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CA:Schwarzenegger terminates school books and tells pupils to go digital
DailyMail.uk ^ | 09th June 2009 | Daily Mail Reporter

Posted on 06/09/2009 10:15:41 AM PDT by yankeedame

Rise of the machines: Arnold Schwarzenegger terminates school books and tells pupils to go digital


Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: California is
facing a $24billion budget
deficit

...Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan to save his state's failing economy - by terminating text books.

The governor is telling children to give up the schoolbooks and turn to digital lessons to help the state avoid bankruptcy...

... he said: 'Textbooks are outdated, in my opinion.' He continued: 'For so many years, we've been trying to teach the kids exactly the same way.

'Our kids get their information from the internet, downloaded onto their iPods, and in Twitter feeds to their cell phones ...

'So why are California's school students still forced to lug around antiquated...expensive textbooks?'...

...the average price of a textbook is $75 to $100, whereas digital media can be distributed cheaply...

[snip]

Mr Schwarzenegger has ruled out tax increases to make up the shortfall.

Announcing measures across the board to stop excess spending...Spending department have been ordered to submit plans to the Department of Finance to reduce their expenditure by 15per cent or more...

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Government; Miscellaneous; US: California
KEYWORDS: apple; macintosh
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To: Xenalyte
a textbook doesn’t need to be replaced each year for each student.

They don't wear out, but colleges usually use a given textbook for only a couple of years. I myself am absolutely certain that there's quite a bit of payoff from the publishers to the state buyers that makes it necessary to get a "new edition" of a calculus textbook every five years or so.

21 posted on 06/09/2009 10:30:36 AM PDT by jiggyboy (Ten per cent of poll respondents are either lying or insane)
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA
I agree, this IMHO is not too bad of an idea; if those books cost the same implied on this thread, very cost effective.
22 posted on 06/09/2009 10:31:19 AM PDT by Jolla
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To: spintreebob

Well, California and Texas are the most powerful states when it comes to textbook publishing, but most publishers produce a special edition for both of these states - as well as all the other adoption states. But you’re right, in that it’s easier to create a national edition that adheres to the specific guidelines as much as possible. There are national guidelines for most disciplines,as well, but those aren’t as detailed as the state-specific guidelines are.


23 posted on 06/09/2009 10:33:01 AM PDT by ElayneJ
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To: yankeedame
Ahhnold SchwarzeKennedynegger
24 posted on 06/09/2009 10:33:21 AM PDT by JohnLongIsland
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To: USFRIENDINVICTORIA

There was a restriction in CA not long ago concerning the maximum weight of a textbook. Problem is that the books are heavy because the states set the standards regarding content!


25 posted on 06/09/2009 10:34:52 AM PDT by ElayneJ
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To: yankeedame

California’s socialist experiment is the future of America.


26 posted on 06/09/2009 10:35:22 AM PDT by pallis
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To: ElayneJ

Sorry but I know people on both sides of the issue, and it is most definitely always the publisher that is to blame. Most of the textbooks that are out are based on previous works, 90% of everything in them has been printed by that company before repeatedly. There’s very little new work that goes into a new edition, and meanwhile they charge 3 times as much as any regular book of the same size would charge. Because there’s actually very little competition (there’s only a few text book companies) they don’t try to undersell each other, they use “captive audience” pricing (like movie theaters and amusement parks), and the audience (teachers mostly) have been trying to get un-captive for a very long time.


27 posted on 06/09/2009 10:37:00 AM PDT by razorboy
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To: Oldexpat

I think you can make a pretty good argument though, that if a student isn’t introduced to computers pretty early, that they will be at a distinct disadvantage when they hit the job market.

I have faith that some enterprising manufacturer will come up with a “kid safe” laptop. It may have to be built of hardened titanium and bolted to the desk, but it will be kid safe.


28 posted on 06/09/2009 10:39:29 AM PDT by Brookhaven (Obama hasn't just open Pandora's box, he has thrown us inside and closed the lid.)
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To: ElayneJ

School books are overrated.


29 posted on 06/09/2009 10:40:03 AM PDT by Revenge of Sith
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To: Tublecane
Ain’t no free market in textbooks. No, sir.

He may trigger the beginning of the same type of plague that beset the music industry with the advent of MP3s.

In the book world you could see hundreds of thousands of students NOT BUYING text books because they can FREELY get a "File" copy of the text book in some popular file format such as PDF, etc. from a friend, BitTorrent site, etc.

