Computers Instead of Books?

In Rahil’s commentary, titled “Perry Getting Smarter,” Rahil writes about Perry’s attempts to “replace textbooks with on-line resources” (Rahil). Rahil seems well informed, and expresses his opinion with passion. Rahil believes that students will benefit greatly from having on-line resources instead of books. Though Rahil has an excellent opinion and decent credibility, I believe there are many aspects on this topic that he is not taking into consideration. There is only so much on a computer that can be recycled. The parts that cannot be recycled are called e-waste. E-waste today comprises a majority of the waste in the world. In other words, it is estimated to be about six times larger than other forms of waste. Another thing not considered is electricity waste, and the large bills that schools will be paying in order to accommodate so many computers. Every few years, computers will need to be refurbished. The percentage of computers not functioning properly after a few years, and then being wasted, is also not taken into consideration. There is also something called “embodied energy.” Embodied energy is basically the energy it takes to create the computer. A lot of people do not know this, but it is incredibly intensive to make electronic parts. In short, the earth is not being taken into consideration. In this day and age, a person should not take these kind of endeavors lightly. I cannot imagine how quickly we would speed up the degeneration of the earth and all her creatures, including ourselves, if schools around the U.S. used computer technology as its main source of information and instruction! Besides, books have a much longer lifespan and they can be recycled completely. Of course, even books are not perfect because they use trees to make them. However, I believe that until we come up with a way that is not wasteful and damaging, books are a much better device than computers. Another thing not being observed in Rahil’s commentary is posture issues and carpal tunnel issues. Though graduation rate might, hypothetically, improve, people’s health WILL decline. There are just so many studies that have been done about the unhealthiness of computers. My partner is in the school of architecture at UT currently, and she is always on the computer. Even when she was just working she had to be on the computer to use Auto-Cad and other programs everyday. Today, she has chronic neck and back issues, along with weekly wrist pains, and a few discs always popping out of place in her spine. She has to go to the doctor to get this fixed, and it is all due to the last ten years of being on a computer. Not to mention the eyestrain and headache problems she and I both have. Computers might be handy, but they are not healthy. For many of us they are very physically damaging. What kind of children will we be raising if we prop them up in front of a computer screen for all their years in school? Soon, all the generations after us will be like the people in the movie “WALL-E.” I would not allow my child to go to a school where they require computer usage to such an extent. Though the computer is acceptable to use on occasion, I do not subscribe to the idea that it is the “end all, be all” and that technology is our savior. I have done some traveling in Europe, and if there is one thing that is mentioned about Americans, besides their inability to grow beyond their bigotry and narrow-mindedness, it is that Americans have forgotten what nature is and where we really come from. We certainly do not come from computer science! Step outside, everyone, before we destroy the earth with our ignorance and it is too late to enjoy her awesome power and beauty.

Writing the Truth out of Texas Textbooks

So what is the deal with the Texas State Board of Education anyways? And how in the world did we end up voting in people who want to implement religion into the school curriculum and take out facts and true events related to minority groups? Anyone want to take a stab at this? I will take a turn: it’s the overly religious right-wingers on the SBOE who want our kids learning solely about Jesus and all the white, male, conservative followers of the last two thousand years.
Recent changes in Texas textbooks reflect the staunch resistance by the SBOE to the economical, social and spiritual evolution of the total population of America. Apparently, these “righties” want our children believing that, as columnist Michael A. Jones expresses it, “Jesus wrote the Declaration of Independence.” Relatively soon, our kids will know how to judge the Black, Hispanic, Asian, female and Gay population with the critical and condemning eye of a true religious, right-wing fanatic. Soon, your child will become one of the many Texas kids who blame President Obama for the deficit in our country instead of referring back to the 1.9 trillion that the Bush administration left him with! One last time, just for fun, I want to say, "religion has NO place in public schools! That is what a church is for!"
So, everybody in Texas get ready to hop into your time-machine! We are heading back to 100 B.C.E.! Forget about Harvey Milk and Jane Addams! Forget about the facts! Let us just toss out the book of morality and truth and re-write history, folks! If we work together, those lesbians, homosexuals, ethnic minorities, and that dispensable species called “woman,” will be—historically speaking—no more!
Really?! Well, here is my opposing proposition: Write your SBOE everybody! Tell them that we do not need their help in skewing our history anymore. I have embedded a link here. It will connect you to a site where you can write your opinion about these issues and any others you would like to mention to the State Board of Education. The SBOE has no idea what kind of outrage this will cause if enough people learn about what they are doing behind closed doors. Don McLeroy of the Texas SBOE stated in an interview with New York Times columnist James C. McKinley Jr. that the Republicans on the SBOE were simply “adding balance. History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed far to the left.”
Hmmm, Mr. McLeroy, I think the “founding fathers” were also compelled to give people the freedom to practice their own faiths without manipulative, religious influence from the local SBOE or any other entity, don’t you think? In many ways, they were running away from the same skewed perspective we are nurturing in our SBOE today. How ironic.