Will Print Literature Stand the Test of Time in the Classroom?

       Margaret Mackey wrote a thought provoking article called, "How Can Teachers Best Make Use of Students' Out-of-School Exposure to Multiple Kinds of Texts?" In the article, Mackey makes a strong argument for teachers to use texts in their classrooms that students are being exposed to outside of the classroom. She writes that "A story may begin its existence as a book, a movie, or a video game, but its narrative life often continues in a variety of other formats." Mackey refers to Henry Jenkins notion of a "transmedia universe where no single version of a narrative tells the complete story." Mackey agrees with others who predict that change may be coming to print media used in the classroom, and that when it does, it will happen quickly. Mackey explains that this is already happening as "Young readers themselves are precipitating certain kinds of multiplicity with their online discussion sites and fan fiction forums."
     Mackey is not suggesting that we get rid of classics in the classroom such as Romeo and Juliet. She simply explains that instructors need to connect such content with the "flexible and contingent" approach of many young students today. Mackey argues, "If we do not pay attention to the new dynamism of the digital world, we run the risk that students will simply dismiss print as the stagnant corner of the textual world where nothing interesting happens and the representative texts are fit only for schoolwork." Mackey offers a suggestion of how teachers can avoid this by saying that Educators need to "invite that student expertise into the classroom. Everyone can benefit when different forms of knowledge and understanding are respectfully shared."
     Although I think that Mackey's close attention to the changing world of text is important and valuable, I also think there can be a danger when Educators begin to agree with students that print is 'stagnant' by changing the study of print to make sure that print is exciting! I wonder if this would only propel the problem. I wonder if its important for Educators to hold to the value and unique qualities of print text and continue to teach it in the classroom without the notion of transmedia creeping in. Obviously, these are only questions in my mind, as I have no experience in the classroom and look forward to seeing how these things unfold in reality one day.