Last class, I was talking with my group project members. Our topic is going to be about the tension between North Korea and South Korea and how it affects different countries and people. Since I am from the United States I only know my perspective on the conflict between the Korea's. Now I know that my perspective is heavily influenced by American media, which is very biased, and I am shown little international news. I had a hard time understanding why China would want to make sure that nothing happens to North Korea. My two classmates that are from China explained to me that any missiles or fighting that happen in North Korea could also hit China since the two countries border each other. Also, they told me that there are some Chinese citizens that live in North Korea and obviously no country wants its citizens to be harmed.
This helped me to realize my ignorance in not realizing that the two countries have relations and it's not as simple as just cutting off the relationship. I think that some of this stems from not being able to read articles from multiple news sources since I can only read one language and have the access to American news articles. In some ways, the news creates propaganda to convince you of their side without explaining all the different perspectives that countries might have for their choices. My other classmate Daiki explained to me that there are several US military camps in Japan and that there could be missiles or fighting that happen in Japan just because US troops are occupied in Japan. I knew that there were troops in Japan but it never occurred to me that Japan could get caught up in this fiasco just because of that relationship. Japan also has large boats called destroyers in the North Korean pacific coast along with the United States that are capable of shooting missile down. What about the recent conflict of setting up a defense system in South Korea? The Defense system that the the United States wants to set up is called THAAD.
What I haven't talked out about yet is the radar that goes with THAAD. Surprisingly, the radar has a wide enough range to be able to see about eighty percent of China's missile sites that are along the coast. Why is this a problem to everyone? Just as the United States would never allow a radar like this to be set in Mexico by a country like Russia, China doesn't want the United States to know where practically all of it's missiles are located. Which leads to unsteady relations with China, who we've spent the last couple centuries repairing our relationship with through trade agreements and surmounting a large amount of debt. Also if THAAD were to shoot a nuclear missile in the air then the radiation would be in the environment above all the countries and would end up in their food and water. Should we blame North Korea and It's people for the conflict?
I think that North Korea's people are not at fault and have been brainwashed by a tyrannical leader. The United States, Russia, China and South Korea are all at fault as well Since the Korean War. Relations between all these countries have been rocky since the Korean war because they pinned themselves on opposite sides and didn't come up with a better solution other than to try to capture the opposing country. All countries involved killed many North Korean citizens and the citizens have hated the United States since this incident. Why might this topic be important? This is important because if President Trump makes terrible decisions like bombing North Korea, we will have to shoot missiles down and lead to further destroying our atmosphere and life in Pacific Asia. The Asian Pacific conflicts are on of the most important topics today and I was never taught anything about why we even have conflict there in the first place, until we did the group project.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I need to keep a more open mind and think of situations from different people's perspectives before making any conclusions. I think that most of the American populous can relate to this since on a daily basis I hear such ignorant people saying that the solution is just blow up North Korea and it's that simple. Most of these people give little thought to the people that will be affected and that there has to be a better solution. Perhaps that solution if educating your fellow peers and showing them the ignorance in their ways. In the end this can only be resolved by everyone working together to resolve this issue.
Notes: added a third and fourth paragraph with a hyperlink to try to show what I'm talking about. Added a hyperlink at the end of paragraph one.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Standardized testing - revision
While in high school I overheard a conversation between my humanities teacher and the principal. It was about one of my friends who was a senior at the time, and it was a discussion of whether or not my humanities teacher should allow him to pass or not. My friend had failed several classes and ended up taking most of those classes online and all he needed was the humanities class to get his diploma. The discussion was our principal telling our teacher to pass my friend so that they could get rid of him instead of having him come back next year since they said they didn't want to deal with him anymore.
