Friday, September 7, 2018

Real Books

I love technology. Of course I do! I manage the school’s website, keep our social media platforms updated, and spend a lot of time sitting at a keyboard and looking at a screen. I take digital pictures and process them on my computer. I read articles online and pass on helpful hints to the teachers via email to make learning more interesting and engaging.

However, I also love books. Real books. Paper and ink books. Books that I borrow from the library, buy at a yard sale, or receive as a thoughtful gift. I hope that as our students move into the future, and technology takes up more and more of their time, that they also develop a love of books and of reading. The kind of thinking needed to read a book, to digest and revel in the words, to enter into the lives of the characters, is unparalleled. No Facebook post or Instagram caption can even compare. Scrolling through endless pictures on social media or mindlessly watching a parade of YouTube videos does not engage the mind the way that sitting down and reading does.

Reading outside makes for a perfect day!


So my hope is that although technology is integral to our lives today (and this is a technology blog, after all), our students will also learn to adore books. So, turn off the screens, go to the library, plan to buy some books at the book fair, or see what you have on the shelf in your house already! Encourage a love of books and reading in your home. Screens can take a back seat to paper and ink for a while.