Software giant Microsoft has proposed settling the myriad class-action lawsuits it faces by contributing a billion-plus dollars worth of software, computer equipment, technology training and cash to schools attended by low-income youngsters. Yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured an op-ed by Checker Finn explaining why the software giant's offer - if approved by the plaintiffs and a federal judge - is unlikely to do much good for the kids who attend those schools. Lack of technology is not the main problem these schools face, he writes, and the schools that succeed with low-income pupils don't generally surround them with electronics. Instead, "they engage knowledgeable and committed teachers to deliver a powerful, coherent, curriculum built on high standards of skills and knowledge." While disadvantaged children may not benefit, Microsoft surely will; the company can raise its market share in schools and deepen their dependency on its products, even as the plaintiffs' attorneys walk home with fat fees for devising this scheme. "Microsoft Settlement Won't Benefit Schools," by Chester E. Finn Jr., The Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2001. (available to subscribers only)
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Chester E. Finn, Jr.