After that conversation, our teacher was forced to pass my friend, even though my friend shouldn't have gotten his diploma. He got handed a diploma he didn't do anything for and should have worked harder to get the diploma. I could see how it affected every teacher that was forced to pass students and I'm sure they felt like they had no control over the outcome of their classes. The teacher I talked about earlier quit the following year because various students were passed through the same way and he was given little respect from the students and his peers. My friend was failing the class and did none of his work, so in no way did he deserve to pass this class, but if he graduates the school gets more funding for the following year.
High schools will do anything to ensure that they get the same funds each year, which is what I had been noticing in my years in high school. They introduce several classes and programs to get more subsidize and will make sure that no one fails by issuing standardized tests to everyone. Those tests can be taken over and over again until that person passes, but it may be over several terms. There could also be a curve on the grades to try to get all the students to make it through the class. You might be asking how this started in the first place. The reason why this happened is that of no child left behind.
No child left behind mandated that everyone must take the same standardized tests and that you must teach the exact material provided without straying from a set of guidelines. Which makes teaching into a cookie cutting process and doesn't accommodate the needs of that particular class. The material taught must be memorized and little critical thinking skills are required to pass any standardized test. I believe that this leads to a society that is uneducated in the skills that are needed to succeed in life and is shown in most of the United States. What else has no child left behind disrupted?
Most of all, No child left behind is killing creativity by showing that there is only one way to go about things, the right way. In my opinion, there is no wrong and right way, but several ways of going about learning. While some ways may not work for some, you need to try to find a middle ground that will please the majority. Our current way of teaching is not helping the majority and is showing that creativity is not allowed. Everyone has different ideas and ways of going about solving problems, but that is not being portrayed to the students in our current system. Teachers need to be able to guide their students by showing videos, reading books of their choice or maybe even by straying from the mandatory curriculum. One size does not fit all, just as one teaching style does not fit all. Could this be solved by looking at how are subjects are taught in school?
Mandatory subjects include math and reading, which I agree are necessary for a good curriculum, but how math and reading can be applied is not taught correctly. If students were shown how math can be used to determine the amount of time to put clay in a kiln, what temperature to weld a piece of metal, or how much paint you need for an art project. The applications of math to other subjects are endless and can save you a lot of time and frustration. Reading is an important skill by having the means to teach yourself almost anything by reading books then experimenting with what you were just taught, by writing or doing an activity. In school we are not told to think this way, it is merely mindless reading and math problems without being shown how this can be applied to what we love to do in our spare time. Nothing you ever learn will be useless if you know how to apply it. You may never use one of the skills you have learned, but learning is one of the many privileges that we have in life.
What must be fixed is having more diverse topics to study through high school and have more choices. Not just having everyone read the same book and write the same papers. Also, topics that you learn in class should be tested, but not just with standardized testing. There needs to be more group discussions and activities that reflect on what you learned and gets students to come to some conclusions on their own. Our education system kills creativity by telling you that you are constantly wrong and that there are wrong opinions, at least in my schooling. Hopefully, we can get to a place where students can find out what they are good at and be pushed out of their comfort zone to better themselves and their peers.
Notes: Split the second paragraph into two paragraphs, and added a 5th and 6th paragraph. Tried to improve vocabulary and strengthen some previous ideas, the last paragraph still seems choppy in my opinion, but I improved it to the best of my ability.
After that conversation, our teacher was forced to pass my friend, even though my friend shouldn't have gotten his diploma. He got handed a diploma he didn't do anything for and should have worked harder to get the diploma. I could see how it affected every teacher that was forced to pass students and I'm sure they felt like they had no control over the outcome of their classes. The teacher I talked about earlier quit the following year because various students were passed through the same way and he was given little respect from the students and his peers. My friend was failing the class and did none of his work, so in no way did he deserve to pass this class, but if he graduates the school gets more funding for the following year.
High schools will do anything to ensure that they get the same funds each year, which is what I had been noticing in my years in high school. They introduce several classes and programs to get more subsidize and will make sure that no one fails by issuing standardized tests to everyone. Those tests can be taken over and over again until that person passes, but it may be over several terms. There could also be a curve on the grades to try to get all the students to make it through the class. You might be asking how this started in the first place. The reason why this happened is that of no child left behind.
