I am a middle school teacher, so I have a front row seat on a daily basis to see what we have done to our kids (and, perhaps being dramatic here, but I truly feel this way) to our civilization by letting them grow up in a world without shelves of real books and the written word. Screen time and texting have replaced face to face contact and even phone calls for this generation.
As a part of my Consumer Rights and Responsibilities unit, I require that my students write real, physical, put-them-in-an-envelope-with-a-stamp-on-it letters to companies instead of emailing them or replying through the contact forms on the websites. I have them call the company's customer service number to get the mailing address -- something which is nearly impossible to find on their websites, I might add.
I encourage them to actually sign their names and not just to print them. In their eyes, I'm pretty old school. I am quite comfortable with that, as I think that there are still many old school lessons which have value today -- particularly in the subject which I teach -- Family and Consumer Sciences (or what we used to call Home Economics).
The part where I give them extra points for cursive writing causes them a great deal of anxiety. As you may or may not know, forty-one of our fifty states have adopted the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a nationwide framework for teaching children which no longer requires children to be taught to write in cursive. Only a handful of my students are able to do so. Those who can write in cursive wear it like a badge of honor -- signing their names on the front of their papers in big, bold script.
Rightfully so, I must agree. They should be proud. Cursive is nearly as old as writing itself. The ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, and Japanese all used a form of script writing -- and in one fell swoop, we are killing it. (But it seems that that's another rant for another day.)
This all leads me back to my own personal struggle which a part of me sees as being a double standard -- a bit of hypocrisy.
My new Kindle will arrive tomorrow.
As far as being a little on the geeky side goes, I'm a very much out of the closet geek. I tried (to no avail) to closet my geekiness for many years. I remember the day that it hit me that it was all a charade, though. I was looking through an old high school yearbook with my son one day and, after looking at a few photos of myself, I said to him, "Boy...I was such a geek back then...wasn't I?"
My son looked at me incredulously and said, "Was??? 'Was', you say??? Mom...you are still a geek! You always have been."
Well...that says it all, doesn't it? He's right. I just never embraced that geekiness until a few years ago. After I was outed as a geek.
I share this because I want you to understand that I 'get' technology.
I was an early adopter. My first modem was a 14.4 external that was larger than my present clock radio.
During that same time period, I was also the proud owner of a Brother Word Processor with a CRT screen and a floppy disc drive. Granted, it was nearly as large as my microwave at the time, but it was a beauty!
Impressed as you may be by my circa 1990 gadgetry and tech wizardry,
I am not what you might call a tech head or a gadget geek. I genuinely prefer simple things. I don't own a television -- by choice. (If you want to freak out middle schoolers, just tell them that you live in a log cabin and don't have a TV. Trust me -- their faces are priceless as they try to process that one.)
I don't own a smart phone or an iPad or an iPod -- nor do I have a desire to own any of those things. I don't have a dishwasher, I heat with wood, and I use antique kitchen equipment from my collection whenever possible to do things like beat eggs, whip cream, etc. (I'm a home ec teacher, after all -- what else would I collect?)
I prefer the old and simple things.
But...I am also a reader and always have been. I love books and I love to read. I had a flashlight and a cache of books tucked away under my mattress to read under the blankets when I was supposed to be sleeping as a kid. I tend toward motion sickness, but the tradeoff between being carsick and reading -- reading always won out. Granted, I would get a little bit green about the gills and sometimes my dad was even forced to pull the car over as a result, but I have always been a reader and I always will be.
At present, I always have a book or two in my purse, in my truck, stashed under my bed and a stack on my nightstand. Even in the bathroom. Rarely am I further than a few arms' lengths from something to read. I never thought I'd see the day that I would consider reading anything but a real book.
I will be doing some traveling soon and I must pack very light on this trip. Some things will have to be left at home. Books are non-negotiable and will not be among those things.
If I finish books at my usual rate, that would mean packing no fewer than four books. Four books that take up space and weight in my luggage. My new Kindle will weigh less than 6 ounces.
When I finish one book, I can begin another...and another...and another.
When I run out of things to read on a trip, I will not be subject to the limited selection of those awful airplane book titles which are sold at the airport book stalls along with the overpriced neck pillows and tacky last minute souvenirs -- shot glasses, pens, t-shirts and the like, with the city's name emblazoned on them.
If I am waiting for my appointment in a doctor's office or in the cattle call area at the DMV, I will be able to reach into my purse or pocket and have a mini-library at my fingertips.
Will e-books ever replace the real thing in my life? Of course, not. I have had a special bond with books my entire life. That will never change.
There is something very comforting about snuggling up with a good book and a cup of tea on a cold night.
There is something very aesthetically pleasing about looking at a crowded bookshelf with books overflowing -- some stacked this way and that.
There is something that makes me smile when I find a book face down in the morning with my reading glasses resting on its spine.
Real books will always be my favorites. They will always be a very special and important part of my past, my present, and my future.
How can I be so certain of this?
I cannot dog ear a Kindle.
