1/23/2007
Why focusing on the book is still important
The last couple of days I’ve been thinking about the conversation over at this post at The Shifted Librarian. Not so much about the post itself - though I suppose I count myself among those who don’t think that a danceoff is a particularly good replacement for accepting responsibility and paying your fine - but the mini-conversation in the middle between Jenny and ignatiousmonkey. Jenny asks why IM is so focused on the book, and he replies with this:
I work in a low-income neighborhood, and we get a lot of kids who would surely love it if we had gaming systems. We get mobbed by teens as soon as school lets out, and I’m sure we could get even bigger crowds than we do if we had something as simple as a Super Nintendo. But a line of Mos Def’s song “Mathematics” comes to mind: “Young bloods can’t spell but they could rock you in PlayStation.” And that’s what I see a lot of: kids who can solve Runsecape levels with the best of ‘em but can hardly read and don’t seem to consider it important.
He has an extremely valid point, in my opinion. And I ended up thinking about this today again when I saw this, from Sunday’s Washington Post by a high school librarian [via BoingBoing] :
I recently spoke with a junior who was stressed about her decreasing ability to focus on anything for longer than two minutes or so. I tried to inspire her by talking about the importance of reading as a way to train the brain. I told her that a good reader develops the same powers of concentration that an athlete or a Buddhist would employ in sport or meditation. “A lot out there is conspiring to distract you,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “That’s your opinion about books. It doesn’t make it true.”
No, we shouldn’t focus solely on books. But we shouldn’t ignore them in favor of all the latest high tech gadgets and social networking sites, either. For all their benefits, they aren’t a replacement for the activities that train us in concentration. I live on the internet these days, and I’ve noticed a decrease in my ability to concentrate on things for large chucks of time. Is it related? I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
Filed under: Librarianship, Reading/Literature
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