No child left behind mandated that everyone must take the same standardized tests and that you must teach the exact material provided without straying from a set of guidelines. Which makes teaching into a cookie cutting process and doesn't accommodate the needs of that particular class. The material taught must be memorized and little critical thinking skills are required to pass any standardized test. I believe that this leads to a society that is uneducated in the skills that are needed to succeed in life and is shown in most of the United States. What else has no child left behind disrupted?
Most of all, No child left behind is killing creativity by showing that there is only one way to go about things, the right way. In my opinion, there is no wrong and right way, but several ways of going about learning. While some ways may not work for some, you need to try to find a middle ground that will please the majority. Our current way of teaching is not helping the majority and is showing that creativity is not allowed. Everyone has different ideas and ways of going about solving problems, but that is not being portrayed to the students in our current system. Teachers need to be able to guide their students by showing videos, reading books of their choice or maybe even by straying from the mandatory curriculum. One size does not fit all, just as one teaching style does not fit all. Could this be solved by looking at how are subjects are taught in school?
Mandatory subjects include math and reading, which I agree are necessary for a good curriculum, but how math and reading can be applied is not taught correctly. If students were shown how math can be used to determine the amount of time to put clay in a kiln, what temperature to weld a piece of metal, or how much paint you need for an art project. The applications of math to other subjects are endless and can save you a lot of time and frustration. Reading is an important skill by having the means to teach yourself almost anything by reading books then experimenting with what you were just taught, by writing or doing an activity. In school we are not told to think this way, it is merely mindless reading and math problems without being shown how this can be applied to what we love to do in our spare time. Nothing you ever learn will be useless if you know how to apply it. You may never use one of the skills you have learned, but learning is one of the many privileges that we have in life.
What must be fixed is having more diverse topics to study through high school and have more choices. Not just having everyone read the same book and write the same papers. Also, topics that you learn in class should be tested, but not just with standardized testing. There needs to be more group discussions and activities that reflect on what you learned and gets students to come to some conclusions on their own. Our education system kills creativity by telling you that you are constantly wrong and that there are wrong opinions, at least in my schooling. Hopefully, we can get to a place where students can find out what they are good at and be pushed out of their comfort zone to better themselves and their peers.
Notes: Split the second paragraph into two paragraphs, and added a 5th and 6th paragraph. Tried to improve vocabulary and strengthen some previous ideas, the last paragraph still seems choppy in my opinion, but I improved it to the best of my ability.
Sunday, May 28, 2017
High Cost of Textbooks - Revision
It all goes back to the beginning of college. I had to be careful with my money or I wouldn't have enough for textbooks. Sometimes I would have to decide between buying a full meal versus just getting an Apple or no food at all. On top of tuition costs, my books could be as much as one of my classes. I find it difficult for someone to pay for rent, food, and bills without debt when tuition and textbooks cost so much. This has made it increasingly difficult to pay for school and books over the years.
I have paid for school by working part time at minimum wage jobs and struggling through the week to week grind of homework and work. Which is why it is rigorous to pay for school and textbooks. Honestly no one wants to work for minimum wage but as my parents have always reminded me, you start at the bottom not the top. Which is why I go to school in the first place, so I can do something I love and make more money doing it. On top of making minuscule money every term, I was required to get the newest textbooks, which were hardly used since everything is on the internet. On top of this, when I went to book buybacks to try to get money back, they wouldn't accept the books since there was already a new edition.
There can be new editions of books, but there can't be new editions of the internet, which is why I prefer the internet over textbooks. Often times I find myself using the internet over textbooks since the internet has vastly diverse information from a variety of people, as compared to textbooks that only use a few authors. In my opinion, books are outdated. I believe that textbooks are outdated because they have few effective examples to interact with the reader and I find that most are dull to read. Videos are more useful than textbooks because you see someone go through the process to either solve a problem or explain a difficult concept. If books are inferior then why do they cost so much more than free resources like the internet?
