School districts have always been in a hurry to acquire the latest technological marvel. When I was kid (and I know I'm dating myself here), filmstrips and 16mm movies were big. School districts all wanted the latest audio-visual equipment. It made everybody think they were on the cutting edge of education. Then it was television, videos, computers, CD ROMs, DVDs and now? Now it's - ta da - the Smartboard!
Educators get very excited with the mere mention of the word Smartboard, as though students are going to become geniuses as soon as their little fingers come in direct contact with one. I realize that Smartboards are pretty nice. They're big interactive computers on large boards and kids love computers, right? They are undoubtedly good teaching tools. But why can't school districts wait until the price comes down a little? And why do they try to stock every school with a supply of Smartboards when we need basics like books?
I'm a little annoyed because, sigh, here they go again chasing down the next technological thingamajig when the sad little library they transferred me to is standing there with its half-empty shelves and my students are asking me for the latest Spiderwick Chronicles book, or if I have May Bird and the Ever After, or Skippyjon Jones, or some new Percy Jackson books (I don't have any). Aaarrgh! It's all so frustrating! If you want children to become better readers, you have to offer them more good books.
So, I expect that within five years or so, Smartboards will be languishing in the storage closet along with those outdated computers and dot matrix printers that also cost thousands of dollars while kids will still be checking out the books we purchased ten years ago, books that don't feature videos, play music, have flash drives or display pop-up ads. The truth is, books last longer and probably do more to shape lives than machines. Machines are tools. Books are windows on the world.
