"Textbooks are often obsolete before they are even printed," said Debra Socia, principal of the school in Dorchester, a tough Boston district prone to crime and poor schools." If this is the arguement, we should first eliminate text books in college. Let's start there and follow this path of cost savings to high school, then middle school. The lessons of a text book in middle school are several. 1) These books are heavy, carrying a text book is often times the only exercise fatty gets. 2) Basic memory skills. "I forgot my book" ruins Joey's self esteem. 3) Money spent on text books could be better spent on teacher's union initiatives. 4) Obsolete concepts are often found in Math and English text books. 5) Global studies. Text books fail under the "Blame Bush" curriculum. Educating children with BOE current political agenda is stiffled with hard copy of yesterday's opinions. Laptops and blogs for everyone.
Teachers will still need a masters degree to babysit and a black armband if a Republican gets elected..
So instead of books, school will probably have to buy new software every so often because it's been "updated. "I'm a little surprised Microsoft isn't writing the software for this as they've mastered the concept of forced upgrades. Nice gimmick. The other gimmick nowadays is the homeschooling. What you don't hear about that is the child abuse going happen nor test results. Anyhoo, who here wouldn't want to learn from Ma and Pa: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MRiTzrIS5fo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MRiTzrIS5fo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Next week, Pa teaches science as he splits an atom with a hammer and chisel.
Excellent Commentary All ..................................................................... Yeah, the internet boogyman is going to eat you children. I wish I had the internet when I was a kid. However, it can be used either in a beneficial or non-beneficial manner. If used properly, the internet will create a massive increase in education throughout the world, creating invention and progressivity at many times the rate of past educational means, in every category you can imagine. Google, and others know this very well. But most importantly, a child will not have to have an IVY League rich parent to progress. The playing field will get more level. The past can FO.....and Internet based education has already arrived and will only grow exponentially from here. Look at where the internet was 5 years ago. Now imagine the next decade, particularly when efficiency in costs becomes even more precious. This can even be in 2008 2009...... Look around you.....Man the future could be such that most every kid can speak 4 or 5 languages......the list goes on....