And this is where they’re headed…
Thanks to Linda, who sent in this news tip. And as much as I would like to pretend it’s just a bad dream, I know it isn’t and it’s too important to ignore.
A New York City school has decided to go bookless. Administrators at the Life Sciences Secondary School–where, last year, only 5% of middle school students passed the state math exam and only 9% of them passed the state English exam, have decreed that books are “antiquated and outdated” and have scooped up all the textbooks to get rid of them (https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2017/05/03/a-new-york-school-is-trashing-all-its-textbooks-to-go-modern/).
Some teachers–enemies of the people, no doubt–have tried to hide their textbooks. Supposedly the books will all be replaced by computers, but the geniuses running the show haven’t actually bought more than a very few computers. Meanwhile, the kids have nothing to bring home to study.
“No more homework, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks!” We used to sing that as kids. But we were only joking. Life Sciences Secondary School isn’t joking.
Is it possible that they’re getting rid of books because they never got around to teaching all their students how to read? When it comes to public education, never assume literacy.
Hey, New York City taxpayers! How much are you paying these people to teach your kids how to be ignoramuses?
But then that has always been the aim of public education.
There are so many disturbing elements to this. Revisionists will have a field day. And indoctrination has taken a giant step forward. I sure hope some of the families of these young people have good sets of encyclopedias and can form study groups. Better yet, home school!
Linda, you really nailed it.
While I am a big fan of Kindle books, etc, there are two huge downsides. For one thing, there is an external record of everything you read, every note, every bookmark. Big brother loves the e-book. Secondly, and every bit as disturbing, with an e-book, it is quite simple to revise the record and the reader may not even know what happened.
I use the Internet for a lot of bible research, but I keep hard copies of several translations, because I fully expect that we will one day see online bibles that are edited to suit the civil authorities.
Lest I end on a negative note, I see these technologies as being very, very useful as teaching tools. I don’t have a strong opinion about what technologies we will use in the restoration of all things. I see technology itself as neutral, neither intrinsically good or intrinsically bad, but perhaps on an earth fully blessed by God such technologies might truly be used for the blessing of all mankind. This one is in God’s hands.
I have heard they can also take your kindle book away from you whether you want to keep it or not.
There’s probably some truth to that. Overall, I’ve had good service from Amazon with regard to Kindle purchases, and they would probably suffer from significant consumer outcry if they took a book away without some sort of compensation, but they can definitely control matters in a manner that would be impossible with a print copy.
Besides which, who wants to take a computer to bed? That’s what books are for!
I use an iPad for Kindle reading. The actual Kindles, are quite small, light and inexpensive. Notwithstanding the concerns voiced above, I am a big fan of the Kindle concept. It’s pretty amazing to be able to buy a book at midnight on Sunday and start reading it immediately.
I appreciate my Kindle because, as you said, it’s available right away, it’s lightweight and the backlight and print size adjustments make the Kindle very convenient. I do, however, most often obtain hard copies of the books as well. Many times there are charts, maps, graphs, etc. that are nearly impossible to see clearly on Kindle. Also, I’m reassured in case of a glitch or power failure or some other unforeseen problem, I can still read my books 🙂
And I also have many hard copies and Kindle copies of many Bibles and versions, which is a real blessing.
Communism takes another giant step forward, and the road is littered by
casualties. Remember the little cutsie line that said “it takes a village to raise a child? If the people are kept in need of two members working to earn a living in every home, they are too busy to see what is going on, and too busy to do anything about it.
Amen, Erlene. Hil-liary’s fine contribution a la Saul Alinsky.
I’m such an avid reader and have been all my life, I can’ imagine a world without books.
Reblogged this on necltr and commented:
John D. Rockefeller, founder of the General Education Board, “I don’t want a nation of thinkers. I want a nation of workers.”