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  (Source: ipadinschools.com)
The school district plans to offer the iPads to 5th grade, 8th grade and select high school classes starting this fall

The Unified School District in San Diego, California is receiving nearly 26,000 iPads as soon as this fall. The school district's commitment has been labeled the largest iPad deployment in K-12 schools in the United States.

The students will likely be using iBooks, which is an application that provides students with textbooks on the iPad as well as new study options like note-taking. Students can also use this app as well as others for writing and math without having to carry several heavy books to class. Overall, iBooks offers a more interactive learning experience that the district hopes will engage students.

"The more engaging the content is, the more the students want to be in there," said Amanda Ferguson, an iBooks developer for Pearson Education. "They want to be reading, they want to be learning."

While the idea behind the iPad deployment is sound, many were curious as to how the district was able to pull off a $15 million bill from Apple for 26,000 iPads in a total of 340 classrooms. 

The answer is Proposition S funding, which was passed in 2008 and offered money for classroom technology. Each iPad was purchased at $370 a piece.

The school district plans to offer the iPads to 5th grade, 8th grade and select high school classes starting this fall.

Apple released its latest iBooks 2 app back in January of this year, which is the sequel to the original iBooks app. The latest version offers new interactive games and study guides in addition to textbooks. In the first three days of release, 350,000 textbooks were downloaded from the iBooks store.

Using iPads in schools could mean great savings on books. IBook production costs are about 80 percent less than print publication according to Global Equities Research. With supply chain markup on textbooks between 33 and 35 percent, cutting out the middlemen between the publisher to the retailer and instead delivering digital textbooks from the publisher to the student via iBooks will present considerable savings.

Most books in iBooks 2 are at the high school level and started off at $14.99 or less. The app also offers books from well-known publishers like Pearson, McGraw Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which combined make up 90 percent of textbooks available.

Back in March, McGraw Hill predicted that the new iPad will boost e-textbook adoption. It looks like the publisher was right, with 26,000 being the biggest school deployment so far.

Source: 10News


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Nice to know
By amanojaku on 6/26/2012 11:36:30 AM , Rating: 5
San Diego has money to waste on iPads. They could have bought Kindles for half the cost...




RE: Nice to know
By daveinternets on 6/26/2012 11:44:18 AM , Rating: 3
My mother is a teacher in S.D. About 3 years ago, they bought every single teacher a Mac Book Pro.

None of the teachers wanted them. They just wanted updated text books and class supplies.

Blame the teachers all you want, but it's the non-union school employees (read: administrators / board members) that waste the most money and cause the most harm.

Oh, and, my mom never used her Mac Book.


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/26/2012 11:51:23 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Blame the teachers all you want...


I don't think the OP was referring to the teachers at all.

quote:
None of the teachers wanted them


I call BS on this one. ALL of the teachers didn't want a new laptop, right...


RE: Nice to know
By daveinternets on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By sigmatau on 6/26/12, Rating: -1
RE: Nice to know
By sigmatau on 6/26/12, Rating: -1
RE: Nice to know
By Kurz on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By EnzoFX on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/26/2012 1:23:49 PM , Rating: 4
Incorrect. Teachers are universally woefully underpaid...which leaves only 2 types of people in the teaching profession: Those who are so inept that they can't get a job doing anything else, or those who simply martyr themselves upon the altar of education for the sake of the children.

There's a lot more of the former than there is of the latter.


RE: Nice to know
By Solandri on 6/26/2012 1:32:37 PM , Rating: 5
What you're describing isn't a pay problem. It's a standards problem. Raise the standards and qualifications needed to become a teacher, then adjust pay until you get enough of them who meet the standard. Simply offering more money for the positions doesn't fix it, especially when you have the union preventing you from firing anyone you hire who turns out to be the inept type.

This is really the double-edged sword teachers wield when they argue that teachers are underpaid. If you assume they're right, the solution isn't to just raise their pay. It's to fire every single teacher, then rehire new ones and some of the old ones at the higher pay rates and higher standards.


RE: Nice to know
By NellyFromMA on 6/26/2012 4:20:49 PM , Rating: 4
There's a very simple problem that can be addressed for public school systems. It's called tenure. It is the pride and joy of union public school teachers and it is exactly what nullifies any form of competition and is exactly why more often than not the reason why students get saddled with garbage teachers.

Tenure ensures a teacher cannot be fired for performance-related reasons in today's public schools. It USED to be meant for professors who did not want to become persecuted for having differing political or philosophical ideas but its been bastardized as a result.

Not all teachers are bad, but most are incompetant to teach. And for those teachers who don't care for their students really there is no motivation to strive to do well. The students pick up on this and more often than not reciprocate it.

End tenure for public school teachers and all them to compete for jobs. Keep the good ones. Wash rinse repeat.


RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/26/2012 4:50:54 PM , Rating: 1
It is a pay problem, from the start...here's why:

College students working on their degrees choose their future careers for a variety of reasons - one important one being the amount of money they can make doing it. Another factor being whether or not they think they'd like doing it.

