The young generation has computers at its fingertips. File

The Editor, Sir:

As one gets older, the tendency is always to be looking back at the 'good old days', but in hindsight, were they really the good old days?

With the advent of new technology, human beings all over the world have come a long way.

keeping in touch

With the advent of the computer, we are able to keep in touch with relatives and friends all over the world and from all this we gain increase in knowledge and learn to keep in touch with modern trends.

I wonder if the younger generation knows how lucky it is with all this technology at our fingertips? A lot of the chore has been taken out of education and the interchange between different countries and cultures has been a good teaching tool. In our own country, the challenge is to get this knowledge to everyone and thus improve the dialogue between us all. I am glad to see that more and more, we are moving to ensure that each educational facility has the benefit of computers as one element of this development.

a good basic education

Our youngsters must know that it is imperative that they move into the 21st century and to eagerly accept all the technology that is now available. This, however, requires a good basic education and unfortunately, at this stage in our history, we are very far from achieving this goal. It is, therefore, imperative that all in charge of our education system work together as a team so that each child receives a well-rounded education in order to give him or her the tools to deal with the outside world. Already, there are more of us outside of Jamaica than are in Jamaica. The diaspora must, therefore, be fully equipped to represent us all over the world and this can only happen if they are well educated.

It is also imperative that those who opt to remain on the rock ensure that they, too, receive a well-rounded education so that they can help to push this country forward. We are a great little country and well respected all over the world, but we do have to try our best to get rid of the very poor behaviour of some of us who continue to let down the side.

Youngsters of today do not realise how lucky they are to be getting free education and to have options to secure student loans, bursaries, etc, to go on to higher learning. In my day, we had no such privileges - if your parents did not have the funds after graduating from high school, you had to go immediately into the working world.

I am, etc.,

BARBARA COVER

Kingston 6