Textbook costs have increased over the years and there is little reason for this in my opinion, other than to make more money. The same textbooks are just re-printed over and over again and they just label them as a new edition. There is little information that changes in the textbooks, typically the only changes that are made are the questions or the order of the questions. What other alternatives do we have as a student? Why aren't there any e-textbook alternatives that we can use that cost less money and don't have to be carried around everywhere? These should be simple solutions to a problem that we have all had. What about the companies that choose what price to put on books.
It seems unusual to me that the prices books are listed at are regulated by the book companies that publish these books. Shouldn't there be a committee of some sorts that looks to see if the information in the book has actually changed to constitute charging so much for books? Committees should be a group of people that don't have monetary interest in what is trying to be sold, but have knowledge on the product. While committees can help reduce the price of required textbooks, what are our professors doing to help make life easier on their students.
Why not have professors use older versions of the textbook or a PDF of the newest textbook. Perhaps teachers can't give out a copy of the book because they will get in trouble by their superiors, which makes me question how the hierarchy of our schooling system works. How much choice do our professors actually have in what textbooks we use in class? It's not only the professors, but students also need to voice their opinions and say that high textbooks costs are not acceptable. Through the collected effort of teachers and students together we can lower book prices and make living more affordable for students.
Notes: changed some sentence structure and vocabulary. Reworded and added sentences to all the paragraphs except the first paragraph. Expanded on previous ideas and tried to make sentences flow from one to another.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Blog post 4
I had just gotten off the bus and was walking down my driveway. As I entered the doorway my parents were waiting in the living room, which typically didn't happen unless something bad had happened. I sat down in the living room, wondering what I had done, but it was nothing I had done. I was just told that my cousin had killed himself, I felt overwhelming emotions come in an instant. I will never forget the feeling of finding out that a relative had died, but more so when someone has ended their life earlier than what I had expected. I've had other relatives die, but to some extend you expect that older relatives will die eventually, but younger relatives like my cousin I expected to live as long as I will. It hurt me much more knowing that how much life he had to live, and how he ended everything in a few seconds. There is regret on my end that I didn't reach out to him more, or somehow prevented what happened, but I know I couldn't have known what he was going to do.
The only person that could have known was my aunt, who adopted my cousin as a single mother. They lived in California, so only got to see him twice a year. in my opinion my aunt has some mental health issues, which most of the family agrees on. To this day I wonder if there was any kind of background check on her before she was allowed to raise a child, because she was not a fit single parent. Every time I went to their house she was yelling at my cousin, telling him he could do more and needed to obey her in every way. Her dogs were treated as royalty while her son was a misunderstand boy with no one to turn to for affection. While she bought him plenty of things, objects can't fill the void of feeling unloved and we lived in another state so he had little family. Whenever he tried to come to Oregon his mom wouldn't allow it, but he was always welcome to come up. On top of all this he was constantly bullied at school and coped with this by vandalizing school property and joining the wrong crowd. Which led to him having to go to a border school to live at where he had no friends or family.
I'd have to imagine that he felt like he was on an island with nobody on it, completely deserted and left out to dry. I know for a fact that when he came home he was yelled at and asked why he couldn't be a better son. Being compared to other people and made to feel worthless. Eventually one day he had enough and decided to go to the local basketball court at night and hang himself, not thinking of the consequences or who it would affect. I believe that in the end he loved his mom to the end of the world, and vise versa, but I can't comprehend how it feels to be adopted and never have a father figure in your life. I will never know what it's like to have terrible parents or go without feeling loved. There has to be another way other than suicide, and he had plenty of other options. His life was just beginning and he threw it all away, the possibilities were endless.
