When I arrived at the computer center of the school, I found out that there were only four out of 24 computers that functions. Each of them ...
When I arrived at the computer center of the school, I found out that there were only four out of 24 computers that functions. Each of them accommodates a group of 4 to 5 students at a time. And the rest awaits for their turn outside. And if they have had a good luck that day, the bell rungs and yet they have never had the chance to even touch the mouse. They have to wait for the following week.
I never hesitated to open one by one the rest of the CPUs and started to fix them. Almost all of the power supplies are malfunctioning, destroyed, all caused by the bad supply of electricity in the area. Current would just come and go without knowing when will it happen or when will it come back. The generator that we have in the school could only supply for four open computers at a time. While I was fixing the units, I requested to put the generator to the maximum power voltage that it could give. Then the rest of the computers run. Out of the 12 displayed units in the laboratory, ten are now functioning well. I upgraded them all to windows seven, installed the latest softwares, installed encarta for students in almost all of them so that students may truly make use the most out of it.
I was thinking, if they are already living in this kind of situation: there’s always the fear of war, they are poor, they travel far just to get to school, etc etc, then why don’t we give them all the best that they could have if we can? Why use windows XP when they can use the 7? Why teach them the least when we can give them all so that they too can share what they have had? Why limit them to the least rather than boost their knowledge for the sake of progress? It is not a reason that just because we are in the mountain, then we never dream of having the same level of education that we get from the lowlands. Everybody has the right to education, to equal education. I do not agree that only certain levels should be given to them or that they could get.
Due to the lack of units and to electrical problems, only the third and fourth year could use the computer lab. So while I was fixing the units, some of the lower years were peeping on the windows and some were just standing at the door. Finally I let them in and let them play and gave them the chance to discover new ideas regarding computers. Then I asked some of them to assist me in fixing the softwares by teaching them how to do it step by step. That very moment, I just wanted to let them feel that they are part of education, that they had been part in bringing back to life all those dead computers they have had in the lab, and that they can be proud to say too “Oh, I was the one who installed that!”
I want all the best for these students. And the technology education is just one part of that. Hay muchas cosas que hacer, muchas cosas que ellos deberian obtener tambien igual con los de mas. SÃ que es posible. But that could never be realized without your generous help. Por favor, necesitamos vuestra ayuda para obtener nuevos libros de la sciencia, technologia, practica y lo mas importante un generador de corriente que pueda sustener los doce ordenadores sin tener que apagar las luces de las aulas y desenchufar cualquier aparato en el Colegio Claret para que los estudiantes podrian aprender por lo menos como escribir en un ordenador. Para que ellos podrian ser mas equipados igual con los de mas. Para que, por lo menos, ellos saben algo como los estudiantes ricos de tu ciudad.
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