Karl Marx's theory of stages can be applied to computer use in the schools. The first stage, the P Stage, comprises the entry of the computer into the school. Computer use at this stage is personal and tends to center around one personality. Social studies teachers are seldom among this select few. The second stage of computer use, the D Stage, is characterized by the diffusion of computers into other areas of the school. The social studies teachers harbor great hopes at the D Stage. They expect computers to help students with the drill and memorization of the basic facts so they can proceed to the more important concepts. Disillusionment often accompanies the second half of the D Stage although computers do not whither away. In the T Stage the computer is seen and used chiefly as a tool, and is rarely considered as an end in itself or as an object to be studied. Jean Piaget posited stages of growth and concluded with Marx that students cannot go from stage one to stage three without moving through stage two. It may be possible for social studies teachers, however, to skip over the peculiarities of programming and the disappointment of drill-and-practice since social studies software for the T Stage is readily available from commercial publishers. A jump right into the T Stage may, in fact, be the best way for the social studies to enter the information age. (BZ)