If the median pay for teachers is very low, students aren't going to get teaching degrees unless they're inherently extremely emotionally driven to become a teacher, regardless of pay. This is how we get the "martyrs" I mentioned earlier.

All other students, to whom making a fair wage is important, skip getting education degrees and go into other fields where they can make appropriate amounts of money and live the quality of life they wish to have for themselves and their families.

Hence, you have no initial supply of *good* teachers. Your supply is of the martyrs, and the also-rans who figure they can't get a job anywhere else. Just starting to raise standards will disqualify the also-rans...but leave you without a sufficient supply of candidates for the jobs.

And yes...we have to get rid of the bad teachers. Which involves outlawing unions, which needs to be done for the good of society anyway. But if you don't start the process by increasing teacher pay, you're never going to have the supply of adequate teachers that you need to pull from in the first place.


RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/2012 5:50:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
It is a pay problem, from the start...here's why:
I think you over explained your reason because I'm not seeing it. Here's the reason it is not a pay issue:

I work at a ketchup popsicle company and I am selling the things like hotcakes to people with red gloves. My coworker who sells to people with white gloves isn't doing as well. Should he get paid less for selling less popsicles? I'm assuming that it is more difficult to sell to the one with the white gloves. Now what if I told you that half of those white gloved individuals wouldn't buy a popsicle regardless of the color/flavor how much should my coworker make?

Back to the real world now. There are only a certain amount of Big Tom Callahans out there and they deserve more pay. That you are right about. But you can't even pay him enough to get those who don't want the popsicles at all.

Look at all the schools that have the lotteries. The kids that get in do better than at normal public schools. Why? Not because the school/teachers are any better but because those parents fought tooth and nail (ok they didn't, but they were forced to look at the value of the education square in the face) and they will be damned if their kid fails at that school. Free public schools are only good for those who understand the value and teach their kids to be good students. Because in this pamby-ass society that we have constructed kids can sit in a class, not sit in a class, flip off their teacher and do whatever they want because their parents are the only ones who can really punish them now that teachers have been spayed and/or neutered. (Oh, that and the harsh reality once they turn 18.)

The more "free" stuff that we give out with reckless abandon (not anti-charity here), the more people do not appreciate it, and the more they don't appreciate it the more it will cost for teachers to try to MAKE them appreciate it. That is why we need alternatives like those schools where they pay the kids to do homework (as an example) instead of the cookie cutter DOE crap. If someone has an idea to get through to the kids, let them have at it. Don't just throw money at the same dam broken edumacation system as you propose.


RE: Nice to know
By knutjb on 6/26/2012 1:08:31 PM , Rating: 4
I beg to differ. If you look at just the pay it looks low. Then consider they work 8~9 months, the pay doesn't show the benefits, health care, retirement are an additional $10~25 per hour depending on region.

If schools didn't go after every Federal dollar thrown at them. Then they ave to hire all the extra staff required to manage all the insane requirements mandated by simply taking the money. Next thing you know the budgets are being sucked up by the excessive administration costs.

Also look at your local school structure, they do vary quite a bit. In stead of a pyramid shaped personnel structure it looks more like a square. Too many chiefs not enough indians. School boards are clever, some split the board and administration costs into separate pots to distort the real costs.

There is more to it than just bad teachers, the NEA pushes some crazy educational policies, unions and their impact on policies, and the aforementioned boards, supervisors, and administrators.

Look at http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2009/09/education-spen...

Spending has skyrocketed and results have remained stagnant. How can ANYONE justify more money? With all the money thrown at K~12 and this is all we get? If the educational system were a company it would have gone out of business decades ago.


RE: Nice to know
By arazok on 6/26/2012 1:43:17 PM , Rating: 3
What do you think fair pay for a teacher would be?


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/26/2012 1:52:14 PM , Rating: 4
Whatever they're willing to accept for the services provided? ....just like every other job.... We don't need some central planner deciding what teachers should make. If we have enough teachers and those are of sufficient quality, we're paying them enough. Maybe even too much. If we can't recruit enough good teachers, we're not paying them enough.


RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/26/2012 2:14:08 PM , Rating: 1
The problem with your theory is that it gets us where we are now...graduating kids from high school with piss-poor skills across the board. Making teachers' salaries abysmally low guarantees that the ranks will be filled with low quality people, who will provide low quality educations to our children, who will then become low quality members of our society.


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/26/2012 2:38:20 PM , Rating: 2
I disagree. First, I said "If we can't recruit enough good teachers, we're not paying them enough." If you believe the current problem with our education system is that we have poor quality educators then you're not paying enough to recruit high quality employees. I never advocated abysmally low teacher salaries - I advocated the lowest number that will still allow you to reach your goals. If I can get great teachers for $75k/yr, why would I pay them $750k/yr? Certainly the same argument applies for smaller differences.

