Those of y’all who know me know that I’m about as much a fan of capitalism as anyone. Big businesses, greed, profits, screwing the little guy—I’m all for it. But there’s one instance in which greedy corporations have managed to screw over poor consumers in ways that should be simply untenable. What am I talking about? College textbooks.
I’m actually even more bothered by the problem now that I’m a college instructor than I was as a student. I had TOPS stipends or grad school assistantships to pay for my textbooks; I got to keep the remainder, so I had an incentive to buy books for as little as possible, but the sting of spending $250 or more for a semester’s worth of books is greatly lessened when you’re getting help to pay for them. But as an instructor, I don’t want to force overpriced textbooks upon students who may or may not be able to easily afford the books.
Right now I’m teaching a mythology class. I had been a TA for a class a few years back and we used Morford and Lenardon’s Classical Mythology (8th edition). It was a good book, I was familiar with it, and it was my first time teaching a mythology class, so I went with it. Sure, I gritted my teeth a little bit at the fact that my students would have to pay $70 or so for it, but c’est la vie. I used it, it worked well, and I’d certainly recommend it if the cost isn’t a problem. Unfortunately, the cost is a problem. I’m teaching the same mythology class during the summer, and I was debating whether or not to use the textbook. I go to look it up on amazon and see that there’s now a ninth edition, which came out in February 2010. The eighth edition came out in 2007. There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that enough changed in the study of a field that goes back two thousand years to necessitate a new edition just three years after the preceding one. The sole reason is money. Continue reading ‘the textbook racket’
This is a bit of a happy entry, because it’s something I’m through with. But at the time, boy, did it suck. I’m talking about exam weeks in college. The bane of the past six years of my life, and I’m so glad I don’t have to put up with them anymore. Now I’m the one giving the exams, and that feeling is so much nicer than having to take them, and having to write all the papers, and finish all the projects, etc. But I do remember the misery of exam week, and I figured I’d commiserate with those of you who are suffering through it right now. I’m sure you’re looking for ways to procrastinate as you finish off those papers, so I consider this a public service. Continue reading ‘exam week’
I read a distressing article in the Times-Picayune this morning. The article describes how the “Louisiana Association of Special Education Administrators”* wants to get rid of gifted and talented programs in Louisiana, keeping all gifted students in regular classrooms, with no special opportunities for them. Take this quote from a letter written by their president:
“We question the ability of anyone to prove that a student with a 4.0 GPA needs special education services because his educational performance is significantly affected.”
This is galling on so many levels. First of all, many gifted students don’t have a 4.0 GPA because they’re bored out of their mind in class and have no interest in material that is far beneath them. Secondly, if a student could be learning much more advanced material but is instead stuck covering subjects far below his intellectual level, his educational performance is being “significantly affected.” Sure, 99th percentile standardized test scores may look good and pull up the average for everyone else, but they really mean a student isn’t being challenged enough. A student like this may “perform” well, but his time is being wasted and he’s not allowed to reach his potential. Continue reading ‘underfunding gifted education’