On December 7th (2025), author Birger Emanuelsen published an op-ed that triggered an unusually strong response from parents, teachers, and textbook authors across the country. He described how his own eight-year-old – and an entire school class – are left without textbooks, receiving instead black-and-white photocopies disconnected from any larger whole. The reactions on social media were overwhelming: hundreds of comments, shares, and parents describing identical experiences. Teachers explained how they are forced to photocopy pages from single-use workbooks they are not legally allowed to copy. Textbook authors shared how years of work are effectively reduced to free photocopy templates. Parents described buying books privately because the school system is unable to provide what every child has a right to. This is not a minor issue. It is an alarm signal. LEARNING IS A CONTINUITY – NOT LOOSE SHEETS OF PAPER. Emanuelsen described learning as a journey. A path you can move forward and backward on. A map you carry with you. And he is right. Children do not learn from isolated tasks and randomly selected texts. They learn by connecting the new to the known, by returning to earlier explanations, by leafing backward and seeing how understanding progresses. All of this disappears when books are replaced by loose sheets. These photocopies lack coherence, progression, and the ability to orient oneself. They create what Emanuelsen called “directionless learning.” And when learning becomes directionless, children lose the internal structure they need to understand the world. That is what worries parents now. Not the paper. Not the format. But what their children are losing. THIS IS NOT A TEACHER PROBLEM. IT IS A SYSTEM PROBLEM. The clearest message across all reactions is that no one blames the teachers. On the contrary, parents and textbook authors express deep respect for the schools, which are trying to create continuity with resources that simply do not exist. This is not about teacher autonomy. Not about local variation. It is about economics and the absence of national standards – exactly as the Auditor General pointed out earlier this year. When Norwegian parents in 2025 buy schoolbooks privately so their children do not have to learn from grey photocopies, it is no longer a local issue. It is the comprehensive school system that is failing. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR “Why and Therefore”? I have no need to speak about politics. But I do have a need to speak about children’s learning. And right now, it is clear that learning quality, reading comprehension, and continuity are under pressure. “Why and Because” is created because children need: – books that build understanding step by step – stories that create inner images and lasting curiosity – factual content that is easy to explore – the ability to read, return, revisit, and discover anew This is not nostalgia for paper. It is about how children actually learn. About how language, knowledge, and understanding of nature are formed in the brain. And it is about what all the reactions made unmistakably clear: Children need coherence. They need tracks to follow. WHEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM LOSES ITS COHERENCE, WE MUST SPEAK MORE CLEARLY ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS. I do not believe parents should take over the responsibility of the school. Nor do I believe they should buy textbooks privately. But I do believe this situation shows how important it is to protect children’s access to good books – both at school and at home. Because when children lose their books, they lose more than colours, chapters, and perspectives. They lose the ability to see how knowledge connects. They lose a sense of safety in their learning journey. They lose an understanding of their own progress. And the one who loses coherence also loses direction. This is what we are seeing now. This is why the reactions are so strong. And this is why this conversation matters – also for a project like “Why and Therefore”. LEARNING IS A WE-PROJECT. When we talk about reading, we are never just talking about books. We are talking about children who must grow up with language, security, an understanding of nature, and the ability to see themselves as part of a larger whole. We are talking about their future. And as Emanuelsen so clearly showed: Parents can tolerate a great deal. But they cannot tolerate their children losing the most important compass they have in meeting the world – coherence.