15 Features The RGS Gazette Issue 12 July 2024 A Paperless World Jake McCall, Theo Howman and Kian Mistry (Year 7) debate whether paper has a place in modern education There has been a rapid increase in the use of devices in the education system, whether this be desktop computers, laptops or tablets. Should we really waste our time learning how to write and correct our mistakes on paper? Imagine this: it is the end of the year, and just as we thought school was mostly done, we realised we still had exams to complete. Understandably, we were very stressed. All of us, or rather most of us, had revised. We knew we had to write tons on end it felt as though our hands were about to fall off. It is clear that we could have completed the exam much faster on a laptop, perhaps after receiving training for typing. Would it really be better with or without paper? "It felt as though our hands were about to fall off." A few weeks ago, Theo's grandparents returned from Canada, and they told him some embarrassing stories about his father the funniest one was about his handwriting. Way back in the day, he used to write quite well. Unfortunately, it now takes a team of 7 people crowding round a desk to decipher his handwriting. He is, however, amazing at typing he types like the world is depending on it, all whilst sipping tea on a Sunday afternoon. Paper makes up 26% of the contents of all landfills, and the number of trees cut down per year is around 1.8 times the human population. If every person in the country recycled just 10% more paper, it would save approximately 5 million tons of paper each year. With advancing technologies such as AI, our devices are now more capable than ever, so just imagine them in the future. "Paper makes up 26% of the contents of all landfills." But, how can we rely on technology, when the WiFi keeps on sabotaging my Fortnite games? Honestly, it is quite difficult to lose work that we have written on paper, but a single glitch can result in a student having to make excuses to their teacher, which sounds quite familiar. Also, with hackers around, emails can be intercepted or changed, but this is less likely in traditional mail. Hackers could also become more advanced, although they would probably be met by stronger antivirus software. The battery is another problem it takes energy to keep the laptops going, not to mention the amount needed to make the laptop in the first place. Nevertheless, we will probably stop using paper and start to use computers and other electronics. But the question remains: when will we complete the change from paper to technology? "Approximately 1 billion trees' worth of paper are thrown away every year" Our guess is about 75 years, when we will be old and grumpy, and hopefully climate change will have been stopped. Approximately 1 billion trees' worth of paper are thrown away every year – can we reduce this rate quickly enough? It is clear that the matter affects our environment, so much so that 10,476 km² of trees are cut down every year in the Amazon rainforest, although this is not exclusively for paper. To conclude, perhaps we should live in a paperless world, but only once we have found a suitable replacement for current technology, as it harms the environment too much. Deforestation in the Amazon (2019) Paper waste in a Dutch recycling plant (2020) Laptops prepared for distribution to students (2021)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA2Njk=