And second, I do not believe the problem is that we're getting bad teachers. I think there are some, sure. And those few are protected by the unions, which sucks. But by far, the largest problem in the US education system is a lack of parental involvement. No amount of funding (for teacher salaries, or anything else) will change that.


RE: Nice to know
By TSS on 6/26/2012 7:37:58 PM , Rating: 2
Eh this is wrong, and really one of the problems with capitalism today. What's the actual value that a teacher brings to the table to teach?

This is not "whatever they are willing to accept". Make the surrounding economic conditions bad enough and they will accept anything, which leads to the system in place today (rather a job then no job amirite?)

The way to quantify this value is to look at how complicated the work is, how stressfull, and most importantly, how many other people are available to do the same work.

The complexity of the work depends on the grade taught. Teaching 8th grade kids math will be harder then teaching 5th grade kids math, as the teacher has to be able to handle 8th grade math and differentiate to what the kids should and shouldn't know. Now 8th grade math might be simple but this gets more complex as you move to highschool and college, wages have to reflect that. Also kids tend to have more questions as they get older, a teacher is there to awnser them, atleast alot of them, so they should be capable of actually doing so.

Also i'm not sure how it is in the US but elementairy school here often has the same teacher for every course, and lots of general knowledge certainly is a skill as well.

Teaching is quite stressfull. kids are little monsters, certainly when you put 20-30 of them together in a class room. Wether or not a teacher can actually deal with that stress is irrelevant for the wage, but the wage should reflect that stress none the less just like miners get hazard pay. I've heard plenty of stories in my day of teachers who ended up in mental hospitals, it's not for all people.

Vacations are a plus, but it's offset with grueling work later. Many teachers have to spent extra time on grading tests and whatnot outside of the time they're paid. This is understood as coming with the territory, but the wage should reflect it none the less.

Then the availability of labor. Good teachers are hard to find as well as hard to train. You're either good with kids or you're not, kids know this themselves. I can still destinctly remember which teachers i did and didn't like. Wages should also reflect that.

Then there's the financial side of things, as actually becoming a teacher isn't free either. While i'm not quite up to date about the costs of living in the US as well as educations, i do know it's quite expensive these days.

SO. What's it worth? Let's take minimum wage as a baseline. I know that it's $7,25 an hour (so let's just say $22,000 a year) and i also know that's not enough to live a decent life off in the states, though double would be enough to atleast pay the bills if you live smart.

For elementairy teachers, i'd say 2.5 times the minimum wage is good value, as a baseline, given that one doesn't need to know too much to care after 4-5 year olds as well as teaching them very basic stuff should be... very basic. You're an advanced nanny, basically. Then add another 8% per grade as both the complexity of information as well as the complexity of interaction with the students increases. This is the baseline value one can expect as a teacher in elementairy school.

Then add in both performance and seniority. Experience is very important when dealing with kids. For performance, tie it to the average grade of the class compared to the previous average grade of the class, with ranges as the margins. If it stays relatively stable, dropping or raising only slightly, the teacher recieves no wage increase. If it drops too much, the teacher loses wage (1%-2%). If it increases, the teacher gains wage (1%-2%), depending on the amount of rise. And no cheating by lowering the standards, tests must remain the same or increase in complexity.

Then add in another 3% in wage for every year the teacher is employed or 1,5% wage for every year of experience in the teacher field (dependant on who they taught before, a 4th grade teacher moving to 8th grade isn't worth as much as somebody with previous 8th grade experience).

Some teachers will end up earning very close to the baseline, or enough to make a living but hardly a comfertable one. Some teachers will end up earning alot, but in return, they are very good teachers. And it DOES make a difference. 1st year of highschool i had a 8 average on my end report for history, 2nd year i had a 5 average, only thing that changed was the teacher (she actually punished me when i was 2 months ahead of the rest of the class, because i was "too far ahead", just because she was boring as hell).

Of course, all of this comes ontop of compensation for inflation. Inflation +1,5%, wages +1,5%. need more money, just tax more because that's all the government is doing anyway. Biggest problem here is i think the government themselves no longer know what the inflation rate actually is.

What should all of this accomplish? That you're paid according to the value you bring to the table. Some crummy teacher that's just in it to "have a job", is just good enough with kids to stay employed but still dislikes his job enough to permenantly underperform, will end up living in a small apartment driving a "compact" car and vacations will mostly be spent behind the TV.

But if you're an old vet, spent 20 years but still love to teach kids, and the kids really pick up the information you are giving them because you can make learning exciting, then you'll probably be paid enough to live in a decent house for you and your 2 kids while driving a medium sized SUV or Sedan or familiy car.. you know the type. You won't be rich, but you definitly won't be poor.

That's what teaching, heck. capitalism is supposed to be like. Value. NOT profit ("whatever they are willing to accept" = profit for the employer, not value for the employee).


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/27/2012 4:23:50 AM , Rating: 2
You listed off a handful of things you feel should be factored into the wages of teachers. I argue those already are factored in, even if not presented in a bulleted list as you have done.

