A lot of things I do now as an adult I would not recommend to a child for a variety of reasons, which used to be obvious, but maybe not anymore.

I love a glass (or two) of ale at dinner.

I love living with the same woman, sharing our words, our air, our bodies.

On a rare late August night I love puffing on a cigar with friends, feeling the nicotine wend its way through my brain.

None of these belong in elementary school, but the first two will prolong most lives (and add happiness); the cigars are not benign, but are rare enough (one every 3 or 4 years) that the risk is likely low.

***

A calculator is a wonderful tool for those who know numbers. It is disastrous in the hands of everyone else.

A digital clock is a wonderful tool for those who know time. It does not belong in a classroom until children get a sense of how we measure time in cycles, using an old-fashioned clock face.

A computer is a wonderful tool for people who lead meaningful lives, who know what they want, who have tasted enough of life outside the human cult to resist the online siren. (I am not one of them. Few of us are.) It does not belong in any classroom where children spend more time in front of monitors than outside--and that includes what happens at home.

If the parents act like fools, not much the schools can do, but that does not give us permission to be foolhardy as well.

***

Do children need to learn how to use calculators? Sure, but if a child knows numbers inside out, I can teach her how to use a fancy calculator in less than a day.

Do children need to learn how to use computers? Sure, but they will anyway. Let's use the mandatory school hours to learn how to live a live that's useful.

Stephen Downes, a "Canadian education technology research specialist," wrote "Things You Really Need to Learn" a stunning and succinct post now on The Huffington Post, well worth a read.

Here's Stephen Downes' list:

1. How to predict consequences
2. How to read
3. How to distinguish truth from fiction
4. How to empathize
5. How to be creative
6. How to communicate clearly
7. How to learn
8. How to stay healthy
9. How to value yourself
10. How to live meaningfully

When I make a batch of ale, tossing yeast into a carboy of hops and malted barley, I hit at least 7 out of 10.

A computer in the classroom might hit a few of them, but I'd argue works against a few of them (3, 8, and 10) as well, and in any case, is not needed for any of them.

How many do classrooms hit in a day? A week? A year?

Meanwhile, the bigger issue today--do I clam barefoot if the air temperature barely hits 40° F?
The airlock is from my melomel brewing, not the ale. Truth from fiction.