Chief Education officer Carol Babb flipped the script on the media today by becoming the host of a Roundtable discussion to the theme of: "Literacy, a priority in a Digital World."
The goal was to engage the nation's highest-rated shows, the news, in a campaign of literacy. Here's a perspective from our News director Jules Vasquez and counterpoint from the chief.
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"You've read your notes from a stone tablet. But my point is that these notes are a great idea of how it brings classic books to life in 20 minutes or 15 minutes. Yes, it's simplified, but I'm saying there are ways and approaches in which literacy or the idea of reading can be more interesting. You look at one episode of Thug Notes or the Merchant of Venice or the Count of Monte Cristo which I have watch both of, it brings those books, it animates those books the same way when we lived in an analog linear world and those books would bring visions to our head. That idea is dead, because these kids have visions in their head that are so hyperactive, that in our analog little environments, the visions that those books animated were big, but now these kids they've seen every animated film and every video game and so they have hyper-space in their head already. But what books have is that narrative structure that pulls you in and when you watch something as simple and unassuming as Thug Notes and I encourage everyone to do so. When you watch that it animates all these stories and this an approach that has to be used, that we have to accept that pickey no gwine pik up a Told Stories - War and Peace or Crime and Punishment. They won't pick it up, so we have to find another way to get them in, because that time has passed."
Carol Babb, Chief Educational Officer
"I really like what I heard; especially the end part that Jules says that the media is willing to partner with the Ministry of Education put support and promote literacy. I know things have changed, you are right Jules, Children don't really want to sit down and read a book anymore like how we use to be. They want animated stories and these stories too are online too, but young children you can capture them early if you get them early and you read to them and you act out the parts and do all kinds of things - they become engage. They become interested, but I think you have to catch them early that the tender age of 3-4 and 5, even before that, from little babies you can start to read to them, but make it exciting - start to play the roles of the different characters. I strongly believe if we get them, if we support them during early childhood they will appreciate literacy just like all of us around this table."