That's the part that hurts me the most, the endless possibilities and the good times we had spent together. From going swimming at my aunt's house in California, to getting burritos downtown, yelling at the amusement park, and plenty of other memories. All of these memories came back to me at his funeral, and I will never forget the thousands of people at his funeral. He knew everyone in his town and didn't realize how many lives he had affected, neither did I. It was the most people I had seen at a funeral and if only he'd known how loved he was, he would be with me today. Everyone in the family misses him and there will never be someone to replace him. He had something that I don't, and that's the ability to connect with people with little effort.
What we need to look at is that my aunt was not fit to raise a child alone, or may be not at all. I question how she was ever allowed to have a child, and that a father figure is important for any child's life. Perhaps the adoption agencies have changed over the years and I hope that they have. Also try to be there for family, make sure they know that you haven't forgotten them cause they could be gone in an instant. This was an important life lesson and I am still coping with the death of my cousin. Thanks for taking your time to read this I just felt like I needed to write a blog post about this topic.
The only person that could have known was my aunt, who adopted my cousin as a single mother. They lived in California, so only got to see him twice a year. in my opinion my aunt has some mental health issues, which most of the family agrees on. To this day I wonder if there was any kind of background check on her before she was allowed to raise a child, because she was not a fit single parent. Every time I went to their house she was yelling at my cousin, telling him he could do more and needed to obey her in every way. Her dogs were treated as royalty while her son was a misunderstand boy with no one to turn to for affection. While she bought him plenty of things, objects can't fill the void of feeling unloved and we lived in another state so he had little family. Whenever he tried to come to Oregon his mom wouldn't allow it, but he was always welcome to come up. On top of all this he was constantly bullied at school and coped with this by vandalizing school property and joining the wrong crowd. Which led to him having to go to a border school to live at where he had no friends or family.
I'd have to imagine that he felt like he was on an island with nobody on it, completely deserted and left out to dry. I know for a fact that when he came home he was yelled at and asked why he couldn't be a better son. Being compared to other people and made to feel worthless. Eventually one day he had enough and decided to go to the local basketball court at night and hang himself, not thinking of the consequences or who it would affect. I believe that in the end he loved his mom to the end of the world, and vise versa, but I can't comprehend how it feels to be adopted and never have a father figure in your life. I will never know what it's like to have terrible parents or go without feeling loved. There has to be another way other than suicide, and he had plenty of other options. His life was just beginning and he threw it all away, the possibilities were endless.
That's the part that hurts me the most, the endless possibilities and the good times we had spent together. From going swimming at my aunt's house in California, to getting burritos downtown, yelling at the amusement park, and plenty of other memories. All of these memories came back to me at his funeral, and I will never forget the thousands of people at his funeral. He knew everyone in his town and didn't realize how many lives he had affected, neither did I. It was the most people I had seen at a funeral and if only he'd known how loved he was, he would be with me today. Everyone in the family misses him and there will never be someone to replace him. He had something that I don't, and that's the ability to connect with people with little effort.
What we need to look at is that my aunt was not fit to raise a child alone, or may be not at all. I question how she was ever allowed to have a child, and that a father figure is important for any child's life. Perhaps the adoption agencies have changed over the years and I hope that they have. Also try to be there for family, make sure they know that you haven't forgotten them cause they could be gone in an instant. This was an important life lesson and I am still coping with the death of my cousin. Thanks for taking your time to read this I just felt like I needed to write a blog post about this topic.
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Perspective
Last class I was talking with my group project members. Our topic is going to be about the tension between North Korea and South Korea and how it affects different countries and people. Since I am from the United States I only know my perspective on the conflict between the Korea's. Now I know that my perspective is heavily influenced by American media, which is very biased, and I am shown little international news. I had a hard time understanding why China would want to make sure that nothing happens to North Korea. My two classmates that are from China explained to me that any missiles or fighting that happen in North Korea could also hit China since the two countries border each other. Also they told me that there are some Chinese citizens that live in North Korea and obviously no country wants its citizens to be harmed.
