“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said headmaster James Tracy.
Posted on 09/06/2009 10:11:42 PM PDT by Wardenclyffe
ASHBURNHAM - There are rolling hills and ivy-covered brick buildings. There are small classrooms, high-tech labs, and well-manicured fields. There’s even a clock tower with a massive bell that rings for special events.
Cushing Academy has all the hallmarks of a New England prep school, with one exception.
This year, after having amassed a collection of more than 20,000 books, officials at the pristine campus about 90 minutes west of Boston have decided the 144-year-old school no longer needs a traditional library. The academy’s administrators have decided to discard all their books and have given away half of what stocked their sprawling stacks - the classics, novels, poetry, biographies, tomes on every subject from the humanities to the sciences. The future, they believe, is digital.
Instead of a library, the academy is spending nearly $500,000 to create a “learning center,’’ though that is only one of the names in contention for the new space. In place of the stacks, they are spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels. Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said headmaster James Tracy.
This man is very short-sighted.
I agree. There's something about books, about going to a library or used book store. In my neighborhood there's a wonderful used book store with old wooden shelves and rickety stairs. I can (and have) spent hours perusing. I hope this knucklehead's idea doesn't take hold. But, unfortunately, the bean counters will see it as "progress."
From families with way more money than most folks.
These kids wont be be reading on the library’s Kindle’s for the most part. Their families will buy them high end Irex readers and tablet PCs. Given equipment of that quality this is a good move. Every student could borrow an assigned book at the same time.
Exactly. “When I look at college campuses, I see an outdated technology."
The counter-arguments will be the same as the arguments against homeschooling: The poor dears will miss out on "socialization," even if the socialization includes among other things binge drinking and date rape.
Send them to me. I want them all.
This is how it generally works in most top-ranked engineering schools today. MIT, GTech, USC, et al, do it this way.
Being set up rather nicely for the next Dark Ages, aren’t we? These guys claim to be in the education business but don’t see the value in knowledge stores that don’t require any additional technology for use once created? Digital information is a convenience for civilization, but it should not be trusted as a lifeline. A man with a book has knowledge at his fingertips, but a man with an ebook has only the need for a compatible computer, OS, power source, etc.
Somehow, I don't think books are going away. I don't mind reading online. But I like the stability and permanence of books.
Until people stop reading all together books will be here.
Can you download kindle books to a CD or your computer?
As another poster noted; e-books can be wiped out intentionally or unintentionally. Computers can crash, systems can crash. But a book is autonomous. A book is a work of art. A book will last a long time if it’s taken care of. I do a lot of reading on the internet, but I always have a few books on my nightstand, in my car, in my house. I don’t get the same feeling reading great literature on a computer. For me a book is a friend.
“Fahrenheit 451” here we come!
Although I like the idea of being able to change font size for readability, I don’t want to have to rely on electricity or battery power in order to read.
This kind of “education” is perfect for the future NYT or CBS reporter. Imagine working on a piece, and all you have to do is a word search for the phrases that will support your predetermined reality. There you have the building blocks of your typical MSM reporting. No need to slog through whole pages or - Obama forbid! - chapters of difficult reading to get a real expanse and depth of knowledge. No point in that when your mind, so full of youthful brilliance, is already made up.
Digital TV has resulted in books becoming an outdated technology. Therefore, kids will no longer have to learn to read The next great leap in our social evolution will be to place chips inside the heads of students, thereby eliminating the necessity for them to learn to think.
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