Article Summar

Title of Article: "Wanted: I.T. Experts (No Adults, Please)"
Publisher: The New York Times
Date of Publication: September 13, 2007
Author: Michelle Slatalla
Summary:
This article is a detailed account of a real-life experience the author, Michelle Slatalla, encountered. The author describes a situation in which her neighbor was looking for technical support from a member of Slatalla’s family. The story goes on to tell that since Slatalla’s husband was not available to help with the neighbor’s problem she instead was looking for assistance from Slatalla’s daughter, Clementine. Clementine, a fifth grade student, was more knowledgeable than her mother when it came to circumstances requiring tech-support. Slatalla states that while Clementine did “not look like the archetypal I.T. guy in a black T-shirt who sits hunched over a computer screen with a a Mountain, Dew, she did share some of t the same DNA.” (Slatalla, p. 1)
Slatalla uses statistics from the “Bureau of Labor Statistics” to make reference to the skills that her daughter possessed that made her qualified to be a “computer support specialist.” The article goes on to tell of how Clementine was able to solve the neighboring family’s dilemma. She even went so far as to write out a “cheat sheet” for the adults in the family so that they could assist their children (ages 4 and 7) when using the internet.
This article does a great job of citing an example of how well prepared many of today’s youths are to face the ever increasing demand for technologically savvy individuals in the workplace. Though the author’s daughter was only a sixth grade student at the time, she was well-trained in the proper use of various computational skills.
After reading this article, I was happy to see an example of how one young girl was capable of exceeding expectations of technological literacy skills. I believe that this is a very promising realization. I feel strongly that it is my duty as a teacher to continue to challenge my students. I believe that very often today’s students very capable of successfully employing technological literacy skills with great ease.