Name: Rachel Glantzberg Date: 9/14/18

Period: 3 Teacher: Mr. Bittner

Evidence SGO

Read the following articles on the topic of e-readers and paper books. You may make notes in
the margins as you read using the comment button, or use a separate sheet of paper for
note-taking. However, you will need to finish this assignment within the class period - please
remember to budget your time accordingly.

Write an essay: Based on the information you’ve read in the articles, which method of reading is
more beneficial: e-readers or paper books? Support your claim with reasons, facts, and
examples;​ be sure to include evidence from your reading​.

You may use a separate sheet of paper to plan your response. Your essay should be written
below.

Begin your essay here:

Educators have waged a battle on paper books. On October 2nd, 2012, Education
Secretary Arne Duncan stated in a speech at the National Press Club, “Over the next few years,
textbooks should be obsolete.” Traditional paper methods of reading, however, have proven
themselves most effective even in a modern education system. This is because paper books
contain history within themselves, eReaders are expensive, and paper books don’t contain
distractions.
Firstoff, paper books are better than eBooks because the nostalgia from traditional
books is simply unavailable in eBooks. Perhaps it was the baby book that would always calm
you down, or the first book you ever read by yourself, so on and so forth. eBooks are just not as
tangible as traditional books, where you are able to feel the texture, and have the material
object in your hand. In the words of Justin B Hollander in his article ​Long Live Paper​, “With
strength and durability that could last thousands of years, paper can preserve information
without the troubles we find when our most cherished knowledge is stuck on an unreadable
floppy disk or lost deep in the ‘cloud.’ ” Essentially, books are living history, unlike the eBooks
which don’t share the sacred meaning of paper books.
Furthermore, eBooks are not easily obtained in comparison to paper books. Introducing
eBooks into our schools requires eReaders, which can cost taxpayers big sums of money. Just
reading from eBooks requires charging the eReader and sometimes even buying the book from
the eReader. Compare these troubles to just reaching for a book off of the shelf. The prospect
of all future reading materials requiring an energy source is daunting, and being that this is a
future that is within our lifespan is even more astonishing.
Finally, while eBook advocates suggest eBooks nurture a love of reading for our
children, parents and educators believe they are fostering a generation of procrastinators.
Parent Christy Ludrovsky, whose child is participating in a research study finding the benefits of
eBooks stated, “Sometimes you look at it and you are thinking, ‘Are they reading or learning to
read, or are they playing an app or a game?’ ” eBooks offer a variety of distractions, from close
proximity to apps and games, to the interactive features within the eBook itself. These features
Name: Rachel Glantzberg Date: 9/14/18
Period: 3 Teacher: Mr. Bittner

are sound effects, animations, and visual-altering aspects. Compare these to paper books,
where a love for reading is fostered through the humor in characters, or the brilliance of
dialogue.
All considered, paper books are much more effective than eBooks because of their
personal significance, simple accessibility, and minimal distractions. Educators should not be
making such impulsive decisions of modern teaching mechanisms before outweighing benefits
and doubts. Paper books, then, now, and always, will be the dominant reading platform.