All of the stresses of the job, prerequisite educational costs, other people willing to do the work, other available jobs, etc are already being considered and don't require an individual to decree "this is how teacher pay shall be determined!" It happens on its own. That is precisely the beauty of capitalism. If the job is too stressful (for example), all else equal, fewer people will be willing to do it. They'll leave for another school district or maybe an entirely different field of employment. As schools can't recruit teachers, they may increase wages to offset the stressful work environment. Or they may attempt to mitigate the causes of stress. This dance continues until an equilibrium is met.

(I'm purposefully skipping over good vs bad teachers because it's very difficult to objectively judge that, and because the unions here have effectively made that a moot point. Unless you break the law, you cannot be fired for being a bad teacher anymore. But if you could, that would be the mechanism for which good teachers are rewarded. Continued employment, raises, bonuses, etc while the dolts get shown the door. Just like every other profession.)

quote:
That's what teaching, heck. capitalism is supposed to be like. Value. NOT profit ("whatever they are willing to accept" = profit for the employer, not value for the employee).
Capitalism centers on mutual, voluntary exchanges of goods/services. The employee gets some value (in this case, money) and the employer gets some value (educated children). "Whatever they are willing to accept" is exactly value to the employee. If it's a bad deal, or if a better deal can be had elsewhere, don't accept it! When you were given the offer for your current job, you made a decision that the compensation being offered was valuable enough to trade 40 hrs/week of your time/energy/effort. If they'd offered you $2/hr and demanded you work random hours of the day, you would've rejected it.

Furthermore, profit is the entire incentive behind taking risks. Without the possibility to better my lot in life, it's foolish to risk my assets/livelihood trying my hand at starting a hardware store (for example).

Though in this case, as the employer is the government, there isn't necessarily a profit motive in the traditional sense. Still though, the people footing the bill are the taxpayers and they have every right to expect the services they're paying for be completed at the lowest cost that will achieve the desired result.


RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/26/2012 2:11:22 PM , Rating: 1
Considering the importance of educating our children...probably $100k. And set high standards for becoming a teacher commensurately.

Our schools are churning out nothing but legions of retards and a handful of kids here and there who might not be total f%ckups the rest of their lives. There's more than one problem with the education system as a whole...but a big problem is that we are *not* attracting quality teachers into the profession.

As a result we get high school grads who can't read or write, and who also think evolution is no more valid a concept than creationism. So on and so forth ad nauseum. The US has lost it's lead and is falling behind faster every year...and our hopeless education system is a massive part of that failure.

...oh, and as always, outlaw the unions. They fix nothing and cause seemingly infinite problems. Get and retain your job based on your own ability to perform that job well...period. Otherwise GTFO.


RE: Nice to know
By fic2 on 6/26/2012 2:50:10 PM , Rating: 2
Huge part of the problem is also parents. Uneducated parents raising children who will then become uneducated parents. Also, unfortunately uneducated people have more kids in general than educated ones so we become overrun with idiots.

The movie Idiocracy got it right.


RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/26/2012 4:52:45 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, and where do we get poorly-educated parents? From bad education systems. You're talking about a feedback loop.

The only way to break that cycle is to increase the quality of the education system. Then you have smarter parents, who do a better job of raising their kids, and as time goes on the quality of the people in this country goes up.

...but it all starts with education.


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/26/2012 5:13:29 PM , Rating: 2
You're making an awfully large assumption that parents with more (better?) educations equate to parents who do a better job raising their kids. In particular, I think you're attempting to assert that more educated parents take a more active role in their child's education, and expect their child to be held to a higher standard.

While there might be a correlative relationship between the two, I hardly think they're causal. I've known plenty of blue-collar, non-college educated parents that raised children who performed well in their secondary and collegiate educations, and became productive members of society. I've also seen plenty of white-collar, college educated parents that raised truly awful kids. And of course, I've seen those in the middle too.

I'm not saying education isn't important; it certainly is. I'm saying the lynchpin to a good/bad education is how much time, effort, and energy a parent is willing to spend on their child's education. If the parent doesn't communicate with the teacher (either proactively or reactively), doesn't ensure their child does assigned homework, doesn't help the child with difficult coursework, etc it won't matter how much money is spent or how great the teacher is.


RE: Nice to know
By fic2 on 6/26/2012 6:25:57 PM , Rating: 3
I agree. The more involved a parent is in their child's education the more the child is motivated to learn.

Instead of saying "educated parent" I should have said "involved parent". But it is pretty much up to the parent.

Unfortunately uninvolved parents seem to be more of the norm.
There are also social pressures within different societal groups that put a low value on education.


RE: Nice to know
By fic2 on 6/26/2012 6:29:16 PM , Rating: 2
It all starts with the parents. A good parent with a child in a bad educational can still get a lot out of their child. You can have the A#1 best educational system known to man, but if the parent doesn't give a crap about whether their child goes to school, does their homework, etc you are still going to come out the other side with an uneducated child.


