[etni] Governor terminates textbooks for schools
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:25:07 +0300
Governor terminates textbooks for schools
theage.com.au - June 12, 2009
THE Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has unveiled a plan to
save his state money by phasing out school textbooks in favour of learning
over the internet.
Facing a budget shortfall of $US24.3 billion ($30 billion), the former actor
said that converting to online study would also keep pupils more up to date.
He said he believed that online activities such as Facebook, Twitter and
downloading to portable devices demonstrate that young people are ready to
learn from the internet.
"A world of up-to-date information fits easily into their pockets and onto
their computer screens," he wrote in the San Jose Mercury News. "So why are
California's public school students still forced to lug around antiquated,
heavy, expensive textbooks?
"California is home to software giants, bioscience research pioneers and
first-class university systems known around the world, but our students
still learn from instructional materials in formats made possible by
Gutenberg's printing press."
Last year California spent $US350 million on textbooks, prompting Mr
Schwarzenegger to sign an executive order to scrap funding on contracts from
March. From August, high school maths and science students will be offered
educational materials online and the opportunity to use digital readers
which can hold the equivalent of 160 books.
The Republican governor's latest attempt to balance the state's budget was
defeated last month when Californian voters rejected a series of cuts to
social programs. Mr Schwarzenegger has refused to raise taxes to fill the
gap.
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