British playwright and human rights activist Tom Stoppard recently said that books are at a risk of being “swept away” by the world of new technology and moving images that are increasingly winning attention of children.
Stoppard warned that the study of humanities was been avoided in favor of science.
From in.news.yahoo.com:
“The printed word is no longer as in demand as when I was of the age of pupils or even at the age of the teachers teaching them,” newspapers quoted Stoppard as saying.
Children live in a world of technology where the moving image takes precedence over the printed page, he said.
“I think that’s to the detriment … I just don’t want the printed page to get swept away by that.”
Speaking ahead of an address to an education charity established by the Prince of Wales to encourage teachers to look at what they should teach and how, Stoppard said teaching of humanities had been affected by a drive to prioritise science-based subjects.
“There was a period when I was 30 or 40 when science teaching was felt to have lagged and felt to be the area which would improve everybody’s life, and I’m sure that that was the case and that was the right moment for that,” he said.
This may mean that our young generations will find traditional books only at the antique stores and this will indeed be a devastating change and a real shame.
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