It’s a sad state that the majority of people in our country never bother to read anything of substance. Our children are even less likely to read anything of substance because they live in a world where all of the info they consume has been reduced to one image or a video that lasts 8 seconds. The two most popular “Apps” for smartphones are Instagram and Vine. Instagram is a form of media where one doesn’t have to write, only post a picture. Vine is a program where you post 8 second videos for other people to see. If you can’t grab the attention of the viewer in 8 seconds, you’re ignored. It’s like a rodeo of attention span, instead of trying to stay on the bucking beast for 8 seconds, you’re trying to capture the unintelligent beast’s attention for 8 seconds!
I’m afraid that what the entire civil rights movement was for naught when it comes to equity in education. We fought to gain access to the education opportunities afforded only to the gringos, now we can’t give them away wrapped in bows with free cookies. All the while, the great literary tradition is being preserved in the elite schools of our country. So the gringo keeps the tradition alive, it remains part of the educational universe of the elite, like it was before. Sad.
Thanks for passing along the article. I think the Amanecedores all share a love of reading- a rarity in today’s eight-second world… which is why I enjoy Saturday morning so much, nothing we ever do at our meetings can ever be done in under 8 seconds.
Frank