30 posted on 06/09/2009 10:40:07 AM PDT by VideoDoctor
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To: jiggyboy

But in college, the student buys his own books. He can choose to buy used and get a huge discount, or buy new and eat the mammoth price tag.

In public high school and down, the school district does the buying, and only when it’s strictly needed OR when the state board decides on a new edition.


31 posted on 06/09/2009 10:43:48 AM PDT by Xenalyte (Don't threaten me with a good time.)
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To: yankeedame
Textbooks and study materials should be distributed in pdf format on flash drive memory sticks that can be read in the school library or study areas, and let them negotiate a fair price to content publishers. Liberals (and fake conservatives) constantly whine about the environment but nary a word about all the paper pulp, ink, shipping costs, and ultimately the space in sanitary landfills to accommodate dead tree books at the end of their useful life. But notice this is just about money. It's always about money.
32 posted on 06/09/2009 10:43:49 AM PDT by SpaceBar
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To: Brookhaven
People will obviously make fun of this, but it does have merit.

In the education industry, merit means nothing.

Education is not the purpose of the education system.

Its purpose is to provide jobs for members of the teachers' unions, and revenue for all the ancillary industries.

33 posted on 06/09/2009 10:44:13 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Islam is a religion of peace, and Muslims reserve the right to kill anyone who says otherwise.)
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To: razorboy

“Sorry but I know people on both sides of the issue, and it is most definitely always the publisher that is to blame.”

Well, I’m going to challenge you here. I spent several years as in textbook publishing and many of my friends are still in that business, so I know it pretty well. 90% of everything in the book is repetition? Perhaps in the field of math, but in an area like history, government, or the other social sciences - please consider that these are dynamic fields. I’m not saying the publishers don’t make a profit - of course they do. I’m saying that they don’t just create textbooks willy-nilly. There are reasons behind what they do. It’s a business, after all.


34 posted on 06/09/2009 10:44:53 AM PDT by ElayneJ
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To: VideoDoctor

“In the book world you could see hundreds of thousands of students NOT BUYING text books because they can FREELY get a ‘File’ copy of the text book in some popular file format such as PDF, etc. from a friend, BitTorrent site, etc.”

Fine. I found in college that, when it came to subjects with which I was generally familiar, I didn’t need to buy books anyway. i could rather rely on lectures, my previously-existing book collection, the library, and the internet to pass papers and tests.

Then again, that could be a commentary on the standards of my college.


35 posted on 06/09/2009 10:45:46 AM PDT by Tublecane
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To: Xenalyte

I hear you but there are a limit to how many years they can be reused. They also seem to be becoming less sturdy as they are manufactured more cheaply. Textbook publishers have hit the limit that many states can afford to pay and new means of squeezing profit out have come from the production side.


36 posted on 06/09/2009 10:46:33 AM PDT by TomOnTheRun
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To: Brookhaven
Would it be cheaper to provide students physical books, or an electronic reading device with the books installed on it? I don’t know about now, but someone will come up with a system that is cheaper than physical books.

There are several systems that are already cheaper; you could purchase a low-power laptop or tablet PC for about the price of two or three textbooks. Textbooks have been getting more expensive while electronics has gotten cheaper.

I love books, and my homes are filled with them. But the textbook industry, believing they had a captive market, have priced themselves out of that market. It is time to let them die if they can't offer their product at a reasonable cost.

37 posted on 06/09/2009 10:46:37 AM PDT by Technogeeb (The only good Russian is a dead Russian. Rest in Peace, Solzhenitsyn.)
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To: Tublecane

You said — There’s a big problem, right there. Ain’t no free market in textbooks. No, sir.

Well, that’s true — but by not going “hardware” with books and only going “software” (so to speak), you can save a lot of money. So, it’s not free, but it might cut the costs in half.


38 posted on 06/09/2009 10:48:39 AM PDT by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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To: ElayneJ

Just a subtle point...

Gov. S. did not RULE OUT tax hikes.

He already tried that. The PUBLIC, the CALIFORNIA PUBLIC, RULED OUT the tax hikes.

Folks are already tapped out. We can’t pay more.


39 posted on 06/09/2009 10:48:59 AM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
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To: ElayneJ

You said — uh-oh. California drives the textbook industry. Say good-bye to tons of publishing jobs.

Well, if it has to happen to the old Dinosaur Media (the MSM), then I don’t see why it doesn’t have to happen to the textbook industry...


40 posted on 06/09/2009 10:49:39 AM PDT by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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