Article alert

[Union-Endicott Central School District <libser1@TRANSIT.NYSER.NET>]

You might want to check out p. 33-34 of the December 1995 issues of
American School Board Journal.    In that SOUNDING BOARD column, Barry
Mosbacker expresses his concerns on information technology.  In his
school, kids are playing, teachers are glamorizing, keypals are chatting
aimlessly.   He wonders if this is a good use of time or money.    He
f eels that students will become addicted to trivia, and that time and
money might be better spent reading, writing, and analyzing.

My interest, and I would hope yours, is piqued that the school library,
nor the school library media specialist, is not mentioned in the article
in any way.    I would advise that you may want to copy this article,
send it to your school board members with a little pat on the back for
them that (violins, please) thanks to their support, this is not
happening in their schools, blah, blah, use of school library as
information classroom, blah, blah, library media specialist as teacher of
information skills, blah, blah, blah, coordinated, integrated, K-12
information curriculum (great crash of trumpets at the end).

I have written a letter to the editor pointing out the above (without the
blahs).  Since most of your board members probably get this journal and
have therefore read this, you may want to take action.


*******************************************
Gail Dickinson
Union-Endicott Central School District
Endicott, NY 13760                "This is the true joy of life, to be
                                        used for a purpose recognized
                                        by yourself as a mighty one"
                                         -- George Bernard Shaw