Shut down the school laptops program? This may be the best suggestion our governor has made, since being in office. I can see the usefulness of it in the higher grades but wouldn’t it be nice to have some money available to buy, say, classroom supplies, books, better pay for our teachers?

I work in a K-8 school where there is zero — yes zero — technology used, to teach students. Crazy? These students transition quite easily into local high schools and are highly regarded for their ability to think on their feet and offer creative solutions to topics or problems. Children are inundated with media as it is. Give them a space where they can think, without a screen in their face.

Need more money in school budgets? Every sports team in our public schools should be pay to play, in my opinion. Not fair, you say? Somehow peewee teams and the like have succeeded all these years. Think of the money going to sports equipment, coaching and busing for girls’ and boys’ teams of how many sports? It’s crazy.

I’d rather my tax money be spent on teaching. So many generations were able to learn good, solid basics, without computers. Look at the global ranking of where we stand educationally. Computers aren’t helping us! We need to get back to the basics of learning, before we jumble these poor kids heads, with more information than they need to know on a daily basis. Oh, and turn off the TV once in a while and send those kids outside — without a phone, ipod or electronic game, in their hands. Remember how great it felt to climb a tree, ride a bike, go fishing? You might like the results!

Donna Wenckus

Pittston