I need your help in finding a science fiction reference for my class for
preservice teachers. When I was a teenager in the former USSR, I read a
story (I believe by an American author) about a boy who wanted to be a
rocket pilot. In this society of the future, kids become professionals by
physical alternation of their brain (i.e., literal transmission of
knowledge). However, a doc discovered that the boy has some organic
handicap that does not allow him to have this procedure. Being ostracize by
his peers and family, the boy was placed into a special house (refuge) for
kids with similar handicaps. The house had counselors and library but there
were no requirements to read or to learn. Initially the boy was very upset
that he never could be a rocket pilot. Later with the help of his counselor,
he started reading books and learning from them and the counselor. Through
the crises, doubts, and perseverance, the boy learned about his dream
profession and discovered that his "handicap" was actual a sign of belonging
to a special elite that produces culture and knowledge in this society. The
refuge house was a test of whether the boy would give up learning (as it
happened in counselors' past) or he would succeed.
Can you help me to find the author and the title of the story, please? Any
leads and suggestions about where or how I find the reference can be
helpful.
Take care,
Eugene
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Eugene Matusov
School of Education
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
Office (302) 831-1266
Fax (302) 831-4445
email ematusov who-is-at udel.edu
Website http://ematusov.soe.udel.edu/
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