This helped me to realize my ignorance in not realizing that the two countries have relations and its not as simple as just cutting off the relationship. I think that some of this stems from not being able to read articles from multiple news sources since I can only read one language and have the access to American news articles. In some ways the news creates propaganda to convince you of their side without explaining all the different perspectives that countries might have for their choices. My other classmate Daiki explained to me that there are several US military camps in Japan and that there could be missiles or fighting that happen in Japan just because US troops are occupied in Japan. I knew that there were troops in Japan but it never occurred to me that Japan could get caught up in this fiasco just because of that.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I need to keep a more open mind and think of situations from different peoples perspectives before making any conclusions. I think that most of the American populous can relate to this since on a daily basis I hear such ignorant people saying that the solution is just blow up North Korea and its that simple. Most of these people give little thought to the people that will be affected and that there has to be a better solution.
This helped me to realize my ignorance in not realizing that the two countries have relations and its not as simple as just cutting off the relationship. I think that some of this stems from not being able to read articles from multiple news sources since I can only read one language and have the access to American news articles. In some ways the news creates propaganda to convince you of their side without explaining all the different perspectives that countries might have for their choices. My other classmate Daiki explained to me that there are several US military camps in Japan and that there could be missiles or fighting that happen in Japan just because US troops are occupied in Japan. I knew that there were troops in Japan but it never occurred to me that Japan could get caught up in this fiasco just because of that.
Basically what I'm trying to say is that I need to keep a more open mind and think of situations from different peoples perspectives before making any conclusions. I think that most of the American populous can relate to this since on a daily basis I hear such ignorant people saying that the solution is just blow up North Korea and its that simple. Most of these people give little thought to the people that will be affected and that there has to be a better solution.
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Standardized Testing
While in high school I remember hearing a conversation between my humanities teacher and the principal. It was about one of my friends who was a senior at the time, and it was a discussion of whether or not my humanities teacher should pass him or not. My friend had failed several classes and ended up taking most of those classes online and all he needed was the humanities class to get his diploma. The discussion was basically our principal telling our teacher to pass my friend so that they can get rid of him instead of having him come back next year since they said they didn't want to deal with him anymore. The teacher I talked about earlier quit the following year because several students were passed through the same way and he was given little respect from the students and his peers. My friend was failing the class and did none of his work, so in no way did he deserve to pass this class, but if he graduates the school gets more funding for the following year.
High schools will do anything to ensure that they get the same funds then next year, which is what I had been noticing in my years in high school. They introduce several classes and programs to get more funding and will make sure that no one fails by issuing standardized testing to everyone. Firstly the reason why this happened is because of no child left behind, which mandated that everyone must take the same standardized tests and that you must teach the exact material provided without straying from a set of guidelines. Which makes teaching into a cookie cutting process and doesn't accommodate for the needs of that particular class. The material taught must be memorized and little critical thinking skills are required to pass any standardized test.I believe that this leads to a society that is uneducated in the skills that are needed to succeed in life and is shown in most of the United States.
One problem that must be fixed is having more diverse topics to study through high school and having more choices. Not just having everyone read the same book and write the same papers. Also topics that you learn in class should be tested, but not just with standardized testing. There needs to be more group discussions and activities that reflect on what you learned and gets students to come to some conclusions on their own. Our education system kills creativity by telling you that you are constantly wrong and that there are wrong opinions, at least in my schooling. Hopefully we can get to a place where students can find out what they are good at and be pushed out of their comfort zone.
High schools will do anything to ensure that they get the same funds then next year, which is what I had been noticing in my years in high school. They introduce several classes and programs to get more funding and will make sure that no one fails by issuing standardized testing to everyone. Firstly the reason why this happened is because of no child left behind, which mandated that everyone must take the same standardized tests and that you must teach the exact material provided without straying from a set of guidelines. Which makes teaching into a cookie cutting process and doesn't accommodate for the needs of that particular class. The material taught must be memorized and little critical thinking skills are required to pass any standardized test.I believe that this leads to a society that is uneducated in the skills that are needed to succeed in life and is shown in most of the United States.
