Hibiscus: turns out this genus also includes cacao and cotton, plus baobobs. Who knew? (Which is to say, my ignorance is boundless.)
Jennifer Steinhauer’s NYTimes article on Ray Bradbury includes this quote:
I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries because most students don’t have any money.
He makes a good point: the knowledge is there in the library. What the university offers, I think, is interpretation and intellectual motivation. At least for some.
I agree with Bradbury that “The Internet is a big distraction.” However, like the library, it contains (or can be persuaded to yield) considerable knowledge.
Again, the piece that most people need is the motivation and guidance. Mentoring, of a sort….
Teachers may well disagree. Enlighten me….
20 June 2009 at 12:49 pm
jcb says:
I like the idea that the internet—when used with intelligence and discrimination—can be a library as big as all of our understanding.
That said, it’s also quite easy for it to be a huge time-waster. But I think it’s absolutely identical to brick-and-mortar libraries in that regard. Your point(s) about motivation, guidance, mentoring…I think those are the key components which can yield a life of productive learning and thinking when plugged into the world’s knowledge…online.
Having seen baobobs and cotton (not together,) I sure wouldn’t have been able to draw commonalities.
Live and learn.