Week 8 Topic 1 & 2 Books

                Unfortunately, I’m not a reader. Don’t get me wrong, I can read, but I don’t enjoy doing it. I haven’t read any of the books on the list but I have seen a few of the movies that were made from some of the books listed on ALA. “Fifty Shades of Grey” I have only heard about, but what I have heard was pretty explicit. One cannot blame a parent, teacher, or a student for finding some of the topics too sexual. The other book I’ve seen the movie to was “The Hunger Games.” Honestly, the first time I heard about it, I thought it was an eating competition or something. After seeing the movie, I was shocked. I listen to vulgar music, watch vulgar movies, and play some rather vulgar video games, but there was something in “The Hunger Games” that really got to me. To put young kids, as young as eight or nine years old in a deathmatch against 18 year olds is really messed up to me. The explanation of why the world of Panem sacrifices 23 children every year is sad and reminiscent of today’s society. Americans seem to like movies that have children kill each other, yet when a tragedy like UCC happens, it devastates the nation. The books should be banned from schools! In college or public libraries no regulation should be initiated, but I definitely think we need to regulate what our children read. I do not own any books that most would. I have a lot of books on mythology and religion that have no authors because I like ancient history. I also have a lot of manuals, maps, farming, cookbooks, and medical books which obviously shows that I read for function, not pleasure. I like to have knowledge on certain things and my books reflect that about me.

                One of the things I found was that I like the thought of students picking their teachers. I had many teachers in middle and high school that I didn’t mesh with. If I had options, maybe my high schooling would have went smoother. I also liked the thought that school should be an incubator, teaching us what we need for life, not just school. High school needs to change and become more like college, allowing students freedom in classes and teachers.

                One way I would change college is, its cost. It needs to be free and as soon as possible. I shouldn’t have had to sign my life to the military in order to get a good life for myself. If we truly want America to be the better place we all think it is, we need to educate everyone! Another way I would change college is by reforming the text book monopolists. For too long, our education has been controlled by a few powerful companies. Creating new editions to books has long been the way to screw the average college student and it needs to stop. Adding a few words does not justify charging someone 200 dollars for a textbook. Pearson and many others need to be shut down, for they’ve made enough money. Both of these changes would save students money, which is obviously very important these days.