RE: Nice to know
By chmilz on 6/26/2012 3:10:15 PM , Rating: 2
Agreed. It's been proven beyond any doubt that a good teacher can manage far larger class sizes while providing better-than-curriculum education as well, so less teachers would be needed.

If they made school year-round as well, then poor kids wouldn't fall behind their wealthier peers who can afford summer programs.

All wishful thinking though, none of this will ever happen.


RE: Nice to know
By Zaralath on 6/27/2012 8:43:45 PM , Rating: 2
What they should do is have parents pay 1k at the start of every school year. This way they have a vested interest in making sure that their kids are getting proper education (as opposed to when it is completely free, and they couldn't give a damn)

If your kid isn't doing well at school cause they aren't trying, or the teacher sucks. You can bet if you are paying 1k every year you will do something to make sure that money isn't being wasted.

And for those that say that's unfair to the poor people. Seriously, if you can't afford 1k a year then you shouldn't be having kids in the first place.
(I'm of the opinion, there should be a 5k license fee to have a kid, but then I am an a$$hole)


RE: Nice to know
By corduroygt on 6/26/2012 3:28:05 PM , Rating: 2
Similar to a Police officer or Firefighter.


RE: Nice to know
By ShaolinSoccer on 6/27/2012 2:56:00 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
What do you think fair pay for a teacher would be?


At least enough to live a modest life...


RE: Nice to know
By Motoman on 6/27/2012 3:15:57 PM , Rating: 2
I just have to say "wow" at how stupid nearly everyone here seems to be.

Our education system is not "ok." We do *not* have good teachers filling the ranks...we have a handful of good ones martyring themselves, and buttloads of bad ones who are the only people who will accept that job for the piss-poor pay and benefits it gets.

Education spending has gone up...but it's not going to the teachers.

Poor paying jobs don't attract quality candidates. You can't raise qualification requirements when there is no supply available of quality applicants. Chicken and egg people. Supply and demand.

It's absolutely mind-boggling that anyone thinks that teacher pay is OK, and/or that we don't have massive education problems stemming from piss-poor teachers. Our kids graduating high school have abysmally-low skill sets - WAKE THE F&CK UP.

Done with this "discussion" - anyone and everyone trying to assert anything different than what I've stated is clearly a prime example of the education problem themselves.


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/27/2012 3:57:19 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
It's absolutely mind-boggling that anyone thinks that teacher pay is OK, and/or that we don't have massive education problems stemming from piss-poor teachers. Our kids graduating high school have abysmally-low skill sets
No one is disputing that our school system is failing miserably. But you refuse to accept/acknowledge the role that parents play in the outcome! You just keep banging the teacher salary drum.

quote:
Done with this "discussion" - anyone and everyone trying to assert anything different than what I've stated is clearly a prime example of the education problem themselves.
Well isn't that convenient. Anyone who disagrees with you is an ignorant, mindless fool. <eyeroll>


RE: Nice to know
By Ringold on 6/26/2012 2:05:58 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
They just didn't want to give up their right to bargain as a group.


That "idiot" balanced the state budget for the first time in years, something very few other states have achieved. Some "idiot."

Further, FDR would call you the uneducated one. In his opinion, a sacred man for liberals, public-sector unions exist pretty much by definition to oppose what is good for the public at large for their own gain. What Walker did was, by stripping them of collective bargaining, made it easier to control them down the road so that, hopefully, when times are good, they dont pressure weak-kneed state representatives, state senators and local governments in to boosting their benefits to outlandish levels again.. At least, so easily.

Also, the numbers of people that've left the union since they're no longer forced to belong has been stunning, even for a cynic like me. When over half the teachers leave their own union, then you really end up defending union bosses, since the plurality of its members disagreed with their own union.

You exemplify why the country is doomed, though. Both sides are miles apart, and you're an example of how so many, especially on the left since the media is left-leaning, get so deep in to their isolated liberal echo-chambers that the other side can't possibly have a point. They're wrong, idiots, and uneducated, 100% of the time. No rapproachment is ever possible.

Only in the last few years have I thought we'd of all been better off if the North had let the South go after the first Battle at Bull Run. Only problem with that is the Confederates tried updating the constitution, which only went to prove one can't improve on near-perfection.


RE: Nice to know
By room200 on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By johnsmith9875 on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By Solandri on 6/26/2012 5:47:34 PM , Rating: 2
I've been doing some thinking on this, and I'm gravitating towards the conclusion that unions should be illegal for public jobs.

The whole rationale for a union is that there are fewer employers (companies) than there are employees. Consequently, the employer wields disproportionate power over the people in negotiations, and thus can require or collude to impose unreasonable demands upon employees. A union is required to level the negotiating field.

But for public (government) jobs, that shouldn't be an issue. The government is representing the public at large. If the government is requiring or colluding to impose unreasonable demands upon the people who are subject to it, you've got much bigger problems than public employees getting a fair paycheck.

