I-Pods and Literacy

There a new literacy program in Elon, NC. Middle school children are eager to get their hands on new I-Pods, so that they can read along with hockey players from the NHL Carolina Hurricanes. This seems to be part of an overall effort to get corporate sponsorship for the schools in this county. Not a bad idea, on the surface. I love the idea that Cheerwine is donating money, and that Labcorp, to whom I still owe money for medical tests, is coughing up cash to support a school system that apparently is not supported well enough by the tax-base in the county.

I grew up as a major hockey fan, and also as a booklover; so I've got to ask the question: What were you thinking? I'm sure that the fine, dedicated 'Canes players really care about literacy, and can, perhaps, read at a passable level. But we're talking about middle school here. These children should not need to read along with anyone. That should be over by second grade, at the latest.

Literacy efforts at this level should be focused on an effort to get children to read books, not listen to them on fancy new fangled equipment. Imagine the number of books that could have been purchased for the price of an I-Pod. The average I-Pod these days costs about $400. The average paperback book costs about $6.00. Big difference there. If they had wanted the hockey players to read the books, record them on cds and have give each child their very own cd of a hockey player reading a Tree Grows in Brooklyn, or whichever title they choose.

I fail to see how this will inspire children, who by the time they have reached middle school have not discovered the joy of reading, to pick up a book and read. This smells of a ploy to spend money, and lots of it. Corporate sponsors have been taken for a ride with this one.

If you want a child to enjoy reading, teach him to read, and give him a book about a subject that interests him. If he likes NASCAR, the the book better be about Jeff Gordon, or Dale, Jr. or whichever one is the favorite. If he likes cosmetics, then it really ought to be "Blue Eye Shadow Ought to Be Illegal". Whatever the title, by the time the child reaches middle school, they should be reading what they want to read on their own, without having sports heros reading to them.

Skip the I-POD, buy the books. Or, if you must use the I-Pod as a learning tool, use it to allow children to listen to the great speeches of our time that are available as recordings. Imagine hearing with your own ears: "I have a dream...", or "We have nothing to fear but fear itself." The I-Pod, and other new technologies, can be wonderful additions to the teachers arsenal of tools, but to use them just for the sake of using them, and to just for the sake of spending sponsorhip dollars is a sinful waste, and does a disservice to the donor, the teacher, and most especially to the student.

But that's just Maia Pinion.