Mixed Signals

I just don't know what to think about these school libraries. I really don't. I wish they'd just make up their minds and shut up already. If you've been reading LISnews, you've seen these stories.

Here's one story from Santa Clarita, CA about a new school that doesn't have enough books. It has about 3,000. That's more books than I have, and I'm happy. "But," according to the story," with an average-size elementary school library needing between 10,000 and 12,000 books to be considered complete, a tremendous need still exists." Oh yeah! Sez you!

Here's another story about a "School of the Future" in Philadelphia, PA that doesn't have any books, and doesn't want any! That's for schools of the past! They also don't have any pens and paper, just laptops, thanks to Bill Gates. Not having any books or pens or paper is supposed somehow to help the underprivileged children of Philadelphia. Earl Shorris, where are you when we need you.

I think I'm going to have to side with the Golden State school librarians over those newfangled radicals in the City of Brotherly Love. In the Philadelphia school, all the classrooms look like corporate conference rooms, and the students all work on "practical problems," which I guess means they take "consumer math" instead of algebra and write Powerpoint presentations instead of essays. If this is the "school of the future," God help us all.