On top of that, the person negotiating for the employer is in a different position. At a private company, the company rep negotiating with the employee or union knows the fiscal survival of the company is on the line. He has to negotiate in the company's best interest if he wants it to survive. A government rep doing the same negotiation is under no such constraint. He knows the government will always be there, and can just raise taxes if it ever runs out of money. So there'd be a tendency to give in too easily to union demands for public jobs.

The pay rate data seems to back this up too. Relative to private industry, skilled government workers are underpaid, while less-skilled government workers (the kind normally with a union) are overpaid.
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/42921


RE: Nice to know
By knutjb on 6/26/2012 6:28:57 PM , Rating: 2
What most people miss is the vast difference in benefits favoring Federal workers over the private sector. Until the professional PhD level, pay+benefits favors federal workers over private sector.

It used to be accepted that you gave up a little money in wages for good benefits and more stable employment. Now it's way out of whack in the wrong direction. Civil service workers shouldn't earn more than a comparable private sector worker or be allowed to be unionized. Private sector unions are up to the private sector.


RE: Nice to know
By MrBlastman on 6/26/2012 12:30:36 PM , Rating: 5
They aren't all greedy, at least, teachers in private schools. My wife has been teaching in private schools for years and not a single one of the teachers is what I call greedy. As other posters mentioned, the number one thing they always want is more supplies and materials for their classroom to help them do their jobs. Unfortunately, if the school system refuses to do this (as I hear is the case in public, not only private), guess where the funding comes from to help their students?

Answer: The teachers themselves.

You'd be amazed how many teachers spend their own hard earned money on their classrooms just to help their students. Sadly, I think the school boards realize this and it is one of the reasons why they skimp on funding the classrooms. If the teachers will spend the money, why waste tax dollars on it when they can instead give the administrators and board members huge raises and bonuses instead?

The greed in school systems typically does not lie in the arms of teachers, but instead the people running the whole show.


RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/2012 1:18:44 PM , Rating: 1
He didn't say that x% of teachers are greedy. He just basically said that teachers are human.

But I think the lines are blurred when you have an organization representing said teachers that acts like a big dick gatekeeper. The MFing unions (which have a place BTW) don't know when to stop. Basically they have set the whole thing up to where it is like a damn fundraising drive...instead of allowing direct donations that buy the kids what they need and give them money to pick a toy from toysrus, the unions (3rd party fundraising comp) decide where to put that money and give the kids cheap "made in China" plastic keychains as rewards for begging.

Again unions have their place and can be extremely valuable when needed (same with our valued fundraising companies) but there is a time where you just need to get out of the way and let the damn market work or conditions for kids will never improve (because that is where $$ for schools comes from...the market). Idle unions are the devils playthings if you ask me.

And public employee unions just plain don't make sense.


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/2012 1:45:14 PM , Rating: 2
Thank you.

I completely agree that some teachers are underpaid. I'm not against them making more. I went to a private school too and there you knew the teachers were not there to make a lot of money because the highest paid teacher there after 30 years made $30,000 a year. Teachers there were there to teach. And not have to deal with the BS of public schools.

Not all teachers are greedy. But there are those who are. Those who think that they deserve lavish pay, lavish benefits, and complete immunity to being fired regardless of their performance, no matter how poor.

And to the idiot above who called it uneducated drivel, even FDR disagreed with public sector unions and collective bargaining there. I guess he also was uneducated and mindless. Just totally ignore that he's the liberals hero for starting us down the road to the welfare state.


RE: Nice to know
By Solandri on 6/26/2012 1:43:10 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I'd agree with that. U.S. spending per student on education is the second-highest in the developed world. The amount of funding for education is absolutely not the problem. The problem is the administrative overhead eats the majority of that funding, leaving a pittance to trickle down to the classroom.
http://mercatus.org/publication/k-12-spending-stud...

The only thing I really blame the teachers for is being willing tools for their administrators whenever budgetary issues come up. They play the pity angle, about how there's not enough money so they have to buy kids supplies using their own money, so we need to increase funding for schools. BS. There's plenty of money. It's the administrators telling them there's not enough money who are the problem.


RE: Nice to know
By Ringold on 6/26/2012 2:20:11 PM , Rating: 2
A big part of that administrative overhead you mention, and probably the most corrupt, is the construction and facilities upkeep. I know at least in my state it's huge; well-connected construction firms compete with each other for outrageous bids. Middle-aged schools are tore down and replaced with far more expensive campuses, but often appear to be built with cheaper materials and standards. School district doesn't care; they've got a budget, and if they don't spend all of it, then it might look like they don't need as much tax revenue next year. Can't have that!

Having helped run a construction business, I know the routine; there's a competitive price for private sector clients, then one thats double (at least) that for government work, and those deals include almost no warranties -- thats extra, a lot extra. I called them the owners yacht-fund jobs.


RE: Nice to know
By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 4:15:45 PM , Rating: 2
Yep, Administrative culture or otherwise upper management will cut budget.
quote:
Middle-aged schools are tore down and replaced with far more expensive campuses, but often appear to be built with cheaper materials and standards. School district doesn't care; they've got a budget, and if they don't spend all of it, then it might look like they don't need as much tax revenue next year. Can't have that!
that $15M have to spend some where.


