So this is 51% of our country, how sad

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-02-2008
So this is 51% of our country, how sad
674
Tue, 11-11-2008 - 10:16am

A video showing just what we've been saying.

KAREN

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-20-2006
Wed, 11-26-2008 - 3:09pm

I didn't have time to read all 668 responses to this question, but I did want to comment on a few of yours...only since you're on the last page, I'm not trying to pick on you!

I think that children, no matter whether their parents are on welfare or any other kind of assistance, should have access to a computer and the internet. If you want people to pull themselves out of their situation they need to learn how to live and work in this society. If you want to get a job, you have to know computer programs and how computers work. Even if you are a cashier, you are using a computer. Even if you work as a garbage man, you have to use controls that mimic an interface. Many people learn interface navigation by using a computer and software, even video games! The internet is not a luxury!

Also, if your neighbor receives disability and you see him doing manual labor, you should report him. He is cheating the system and those who enforce these laws are already overstretched. You should call the Social security office and file a complaint.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Wed, 11-26-2008 - 8:17pm

I agree with you on the computer issue. For children to do well in school today they almost have to have access to a computer with internet access. Especially households were there are few books and transportation can be an issue. I often wonder, when my children are doing assignments that require internet access, how families without computers get it done. Yes, there are computers at the public library, but the times I have been there I have seen lines with long waiting periods to use them. How would a child get an assignment done that way? It's an unnecessary hardship that would likely make completing the assignment impossible.

.
.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-09-2008
Wed, 11-26-2008 - 11:33pm
My daughter is in the 8th grade and she has to use the internet and
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Thu, 11-27-2008 - 9:48am

Exactly, so imagine if you were working two jobs to make ends meet or didn't have a car. Twenty minutes away by car could well be an hour away by public transit, not to mention having to wait at the bus stop for the next bus which could add even more time to the trip both ways. It becomes unmanageable to get to the public library on school nights very quickly. I saw a program on the TV awhile back about a company that was making very inexpensive laptops that were being distributed to third world county school children to get them hooked up to the internet - why can't our children have this same opportunity? Do we really have to be so judgmental about things that could even the playing field? Not trying to 'blame' anyone - just asking a fundamental question of us all.

One Laptop per Child program"
http://laptop.org/en/vision/index.shtml

.
.

Pages