Paradyne Corporation,   Largo FL
Lines: 72

In article <968@uokmax.UUCP>, sarobnet@uokmax.UUCP (Scott Alan Robnett) writes:
 
jplpro!carlos (Carlos Carrion) writes:
> >	We all are familiar with the concept of a Generation Gap, or
> >a Wealth Gap.  But I think that a more ominous concept creeping up on society
> >is the idea of a Knowledge Gap of which one could say the Technology Gap
> >is but a subset.
 
> 	Gee, I dunno, what with kids growing up with computers in school and
> video games and VCR's and microwaves and etc. etc. ad infinitum; just who 
> will be left in 40+ years (at least in this country) that will opose 
> technology for technology's sake?  Or do you feel that a violent overthrow of 
> technology is imminent?  


         Although Scott points out that even those who don't understand 
technology still derive benefits from it, there still is a danger here.
Sure the hard working blue color people make use of technology in the form
of consumer electronics.  It makes life easier.  Now he can use his remote
control to change the TV or tell the VCR what to do.  But how does his life
benefit from technology?


         How many people read Kurt Vonegat's "Player Piano"?  Society was
split into two groups.  Those who were managers and engineers who understood
and controled technology (the haves) and those whose only other recourse was
to enlist in some sort of corps of workers to perform those functions which
still required manual labor.  The gap between these two economic groups was
quite wide, with no middle ground.  


         Although, our children are exposed to technology at an early age in
school, there are other factors that determine how their futures will be
shaped.  One of these factors is the childs parents and their emphasis that
is placed upon education and learning.  There are many people out there in
this world, who do not think along these lines.  Nor are they necessarily
capable of helping their children along in their education, both from a
lack of knowledge and a financial standing.  Without support from the home
environment, no school can be expected to shape our children's futures.  The
education must begin at home, and it is the rare parent who gets that involved
in the first place.  Furthermore, those types of parents tend to be better
educated themselves.  One rarely finds parents with low levels of education
and low paying jobs, who can instill in their children the urge to learn.  A
child may rise above these conditions, but many do not and end up in the same
low-level, low paying, manual labor jobs their parents did.  Look at the coal
miners in West Virginia and Penn.  How about the inner city poor.  Or perhaps
those in rural areas.  I just moved here to Florida from New York a few months
ago.  Although this area (Tampa Bay) is growing, there are a great number of
local people who are not well educated, work in low paying jobs, and are not
going to push their kids to do better.  In fact, many people in technical
positions here send their kids to private, not public school, to keep the
influence of the local people out of the way of their kids' education.  You
also find the same in the large cities, eg. New York.  Those with some money]
get their kids into private schools or move to the suburbs where the schools
are better.  Those who live in the city and can not afford private school,
must accept the low quality of the public schools.


      Now given this, in 40+ years do you really see that much of a change?
We must find a way to not only improved educational opportunities for all,
but to provide kids from a disadvantaged background with a greater level of
desire for education.  Throwing money at the problem is not the answer, it
never is.  There must be a way to help kids overcome the negative influences
that come from a background that does not encourage education and bettering
oneself.


-- 
George W. Leach					Paradyne Corporation
{gatech,rutgers,attmail}!codas!pdn!reggie	Mail stop LF-207
Phone: (813) 530-2376				P.O. Box 2826
						Largo, FL  34649-2826