RE: Nice to know
By mcnabney on 6/26/2012 1:49:48 PM , Rating: 2
On what planet do school board members get paid?

My school district has about 12k students and the seven member board are all volunteers. The district provides a laptop for them to use while serving on the board, and that is it. The highest paid 'executive' in this district is the superintendent and he is paid $160k - which is peanuts compared to what someone would be paid in the private sector for running a 'business' with an annual budget over $115M and 2k employees.


RE: Nice to know
By SDBud on 6/26/2012 2:28:18 PM , Rating: 2
>On what planet do school board members get paid?

On THIS planet, at least in any city I've lived in. Especially in San Diego, where the Superintendent makes over $100,000, and the board members make about $20K a year each.


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/26/2012 12:17:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Never said he was. It was a general statement.


Ummm okay. Just an FYI but teachers weren't even referenced in the article so I still don't know why you said that other than you're a union zombie willing to bathe in your teacher friends' piss.

Oh and so you know, in case you didn't read the entire article either, the money spent was voted on by the public.


RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/2012 1:29:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Oh and so you know, in case you didn't read the entire article either, the money spent was voted on by the public.
Yeah about that... it was called the "School Repair and Safety Measure".
http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/ca/sd/prop/S/

I'm not sure who's safety they were referring to... Apple shareholders maybe?


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/27/2012 11:43:42 AM , Rating: 2
Dumbass did you even read the first paragraph of your link LMAO!!!

quote:
To improve every neighborhood school by; repairing outdated student restrooms, deteriorated plumbing and roofs; upgrading career/vocational classrooms and labs; providing up-to-date classroom technology ;


RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/28/2012 12:16:37 PM , Rating: 2
Seriously? "providing up-to-date classroom technology" = iPads for all??

I'm pretty sure that almost no one had iPads in their mind when they voted for that. And even if they did they probably would have had an image of an iPad lab with like 8 of them in it. I think it is pretty despicable to push such crap in the name of safety of children. If it was about updated tech they should not have pork-barreled it with this. It should have been a separate prop and it would've failed.

'Dumbass' my point was that most voters probably were swayed by the misleading name of the prop. And also what you are saying is that if some politician like Obama says we need to invest in our elementary schools, he obviously means that we should buy a Watson for every school in the US. How do you jump to that conclusion? I'm sure all those taxpayers at home without iPads are asking "what just happened?"

Well this is SD, so I'm sure the taxpayers and all of their kids already have iPads lol.


RE: Nice to know
By sigmatau on 6/26/12, Rating: -1
RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/2012 1:26:46 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
but people entering the teaching profession don't do so for personal gain.
Yes they do. And they do it to help kids too. It isn't one or the other. The reason that I go to work (in corporate Amer'ca) is to be able to pay for my kids well being (and other kids) by sending them to school and GIVING MONEY TO SOME TEACHERS. What a d!ck I am, huh? I really shouldn't work hard for a 5% raise that I can then pass on to my kids' teachers, right? Have the unions bargain away your jobs and I will sit here not trying to get paid as much as I think I and my employer collectively think I am work. Do you think the situation will improve?


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/26/2012 12:33:08 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Oh, and, my mom never used her Mac Book.


Wow that was a nice waste. Then why didn't she sell it to fund the classroom with supplies then? If I were in the exact same situation she was that's what I'd do.


RE: Nice to know
By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:42:49 PM , Rating: 3
Are you really asking why she didn't sell school property?


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/27/2012 4:50:23 PM , Rating: 1
Still a waste then isn't it? Getting a high end laptop and let it collect dust. Now that's some stupid shit right there.


RE: Nice to know
By nolisi on 6/26/2012 12:44:08 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Wow that was a nice waste. Then why didn't she sell it to fund the classroom with supplies then? If I were in the exact same situation she was that's what I'd do.


Likely because she couldn't get authorization to do so. Try selling a piece of school property unauthorized, see how long you'll be able to help the kids.


RE: Nice to know
By johnsmith9875 on 6/26/2012 4:28:34 PM , Rating: 3
A teacher will take anything they can get. Its a shame that in the United States the churches are all brand new, and the schools are old and falling apart.


RE: Nice to know
By Wurum on 6/26/2012 6:08:50 PM , Rating: 2
The churches are all brand new? Even if that was true, you're comparing apples and oranges. Unless you are trying to make the point that churches should have to pay property taxes.

Ironically, the church I attend meets at a public middle school. We're a church plant and can't afford a new building, so we rent space at the school and donate capital upgrades and do volunteer service projects. The principal and teachers love us.


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/2012 11:09:15 PM , Rating: 2
As another said, even if you were right about churches here, how do they compare? Churches aren't paid for with public money. They're funded by the giving of the individuals who attend them. Or do you think they should instead be forced to give that money to government.


