NABLOPOMO – Page 6 – Don't Gel Too Soon

THE $100 LAPTOP – FOR EVERY CHILD (FROM 11/12 DONATE ONE – GET ANOTHER FOR YOUR FAVORITE KID) *

This is what One Laptop Per Child looks like: a remarkable idea taking root in remarkable places. Founded by legendary Internet pioneer Nicolas Negroponte, its mission is to get every kid in the developing world a simple laptop for a more active way of learning described as "Giving children good things to do so that they can learn by doing much better than they could before." The concept was developed by Seymour Papert, creator of Lego Logo – a simple computer learning system both my kids used in elementary school, Alan Kay and other legends of technology and education.

Think about this: if you grow up wandering around the world online, won’t your perspective on that world be broad and curious? If you create a game to teach fractions, won’t you learn them more completely? They call it "learning learning."

In 2002 every Middle Schooler in Maine got a laptop. The Maine Learning Technology Initiative has reported great results from the initial laptop distribution by 2005. If there is significant performance improvement in a reasonably well-resourced environment, think what it can do for one with little access to books, maps or math tools in the earthbound world!

For a brief period starting November 12^th, you can “give
one” and “get one.” Buy two laptops for
$399. One will go to a child in the
developing world; you or your favorite child will get the other one. But act fast – this is only a two week
outreach.

If you’re interested or want to help, you can visit the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) site here.

*NOTE: In order to observe the Sabbath, this post was written in late October and set to post on Saturday morning.

FALL INTO THE GAP? ARE THOSE CUTE CLOTHES REALLY MADE BY ENSLAVED KIDS?

I am still trying to get my mind around these child labor stories surrounding the Gap. I understand about globalization and outsourcing or whatever we’re calling it now, but, for heaven’s sake, the Gap isn’t even CHEAP! What kind of markup is involved here? I also understand that the Gap says they didn’t know about the conditions these kids were facing, but with all the use of cheap labor in the developing world factories it seems to me extra vigilance is required- on the part of retailers AND consumers (that’s us.)

There are good arguments on both sides of the concept of paying less in countries where the whole economy requires less, but these children, if reports are to be believed, were all but completely enslaved. Slaves! There’s no economic relativism that’s going to justify that. Or any other ism.

Somehow it’s worse when it’s the Gap — of the cool clothes and commercials. And horribly ironic that they, who made such a splash with commercials by the late, wonderful UN child advocate Audrey Hepburn, are whether mindfully or just carelessly, part of what seems to be something that violates everything she (and we hope, most of us) stands for. At some point we are going to have to decide how much we’re willing to compromise. These stores have democratized taste and style but it may be that the tools to do that are, themselves, the most expensive thing of all.

WELCOME TO NABLOPOMO! HOW I SOLVED THE SABBATH PROBLEM

This is a very exciting undertaking – a blog post a day for thirty days! A little scary, but exciting. For me though, it offered an extra challenge, one that forced me to drop out last year. I can’t work on the Sabbath. Every Saturday I observe Orthodox rules about the kindling of light, whether it be a spark plug in a car, a doorbell or a reading lamp. God told us to rest, and every Sabbath we pray the He be "please with our rest." It’s a pretty big thing. And it’s lovely; beginning with the lighting of Sabbath candles on Friday night and then a festive dinner. I’ve come to love the peace of it even though before we began our observant life I thought it was nuts. It was a great lesson in not prejudging. Ever.

So of course, there was no way that I could post on Saturdays. I can’t use the computer. Fortunately, technology solved the problem. I figured out that if it’s ok to use timers for the dining room lights (it is) then I could set a timer for my post. I’m writing each Saturday post in advance and setting it to be posted on Saturday morning. And I’ll be in Israel for almost half the month so this will also be a great diar. I’m looking forward to this.

MY BAD

All you NABLOPOMO visitors — my deepest apologies. I blithely signed up for NABLOPOMO and promptly ended up in the hospital for two days (just a scare – I’m fine) which right away made me fail my pledge. But I also forgot – or didn’t think about — the fact that I can’t use a computer on Shabbat. Saturdays are no writing, no typing, no computers, TV, radio, telephone days (I know, it sounds weird if you’re not into it and before I started doing it I thought it totally bizarre. It turns out to be a real pleasure – but I digress.) Anyway I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bait and switch. I just didn’t think.

Oh – and I promise to post AT LEAST 30 posts this month -just not on Saturdays. — And to stay out of the hospital — at least this month.