School iPads to cost nearly $100 more each, revised budget shows

[ET Awful]

43. So your argument boils down to

a misbelief that employers won't ask people to have a full working knowledge of computers and the internet?

Let me tell you, in over 20 years of working in law firms, pharmaceutical companies, ad agencies and many other industries, unless you want people only working manual labor, we don't hire people who can't use a computer without asking for help every five minutes.

If I ask an employee to research a product, a client, a new software program or anything else, guess what they have to use to do that. Go ahead, let me know.

Most employers don't have the time to train people how to do the fundamental aspects of their job, sorry. That's why they hire people who already have skills and training.

What you're describing is training people to the lowest common denominator. Do you know what that does? That makes employers look past those people and hire the skills elsewhere, such as H1B visa holders, etc.

This may come as a shock to you, but in the 21st century, using a computer IS the job in most situations.

For instance, if we're looking for an analytical chemist, that person doesn't just need to know chemistry, they need to know how to use HPLC devices connected to computers running specialized software that in turn exports data to be used in Excel and other programs to generate reports, supporting documentation and other forms of data required for our records.

Do you think our company would hire someone who was merely a chemist with no background using the same or similar software?

If we were looking for an ad exec/graphic design person, do you think we'd hire someone who had no experience using page layout software, graphic design software, etc?

Here's another hint for you - both of those jobs require frequent use of the internet to do research, analyze the competition, etc.

You're stuck in decades old thinking and working in a mindset that keeps the US behind in education, etc.

If we use your criteria, you're not just setting students up for substandard education, but setting them up for difficulty even getting into college which also requires use of computers, internet research, etc.