Posted on 05/27/2005 9:49:49 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
The California Assembly is betting that kids learn more with small books.
Lawmakers voted Thursday to ban school districts from purchasing textbooks longer than 200 pages.
The bill, believed to be the first of its kind nationwide, was hailed by supporters as a way to revolutionize education.
Critics lambasted Assembly Bill 756 as silly.
"This bill is really the epitome of micromanagement," said Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge. "(It's) absolutely ridiculous."
"With all due respect," said Assemblyman Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, "this Legislature worries more about the rules than they do about whether children learn." But Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, a Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, said critics are thinking too narrowly.
California schools are teaching kids with the same kinds of massive books that were used generations ago, though the world has changed significantly, Goldberg said.
--snip--
Michael Kirst, a Stanford education professor and co-director of Policy Analysis for Education, said he's never heard of any such bill nationwide.
"There's no track record that anyone can draw on," he said.
One key question, he said, is whether a 200-page limit would be equally practical for every subject - from math to social science.
"And you'd have to know how aligned the materials are on the Internet with our education standards," he said. "I don't know that anybody has done that."
Nancy Waltz, a former elementary teacher and current president of the San Juan Teachers Association, said she's open-minded about AB 756.
"As long as the standards are being met, textbooks are only a tool. ... (But) I don't know that there needs to be a number of pages mandated."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
I guess these morons would ban Harry Potter then?
Find a high school physics or advanced math textbook that's less than 200 pages. Good luck. Idiots.
"Lawmakers voted Thursday to ban school districts from purchasing textbooks longer than 200 pages.
The bill, believed to be the first of its kind nationwide, was hailed by supporters as a way to revolutionize education. "
Peter Principle in Action alert for lawmakers in California. They are beyond their level of competence and don't want to deal with the real problems they were elected to handle.
Another piece of evidence that the CA legislature is comprised of active Communists intent on destroying America from within. I am absolutely convinced of this.
Are they going to switch to 27pt. font too?
Just make the print smaller...
Back then, the argument was that the books were too heavy for kids to carry in their backpacks, so they wanted smaller books. All it did was double the number of books they carried. Of course, the solution was to use airplane-style wheeled bags, not backpacks.
Also, the reason that the kids were carrying the books in backpacks was that the schools took out the lockers because they became hiding places for drugs and weapons.
-PJ
Yes...the self-esteem educators lower the bar once again.
But it feels so right!
I am so glad that I homeschool.
California is going down the dumpster.
I'd be a lot more worried about a school that was using Harry Potter as a textbook.
Our kids have trouble reading, what should we do?
Why, less reading, of course!
[spit]
FRENCH WAR HEROES by Jacques Chirac
HOW I SERVED MY COUNTRY by Jane Fonda
MY BEAUTY SECRETS by Janet Reno
HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN AIRPLANE by John Denver
MY SUPER BOWL HIGHLIGHTS by Dan Marino
MY LITTLE BOOK OF PERSONAL HYGIENE by Osama Bin Laden
AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR LAWYERS
DETROIT: a Travel Guide
A COLLECTION of MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES by Dr. J. Kevorkian
GUIDE TO DATING ETIQUETTE by Mike Tyson
SPOTTED OWL RECIPES by the EPA
THE AMISH PHONE DIRECTORY
MY PLAN TO FIND THE REAL KILLERS by O. J. Simpson
BRIDGE TRAVEL by Ted Kennedy
And the world's Number One Thinnest Book .
MY BOOK OF MORALS by Bill Clinton with introduction by The Rev. Jessie Jackson
Why don't they just ban the purchase of all books?
Everything online.
If it's taught in the public schools, it can't be top secret material not available elsewhere.
That would save a whole lot of money. 99% of the books bought by the schools are no longer used. I'm sure some freeper could write a post on everything one needed to know about anything taught in the public schools.
Dogs do.
Banning Harry Potter? Not a bad idea, but it's not a textbook.
I small a Rat!
Textbook publishers have a lot of money to spend on prospective customers, including school boards and probably state legislators who make it their business to approve textbooks to be adopted by the state. A state adoption means many thousands of sales. One wonders whether two 200-page textbooks would mean more profit to the publisher than one 400-page book. They'd certainly cost more.
LOL Thanks!
add
Dialing 911 for DUmmies
As a mother of 3 boys and 2 girls, I can tell you that it would help if schools would actually select books for children to ENJOY. It is very difficult to make a child read a dulln uninspiring book, no matter the length.
Also I wish there were more books chosen by teachers and administrators to inspire boys. I thinks that's why girls are prone to be better readers...because the curricula is attuned to girls.
Shorter laws would be helpful.
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