One problem that must be fixed is having more diverse topics to study through high school and having more choices. Not just having everyone read the same book and write the same papers. Also topics that you learn in class should be tested, but not just with standardized testing. There needs to be more group discussions and activities that reflect on what you learned and gets students to come to some conclusions on their own. Our education system kills creativity by telling you that you are constantly wrong and that there are wrong opinions, at least in my schooling. Hopefully we can get to a place where students can find out what they are good at and be pushed out of their comfort zone.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
High Cost of Textbooks
It all goes back to the beginning of college. I had to be careful with my money or I wouldn't have enough money for textbooks. Some times I would have to decide between getting a full meal versus just getting an apple or no food at all. On top of tuition costs, my books could be as much as one of my classes. I find it difficult for someone to pay for rent, food, and bills without debt when tuition and textbooks cost so much. Which is a large reason why some people don't go to school in the first place.
I have paid for school by working part time at minimum wage jobs and being unable to work more hours, which is why it is hard to pay for school and textbooks. Every term I was required to get the newest textbooks, which was hardly used since everything is on the internet. When I went to book buybacks, they wouldn't accept the books since there was already a new edition.
Often times I find myself using the internet over textbooks since there is more information and examples on whatever I am interested in learning about. In my opinion books are slightly outdated, but they still can be useful. I believe that textbooks are outdated because they have few effective examples to interact with the reader and I find most to be dull to read. Videos are more useful than textbooks because you see someone go through the process to either solve a problem or explain a difficult concept. Another thing I find frustrating is the price of textbooks.
Textbook cost have increased over the years and there is little reason for this in my opinion, other than to make more money. The same textbooks are are just re-printed over and over again and they just label them as a new edition. There is little information that changes in the textbooks, typically the only changes that are made are the questions or the order of the questions. Another question I have is why aren't there any e-textbook alternatives that we can use that cost less money and don't have to be carried around everywhere.
It seems weird to me that the prices that books are listed at are regulated by the book companies. Shouldn't there be a committee of some sorts that looks to see if the information in the book has actually changed to constitute charging so much for books. One solution might be to have professors use older versions of the textbook or a PDF of the newest textbook. Perhaps teachers can't give out a copy of the book because they will get in trouble by their superiors, which makes me question how the hierarchy of our schooling system works.
I have paid for school by working part time at minimum wage jobs and being unable to work more hours, which is why it is hard to pay for school and textbooks. Every term I was required to get the newest textbooks, which was hardly used since everything is on the internet. When I went to book buybacks, they wouldn't accept the books since there was already a new edition.
Often times I find myself using the internet over textbooks since there is more information and examples on whatever I am interested in learning about. In my opinion books are slightly outdated, but they still can be useful. I believe that textbooks are outdated because they have few effective examples to interact with the reader and I find most to be dull to read. Videos are more useful than textbooks because you see someone go through the process to either solve a problem or explain a difficult concept. Another thing I find frustrating is the price of textbooks.
Textbook cost have increased over the years and there is little reason for this in my opinion, other than to make more money. The same textbooks are are just re-printed over and over again and they just label them as a new edition. There is little information that changes in the textbooks, typically the only changes that are made are the questions or the order of the questions. Another question I have is why aren't there any e-textbook alternatives that we can use that cost less money and don't have to be carried around everywhere.
It seems weird to me that the prices that books are listed at are regulated by the book companies. Shouldn't there be a committee of some sorts that looks to see if the information in the book has actually changed to constitute charging so much for books. One solution might be to have professors use older versions of the textbook or a PDF of the newest textbook. Perhaps teachers can't give out a copy of the book because they will get in trouble by their superiors, which makes me question how the hierarchy of our schooling system works.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)