April 19, 1997
To: All Americans
From: Al Gore (vice-president@whitehouse.gov)
Subject: NetDay97
On Saturday, April 19, 1997, thousands of volunteers across the country
will begin wiring their schools to the Information Superhighway. I
congratulate you, along
with all of the organizers, sponsors and volunteers who are participating
in this historic and exciting effort. Your efforts to connect the
students in your home town to
the internet is a fine example of the work being done around the country
to connect our young people to the future.
President Clinton and I helped to wire classrooms in March during the
first NetDay in California. Our goal is to ensure that every young person
is technologically
literate by the 21st century. We must give them the tools they need to be
successful in the Information Age, and it starts in classrooms and
libraries across the
country.
Technology is a powerful tool for teaching and learning. In schools that
have computers and access to the Internet, teachers can exchange lesson
plans with each
other and communicate with parents via electronic mail. Students can log
into the Library of Congress to research a history paper, communicate in
real-time with
scientists in Antarctica, and learn about the possibility of life on Mars
from the NASA home page on the World Wide Web. When students get hooked
on learning, test scores go up and dropout and absenteeism rates go down.
NetDay sponsors, organizers and volunteers help to build a bridge to the
21st century for all of our nation's children -- rich and poor, urban and
rural. There is
nothing more important then providing young people with the resources and
opportunities they need to succeed in the future.
Congratulations and thank you, again, to all of those participating in
NetDays across the country. For more information on NetDay activities in
all 50 states, visit the NetDay home page at www.netday96.com.
Al Gore
