Thing #15

The other day my 9 year old asked me to take him to the library. After reading the perspectives on Library 2.0 it is actually kind of saddening for me as I grew up with the library being a place to explore and physically hold and touch the books that encouraged my interest. My aunt taught library science at Northeastern Louisiana University and I always enjoyed visiting her library and seeing her show future teachers how to best utilize the library to fit their classrooms. After watching the video, I was forced to face the reality of kids today. Although I don't consider myself that old, it has been 14 years since I set foot in and LSU classroom and I realized that kids today are completely different learners!! I mean...I'm not oblivious to the fact, but our way of learning is ancient and archaic compared to the 21 century student. Now, I feel like my mother when she would laugh at those "kids of today" in reference to us as teenagers.

The video really was a wake-up call in that students are self-learners and are driven by their own intrinsic motivation that is fueled by the internet. The library should be a place where kids can share and develop those needs but using technology as a guiding tool and not as a crutch. I still like the idea of students being able to pull a book from the shelf or a bibliography and sitting down and reading and turning pages.

Damn, I'm getting old.