I left school in the early 70s without a single academic qualification. I tottered into my first job interview on 3" platform soles, wearing a suit with 28" flared trousers, and hair so long I could almost sit on it. The interview lasted two minutes and I started work the next day. I got bored after six weeks and left, walking straight into another job with better pay. Within four months I had changed my employment once more, again with a pay increase. This potted history of my early working life only serves to prove how times (and fashions!) have changed.
These days, probably more than at any other time, a good education is vital if you want to be taken seriously by an employer. Many of you are all too aware of this (judging by the number of people who gave 'Educational Software' a "9" on their EUG questionnaires!) and are keen to give your children (and grandchildren) all the help you can. To aid
you in this task, a company called Rickitt Educational Media produce a full colour catalogue of educational software for all popular home computers, including over thirty titles for the Electron.
There is something for almost every age range, from pre-school to adult. Detailed descriptions - including screenshots in many cases - of all items are given, and the colour-coded index system will help you to assess a program's suitability at a glance. You'll find the three Rs catered for quite fully, as well as quiz and puzzle software covering a wide range of topics.
Nobody is claiming that sitting a child down in front of a computer running educational software is going to turn them into a genius, least of all Rickitt, but as they point out at the front of the catalogue, with adequate adult supervision it can be very beneficial and fun! Let's hope that today's children will benefit from the educational opportunities that people like me didn't have, and that future generations will have more sense that to be seen wearing flared trousers!
1st September 1992