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i tt p 4 the tribune thursday july 31 1997 b 5 st thursday july 31 1997 vol 109 no 44 the tribune opinions send your letters to the editor to the address below government unions to battle over bill 136 is the government of ontario going too far with bill 136 the public sector transition stability act while many certainly applaud the governments move to curb the power of unions mike harris and company are setting themselves up for a heck of a fight on this issue however judging by what happened at queens park during the opseu strike last year theres certainly no love lost between this government and members of orga nized labor predictably union leaders are talking tough they are promising mass protests and strikes to protest the legisla tion whether this strategy will be successful remains to beseen but the days of action didnt slow mike harris and company one step more confrontation on this issue will probably only harden the governments resolve however the point the government may be missing is that union membership in ontario crosses a broad spectrum it runs from seam stresses to steelworkers teachers to police officers includes firefighters and even doctors the problem here is so typical of the overkill to which this government is prone it constantly goes after flies with baseball bats just as the previous ndp governments changes to the labor laws went too far in favor of the unions this latest bill goes too far in restricting the rights of unions i suppbse with ontarios evereasing liquor laws we shouldnt e too he9 computers should not replace real learning every time i hear education bureaucrats ranting about the need for more computers in the classroom cold shivers creep up my spine like tiny spiders with icy legs as many a luddite has declared technology can light up a screen but not a mind before plunging into this murky microchip miasma edu- crats should be taking a hard look at the socalled benefits of a wired classroom with pupils wide open we must beware of those who imagine that gadgets alone can produce enlightening civilizing results they are putting the tech nological horse before the moral and intellectual cart warned edward duggan president of the us public broadcasting sys tem during his recent address at the couchiching conference in geneva park duggan was also sharply criti cal of what he called the foolish utopianism of computer push ers and lambasted the informa tion superhighway as nothing more than a tower of babel that dumbs us down instead of smartening us up one of his recommendations was that we end this obsession with data and information and aspire once again to judgment intelligence and wisdom we should all heed duggan s words sadly too many parents sanc tion this mad rush toward class room automation transforming unsuspecting youth into piddling information serfs and internet junkies seems to be the latest viewpoint tarin elbert yuppie obsession computer shops are awash with anxious moms and dads clambering to bring home the latest techno marvels faster bigger smarter just like they want their kids to be my parents used to tell me that eating copious amounts of spin ach like popeye did would get the same results now we know that these bitter green leaves contain a compound which actu ally inhibits the bodys absorp tion of nutrients like iron most parents have nothing but good intentions for their off spring those wiring up their kids believe they are giving them a leg up in the ultracompetitive informationisking workplace of the future their children they reason will have the edge a head start on a prosperous future logic follows then that we should be putting razorsharp surgical scalpels in the hands of excitable 12yearolds in the hope that they will grow up to be better surgeons johnny wheres spot fact is computers are becom ing as easy to operate as a dim mer switch the next generation of pcs wont even come with keyboards what with voice command and the smart mouse relegating most of the computer skills youngsters learn today to the burgeoning circular file a tragic waste of our precious education dollars moreover despite the hype we silently endure most jobs in the 21st century will require but a rudimentary knowledge of com puters well still need wellpaid skilled workers like electricians plumbers mechanics and all manner of service people our kids cant all be computer programmers and the like are we raising a whole genera tion of computer smart alecs with tainted expectations rude awakening here we come lets not forget that computer geeks like billionaire marketing maverick bill gates didnt know a micro chip from a banana chip when he was growing up and that already it takes but a few hours of able instruction to make the average youth comput er competent most telling however is that hooking children up to informa tion portals today will not prove advantageous in their futures everyone will have instant ac cess to the same knowledge base the qualities that will give your child an edge are all of those which cannot be taught by brainsinabox or by teachers consigned to being highpriced babysitters in automated class rooms as duggan advises only by aspiring once again to judg ment intelligence and wisdom can we nurture a generation of critical minds sparked by com passion not facts and figures this is the real challenge for parents and educators comput ers must never be allowed to rule the classroom lastly those of us who have been ballandchained to com puter posts since the com modore 64 days point with taut middle fingers to the myriad of physical ailments associated with these technoage grim reapers tense necks and shoulders which no amount of ben gay can alleviate chronic back pain severe eye strain carpel tunnel etc then theres the radiation fac tor i remember when pregnant women were issued protective lead aprons while working with computers despite assurances from man ufacturers that nuke levels have been significantly reduced no amount of radiation exposure is truly safe yet most people work with their noses inches from their equipment for hours on end cancer anyone do we want our kids most of whom have yet to learn that a computer is a tool not a toy rude awakening 2 whining like spoiled brats about their aching wrists and backs while glowing like lightbulbs long before they hang diplomas on their walls thats rude awakening 3 stouffville tribune patricia pappas publisher andrew mair editorinchief julie caspersen editor debra weller director of advertising mike rogerson retail advertising manager stacey allen classified manager barry goodyear director of distribution vivian oneil business manager pamela nichols operations manager about us st 0 int wvm thf sunibvnio iwbunc pub- nelruund pfclnllne pbuhln and outribuuon gwujfcof lb bnrtn letters policy the tribune welcomes your letters to the editor please keep letters to no more than 300 words note that letters may be edited for space libel spelling grammar while we 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