The Next Great Crisis in American Education: Computer Literacy

The information explosion in science and the shift in our economy from the production of industrial goods to a greater emphasis on science and knowledge-based industries has created a discontinuity in the nature of jobs and our educational needs. Ironically, wide-spread dissatisfaction with our schools has lead to a nationwide, back-to-basics movement. Computers which have become indispensible to the operation of science, business, and government are not a major part of American education. While many schools have introduced computers into their curriculum, these local efforts only partially satisfy the country's needs at costs which are prohibitive and unnecessary when viewed nationally. In an information society, a computer literate populace is as important as energy is to an industrial society. Other nations have begun the task of restructuring their systems to include computers and unless we begin soon, the next crisis in American education will be the computer literacy crisis.