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Originally Posted by Harmon
Do you think that the parents of these pre-schoolers are using the library? I doubt it.
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It depends upon the family. There are many dysfunctional poor families who would never expose their children to books. On the other hand, there are many good poor families who want to expose their children to books. Without libraries, that exposure would be minimal.
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Lack of school libraries? Why is that? We spend tons of money on schools - but there's no money for libraries?
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Perhaps because it takes tons of money to operate a school? Staff cost money. Facilities cost money. Resources cost money. There are things that drive those costs up. Legal (and moral) obligations to high needs students means that a single student can take a lion's share of the funding. Being gouged by the developers of educational materials and suppliers of education markets is another common problem Quite often this means that things like libraries and music programs are compromised because the funding is required in other areas.
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Serious readers who read 30 books a month? Let them fund it themselves. Anyone with that kind of habit should be willing to get a second job to support it. Why should we provide such people with libraries?
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My standard reply to this is: rip up the roads! Seriously. I make minimal use of the transportation infrastructure. Most of my roadway use is as a secondary user (e.g. the trucks that pick up my trash and the trucks that deliver goods to stores). That stuff tends to be restricted to arteries and only uses a fraction of the arteries capacity. So why should I be paying for roads that other people use?
You may not use libraries, but I do. I may not use roads, but you do. Together, we are sharing responsibility for the infrastructure that allows our society to function.
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How do I expect schools to teach reading? Phonics. How come that stopped working? Worked fine when I was a kid. Maria Montessori could teach retarded children to read - so what's the problem?
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Which works for some kids, and doesn't work for other kids. Modern schooling is a social expectation and legal obligation. That means that we cannot simply kick kids out of school if they don't learn the way we expect them to. That means that we must tailor instruction to their needs.
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Libraries are obsolete. I can tell you when that dawned on me - way back in the 90s. In 1991, the Chicago Public Library system built a huge, dysfunctional central library downtown. It was a Monument.
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Many libraries were built as monuments, and remain thriving institutions that are an integral part of community life. This is true whether they were built last year, a decade ago, or a century ago. The fact that you can find a counter example is not surprising. Some libraries are mismanaged, just as many institutions are mismanaged (public
and private). I also find it curious that you are basing your opinion on something that happened 20 years ago.