[bksvol-discuss] Re: Working draft "Educational Books"
- From: Rogerbailey81@xxxxxxx
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 22:36:46 EDT
I don't know about accurate. I realize this is a working draft and it
doesn't appear that any of us will have input in it anyway, so this is not so
much a criticism of that draft as it is a general gripe to the powers that be
in classifying educational literature. The point I have a problem with is the
part about classics and literature. They are not really defined here and
that is typical of almost every venue in which they are discussed. It is
always assumed that everyone knows what a classic or Literature with a capital L
is. I have been a lifelong reader and I have still not quite figured it out.
I once had an English teacher tell me that a classic is a book that has
stood the test of time. I mentioned that to my brother once and he made a very
astute comment. He said that, actually, a classic is a book that English
teachers like. That really meshes with the earlier point. If a classic is a
book that has stood the test of time then the likely reason in the case of most
classics is that it is because year after year English teachers assign them
forcing students to buy them year after year. Is there really any objective
quality about them that sets them apart from popular fiction? Really, what
objective quality makes Lady Chatterly's Lover Literature with a capital L
and not the books written by authors with the very likely pseudonymous names
like Buster Hymen and Eric T. Dick that I used to sell back when I had a job
as a clerk in a porn shop? Honestly, I consider most popular fiction to be
of a higher quality because it is easier to understand. Think about it, can
a book really be very well written if every year for year after year classes
have to be conducted in which everyone has to figure out what the author
was trying to say? If the author can just say it and say it clearly enough for
everyone to understand then it seems to me that the author is a better
writer and her or his writing is a lot more educational than the writings of the
authors who produce Literature with a capital L.
"Philosophers have merely
interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it." Karl
Marx
The Militant: http://www.themilitant.com/txtindex.shtml Pathfinder Press:
http://www.pathfinderpress.com
Granma International: http://granma.cu/ingles/index.html
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Subj:
[bksvol-discuss] Re: Working draft "Educational Books"
Date:
5/11/2009 10:10:47 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:
guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx
Reply-to:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent from the Internet
(Details)
table end
Sounds quite accurate and appropriate.
Shelley L. Rhodes, M.A., VRT
And Guinevere: Golden Lady Guide Dog
guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Alumni Association
www.guidedogs.com
The people who burned witches at the stake never for one moment thought of
their act as violence;
rather they thought of it as an act of divinely mandated righteousness.
The same can be said of most of the violence we humans have ever
committed. -Gil Bailie, author and lecturer (b. 1944)
block quote
----- Original Message -----
From:
Pavi Mehta
To:
bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 3:39 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Working draft "Educational Books"
Hi All,
I just cleared permission to be able to share the working draft of the
educational books definition with you – please keep in mind that this isn’t the
final
version, and is pending approval from OSEP. Thought it would be helpful for
you to see it at this stage though. The definition is included at the end
of
this email.
Warm regards,
Pavi
Educational Books Defintion (draft)
Bookshare is a continually growing library that includes a large set of
educational content. To that end, we define educational content as material
that
will foster and support learning both inside and outside of the classroom,
spark intellectual curiosity in students, encourage individual reading,
enrich
students' lives, and advance research from elementary school to the post
graduate level.
More specifically, Bookshare includes in this categorization any book:
list of 13 items
• Requested for school use by a student or teacher
• Requested from the NIMAC
• All textbooks
• Reference works (e.g., dictionaries, almanacs, bibliographies,
encyclopedias, and thesauruses)
• All literature (i.e.., prose, poetry, and dramatic works with accepted
aesthetic or cultural value, literary merit, or canonical works---note that
these
may be outside the general Western canon or Harvard Classics list)
• All juvenile fiction and nonfiction
• All books included on school curricula, both mandatory and optional, from
the local, State, and National levels
• All books that supplement and support school curricula, including high
quality nonfiction (e.g., biographies, secondary source history materials, and
science books written for children)
• All educational aids created specifically for the classroom
• All academic, scholarly, and professional books
• All medical, scientific, and technical books
• All books that have won awards for quality content, outstanding message
or other notable benchmark for our student populations. These include, but
are
not limited to, the Newbery, Caldecott, Pulitzer Prize, Man Booker Prize,
National Book Award, Schneider Family Book Award, Jane Addams Children's Book
Award, and Young Readers Choice Awards
• Books that have been selected specifically as high-interest for our
student population. These include, but are not limited to, special collections
created
by outside organizations (e.g., the American Foundation for the Blind
Reading Club, National Education Association's Lists of Top Kids Books, and the
Big
Read Collection from the National Endowment of the Arts), and special
collections created in-house and by our member that serve as supplementary
material
for our users (e.g., our Pacific Island collection, Accessibility
collection, and the reading lists submitted by teachers)
list end
As the collection grows and evolves to meet our users' needs, so might this
definition.
Among the materials that we do not define as educational are erotica, genre
fiction, and works designed to evangelize religious beliefs.
Bookshare is
funded by the US Department of Education.
April 2009
block quote end
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