“At what age should you buy your kids their first computer?”
My sister, my mom and my aunt are all elementary school level educators, so I like teasing them with questions like these during Christmas diner. All I got was blank stares.
I happily pointed out that blackboards are rapidly being replaced by Smartboards in schools all over the country. Kids take their presentations to school in the form of a powerpoint file saved on USB sticks these days.
That must have struck a nerve with my aunt:“If we’re not careful, kids will end up staring at computer screens all day instead of reading real books!”
She nearly got me there because I like books. I like the way they feel, the way they smell and the way they look standing neatly shoulder to shoulder on a bookshelf. Most of all books are brain-food. Many of us grew up with the idea that owning many books is a sign of a proper education (much like reading the right kind of newspapers.)
A dangerous idea has been entrenched itself in our minds: our kids need books. To insist kids need books isn’t just elitist, it’s potentially destructive. Just like clay tablets, papyrus and leather-bound calligraphy before them books are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. As we speak books are being replaced by laptops and e-readers.
Still many well intending parents and educators are spending a lot of energy preparing kids to live in a world of books – a world that no longer exists. These kids are doomed. Bibliophiles are wreaking havoc on a generation.
Shouldn’t we commit all our energy preparing our kids to thrive and compete in tomorrow’s world instead?
Ik vond deze website op google en ik wil even zeggen dat ik je stukje met plezier gelezen heb.