In a dungeon in a castle, somewhere else, a while back, a meeting took place. The figures shrouded in candlelight were some of the wealthiest people in the world. This group had a problem. They needed to make sure their children had an advantage over everyone else. Why else have the money? Some of their children were not very bright.
They all had ideas to address this problem including:
Banning books that might open new horizons.
Making school less rigorous.
Ridiculing knowledge and intellectualism.
Stopping diversity measures.
Miles stood before the board, ready to champion his ideas.
“We could create websites that make viral videos, so people will stop reading. We could create news sites featuring emotional videos to hook people on the horrors of the world. Then, we can create robot tools to read for people and speak back to them so they don’t even have to read the summaries. Finally, we can send our kids to private schools that still teach reading and critical thinking.”
The man championing Cut School Lunches laughed after Miles spoke. “That would never work. These things require more planning and cunning than a few website tools.”
The rest of the room laughed with him.