In an Orion Magazine essay, a former high school computer teacher argues that school computer labs can cause more harm than good. Recent research indicates that students who frequently use computers perform worse academically than those who use them rarely or not at all, he writes. And allowing kids access to virtual worlds filled with vicarious thrills they can control “can lead children into deadened, alienated, and manipulated relationships” with the real world. “The more external power children have at their disposal, the more difficult it will be for them to develop the inner capacities to use that power wisely.”