I do something every month that is very dear to my heart - once a month I visit my local elementary school where I am a volunteer teacher for the computer club. This is one of the most cherished things I do. The club meets once a week with a regular teacher along with the volunteer for the week. We affectionately call ourselves "geeks of the week."

It's amazing to me how fast children can learn. Once children find an interest, their capacity to explore and invent explodes. One bright young girl (who is interested in anything solar powered) noticed that the sun angle changes everyday; she wanted to write a program that would compute this angle, therefore determining the optimal angle to place solar panels perpendicular to the sun. What happened to creating styrofoam planets for the science fair?

Extracurricular clubs give children a venue to express interests in the world outside the rigid one-size-fits-all approach of many schools. One problem - the computer club was cut from the school budget. Starting next fall, it will be gone for good.

Of course we fought this. Since the program was basically staffed by volunteers, we argued that there were no staffing costs, even the one "paid" teacher offered her time for free. Even the equipment, we argued, can be donated from offices and homes.

The problem is not only money, unbelievably it's time. It goes like this: like most other public schools across the country, schools are competing for tax revenue; tax money is directly attached to scores on tests supplied by the state. These tests have been around for a long time - I'm sure you remember taking them. But in this day and age so much is resting on these test scores, it's affecting the very way our children learn. If students don't do well on the tests, it can affect how much money the school gets. At no time in our history has so much pressure been put on children. The pressure is so intense that class curriculums are starting to change. I have been told quietly by teachers that the subject matter has been changed to reflect the type of questions that will be on the competency exam. We are starting to teach "for the test" and not "for life." In some districts, the pressure is so intense, educators are "focusing" the children's attention on the test - and solely the test. Any instruction or time spent on activities other than studying for it is wasted.

Goodbye computer club. Students in nonathletic clubs will be encouraged to attend after-school study sessions. Amazing. This sends the wrong message. As adults, we often accuse children of being apathetic, overweight, and otherwise listless. On the other hand, we're quick to put such an emphasis on something so superficial. Are tests important? Of course they are, but at what cost? Should we eliminate other avenues of learning because of them?

When I was in grammar school my grades weren't exactly exemplary, not because I wasn't smart, but because like most other kids I was basically bored. Many children find other interests outside of the classroom. While some kids light up in social studies, other children need and seek an additional outlet in which to shine.

Other out-of-class venues such as extra curricular activities in sports or computer clubs offer children a way to explore and excel in activities that are not offered during school. Some excel physically on the football field or the volleyball court. Some, as in the computer club, meet with others with the same interests. Together they can create, share, and explore. It can be argued that real learning occurs outside of school; the classroom acts merely as a springboard to topics that may be of interest.

When fall approaches I'm sure another venue will be found for the computer club; no doubt it will still meet at members' homes, the park district, or the library, but that's not the point. These kids got the message from supposed educators that their club is not important enough to be school sanctioned. As one child put it "they [the school] want us to be like little robots." Another joked "maybe, but who will then build them?" The answer is always the same. Cash- and time-strapped educators will tell you that the focus has always been reading and writing. At the rate they're eliminating programs, soon they will have nothing to read and write about.