Shall we encourage ebooks for young people?
May I interrupt the chaos the education community is facing at a national level to ask your help with a question I've been pondering? I'm genuinely interested in your suggestions.…
Looking into the playground next door, I often see parents reading books to their children. Then, as soon as the youngster runs off to play, the adult picks up their phone.
Are we teaching our young people a hidden lesson? That printed books are for kids while digital technology is for grownups?
Last week I applied for a grant to fund giving young people and caregivers ebooks, and to train them how to get them onto their devices. The idea? "You always have a book in your pocket."
"That's not what teachers and parents want," said my wife, who teaches at a high school. My own experience agrees. Cinderella Spinderella allowed readers to choose whether the hero was black, white, asian, south asian or hispanic. We had to do print runs, which only allowed for one option.
I love printed books – single-purpose objects that delight, engage, educate, entertain and challenge.
And yet I come back to the question of ebooks.
Ebooks (like printed books) are among the best tools to allow engagement in long-form thinking. Unlike a website or an InstaSnap, an ebook remains static and unchanged. Notes can be taken. It can be found or rediscovered with ease.
If we want our children to read books, isn't it a good idea to encourage them to use the tools they will always have at hand?
So I'm asking for your feedback, advice and suggestions. I genuinely want to know what you think. What experiences have you had? Successes? Failures?
Thank you for your time.
– Mark
P.S. Also let me know if you know an organization that might be interested in being part of the “Ebook in your Pocket” giveaway program.
