The Kindle: Are we destroying the meaning of a book?

More and more schools are starting to either have Kindles for students to check out or for them to have on a 1 to 1 basis to utilize for enjoyment reading as well as for textbooks.  Some schools are considering this as part of their initiative to Go Green. 
 
I just bought my own Kindle and absolutely LOVE it!  However, I do have mixed feelings - are we taking the actual book away from our children?  Not knowing the parts of a book in the future?  The joys of holding a book and flipping through the pages?  Or are we making reading a book more fun and more enjoying than in the past by making the Kindle available for our generations of millinials?  Are we making reading time more available by providing it electronically?  Having it available all the time at the tips of our fingers?  By providing it digitally to students, are they more likely to read?  More likely to enjoy reading?  Maybe! 

I am considering buying my 9 year old a Kindle for her 10th birthday in a month - am I bad to consider yet another electronic device for my kids?  I don't think so -  I do believe that it will allow for her to enjoy reading more because she is so intrigued by technology as am I.  I always tell myself I have no time to read - maybe it's because I forget to get a book and bring it with me everywhere??  For some reason, I haven't left my Kindle behind anywhere!  I take it with me and pick it up when I am waiting, when I am in between classes, when I am going to bed and can't sleep.  It's always there and I can always go online and choose a different piece of reading material to switch to if I want to.  It's a great thing for us who enjoy technology and the gadgets! 

I do worry that when used in a classroom or school setting - who is monitoring the use of them?  What about games?  They can be downloaded sometimes for free and instead of reading a child may be game playing when they are supposed to be reading?  Just another downfall to this.  I don't know how I would feel about the Kindle in my classroom, it would depend on the policies and procedures I guess.

Another article you may enjoy regarding this particular subject:  
Every Student Gets a Kindle In Clearwater, FL