Revere, Don’t Shun, Internet as Tool of Learning, Empowerment

What’s wrong with students having access to the works of the great masters via the Internet? Why shouldn’t a student who has no ability to draw have the right to take advantage of the wealth of research, knowledge and history of great artists’ works as found on the Internet?

I completely disagree with the conclusions expressed by Alicia A. Reynolds in her article “Misapplication of Computers Is Stifling Creativity” (Ventura County Perspective, March 8).

The Internet is a great tool of empowerment that allows students immediate access to the great works of history. This tool should be revered, not shunned.

With regard to Reynolds’ suggestion that the Internet stifles creativity, it takes a tremendous amount of creativity to go through the millions of pages on the Internet and take out those stories, articles and drawings that illustrate a student’s point of view.

An enormous amount of talent and creativity are required to pull together the perfect combination and balance of information into a concise report for a school project.

Of course, I do not condone plagiarism. Credit should be given to the source of the students’ ideas.

However, the ability to find, synthesize and blend the works of others is a great talent that students should be encouraged to develop--early and often.

What’s wrong with aspiring to be a Van Gogh, a Placido Domingo or a Toni Morrison?

What’s wrong with raising the bar on the goals of students?

To become great, one should spend time studying, digesting, living with the works of the great teachers who came before. We must imitate and copy the styles of the masters before we can master our own gifts.

One of the things lacking in our school system is students’ proficiency in their ability to do research and to learn from the works of others. I believe that Reynolds missed the point of the positive power of the Internet and its potential wealth of learning.

Children should not be encouraged to re-create the wheel every time, but should be encouraged to learn from those who have come before and then build from there.

Not everyone will be a creative genius inventing new thoughts all the time, but everyone can learn by synthesizing what has come before and then attempting to enhance and go beyond if they are so motivated.