In a city with 60% of kids on free and reduced lunch, how many do you think have broadband internet at home?The digital divide has narrowed dramatically in the past decade. About two-thirds of American households report using the Internet at home, according to the U.S. Census. In affluent Washington suburbs, the numbers are higher; more than 90 percent of Fairfax households with children have home computers, according to a recent survey by the school system.
But even in Fairfax, the digital divide lives on in the study carrels of the Woodrow Wilson public library in the Falls Church area. Most afternoons, it is crowded with students from low-income or immigrant families using the computers. Although they live in one of the richest counties in the United States, these students recount skipping lunch to work at school labs or making long journeys to the public library after school.
(come to think of it, we should ask)
The Worcester Public Library is a similar scene as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes, Nicole! You're right.
ReplyDeleteAnd, on a darkly entertaining note, my eldest (she's in 3rd grade) came home from school after I posted this with a research project. First place to start? Google it. No problem here, but what about for everyone else?