This letter went out to some parents in Caddo Parish yesterday. Give it some thought.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Dumbing down our schools
For years all we have heard in Louisiana is that education is the key to any future economic improvement and success. Our Governor travels the country touting his success in reforming education. It's being re-formed all right, but not in a good way.
This letter went out to some parents in Caddo Parish yesterday. Give it some thought.
This letter went out to some parents in Caddo Parish yesterday. Give it some thought.
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My opinion depends on what the library would be replaced with. As long as the children have access to the same information through technology then I'm fine with the elimination of the library. With the invention of smart phones, iPads and other devices I can get to information a lot faster than going to a library. I personally have no need to go to the library anymore.
ReplyDeleteWe need to stop being so dependent on technology; having children read real books isn't going to harm them...it will only enrich them. It's disheartening to watch so many fundamental foundations for children being stripped from them in favor of technology. Children need to learn how to pursue information without resorting to punching a few keys on a keyboard/phone. They need to be able to explore all avenues or we rob them of a future.
ReplyDeleteDo you think our ancestors would say "a 2 week ship voyage wouldn't hurt them if they need to cross the ocean" or "they should walk or ride their horse instead of those newfangled automobiles" ?
DeleteI think technology is great, but it should be an addition to the central repository - the library - and not replace it.
ReplyDelete10:20 - I agree that technology is great, I take full advantage of it - I just don't believe that it should take the place of hard copy books.
Why? Jimbo, we didn't need a mule-wagon to carry harvest to town after we got trucks.
ReplyDeleteI understand the affection for the Libary...really, I do. I taken Libary Science as a class at Bossier High School in 1976. Really...they had an elective known as "Libary Science." (I will not divulge the REAL reason I took the class, as the Libarian I wanted to spend an hour with each day is still alive...so far as I know).
Regardless, time is marching on. Most books will not be read the way we read them in just a couple of decades...heck, maybe even sooner. I don't have any figures, but I would bet that as many books are read on an electronic device as on dead trees now. I see co-workers on their breaks absorbed in their Kindles, or whatever...friends reading The Holy Bible on their iPhones...most all of it at extremely cheap prices (or free). I'd bet it's even more so in big metropolitan areas.
And, the balance will shift quickly toward digital media junk everywhere else, and in other arenas. In FACT...I have been WAY pissed off at the cost of college text books that my children have been FORCED to purchase...don't get me started...
Okay...I'm started...$275 for a stinkin' text book on Englishsomethinornuther? And, they can sell it back when they finish the class to the college bookstore for maybe $100???
Maybe.
Heck, the whole dang book could be on their laptop, or iPad through a download, or a disc for probably 1/10th of the price.
Times are changing. Libaries just MAY become a thing of the past. I won't be thrilled about it, but I won't lose any sleep over it, either.
We rarely ever disagree. But, I just see hard copy books being more of a novelty, or a collectors item by the time I croak.
But, that's just me...
I have no disagreement on college textbooks, great to download. So are a lot of teaching materials. I have no problem with all the new technology, I'm just saying don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
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