RE: Nice to know
By hiscross on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By amanojaku on 6/26/2012 12:08:50 PM , Rating: 4
Right, because Einstein and Newton had iPads. iDiot...


RE: Nice to know
By mattclary on 6/26/2012 12:31:45 PM , Rating: 2
++


RE: Nice to know
By The Raven on 6/26/2012 1:31:07 PM , Rating: 2
Well... they did have Newtons, didn't they?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_%28platform%2...


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/26/12, Rating: -1
RE: Nice to know
By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:04:08 PM , Rating: 4
Wow. How spoiled are California kids?


RE: Nice to know
By leviathan05 on 6/26/2012 12:07:30 PM , Rating: 4
In San Diego? Pretty freaking spoiled to be honest. I have family that lives there and it's like they're from a different planet.


RE: Nice to know
By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 3:02:15 PM , Rating: 2
Keep on spending money that you don't have. that's why CA is broke


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/2012 12:16:13 PM , Rating: 1
Because learning with a book made of paper has been so impossible for kids in schools for the past....well since schools have been around.

Now if schools want to start moving to electronic textbooks, I have no issue. But the student's family should have to purchase the equipment. Not the school. The school then should buy the student the book.

Even if the school offered payment plans as low as $10/mo, for the cost of e-Readers like the Kindle, that is completely affordable for over 90% of people. Education is not a right. It is a privilege of living in a first world country. It is not deplorable to ask parents to provide something for their kids education. For the TRULY needy, fine help them out and provide it for them. But that is not the majority.


RE: Nice to know
By msheredy on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By sigmatau on 6/26/2012 12:36:09 PM , Rating: 1
How is giving ishits to kids going to keep them in school? If it's that bad then the kids may sell them for drugs. A kindle would have been a great start into electronic books. I hope that school system invests heavily in health care with all the eye strain on the crappy ishit. That should be wonderful for developing eyes.


RE: Nice to know
By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:24:02 PM , Rating: 4
Education is not a right? The minute that becomes the majority opinion is when this country truly mimics the fall of Rome. I would agree that expensive tablets are not a right, but the right to an education is what makes this a first world country.


RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/26/2012 12:51:32 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Education is not a right?
Correct. No one has the ability to prevent you from gaining an education if you (as an adult) or your parents (as a child) seek one. But why should others be forced to provide one for you? That is your (or your parents') responsibility, not mine.


RE: Nice to know
By steven975 on 6/26/2012 1:15:21 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, I think the fall of Rome had a lot to do with a pretty (relatively) dumb populace with a government that promised them the moon.


RE: Nice to know
By jimbojimbo on 6/26/2012 6:13:12 PM , Rating: 2
That's the USA.


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/2012 11:15:09 PM , Rating: 2
You need to go read up on why Rome fell. Another member already gave you a starting point.

The public education system at work!


RE: Nice to know
By SDBud on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By ebakke on 6/26/2012 2:27:35 PM , Rating: 2
I'm willing to accept your wish as fact if you can prove it to be true. Assuming the USA is a "CIVILIZED country", please show me where education is a right guaranteed to all citizens.


RE: Nice to know
By Ringold on 6/26/2012 2:27:51 PM , Rating: 2
I think people are missing the sentence that directly followed that one. RTFA, sorta. It's not an inherent right, but something thats provided here because our forefathers took a raw continent and forged prosperity from the swamps and grasslands. These little trolls aren't entitled to anything asides from maybe the opportunity to have a teacher.


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/26/2012 11:13:21 PM , Rating: 2
Please cite me the line in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights where education is made a right. Or in any other federal or state law for that matter.

While public schools existed at this countries founding, they were managed by states. As they should be today.


RE: Nice to know
By Steve1981 on 6/27/2012 2:36:19 PM , Rating: 2
Just to toss in my two cents:

quote:
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 9 EDUCATION
SECTION 1.

A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the Legislature shall encourage by all suitable means the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral, and agricultural improvement.


Nowhere does the term "right" appear. However, it is recognized that an educated populace is essential to the health of the state. To that end, education in California (and most, if not all, other states) is compulsory.

http://www.lao.ca.gov/2004/compulsory_ed/020304_co...

quote:
California's compulsory education laws require children between six and eighteen years of age to attend school, with a limited number of specified exceptions...When legal action is needed, district attorneys have three options they may use to prosecute offenders. As described in Figure 1, the penalties associated with these options vary in severity—ranging from community service or participation in a parent education program to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.


So while education is not an expressly delineated right, it would certainly appear to be a de facto right for children.


RE: Nice to know
By FITCamaro on 6/27/2012 12:26:28 PM , Rating: 2
So now California's laws apply to the rest of the country?


RE: Nice to know
By Steve1981 on 6/27/2012 2:44:44 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
So now California's laws apply to the rest of the country?


No, but you did ask:

quote:
Please cite me the line in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights where education is made a right. Or in any other federal or state law for that matter.


Moreover, given that this article is concerning San Diego schools, I'm unsure why citing California's laws and constitution is somehow inappropriate.


RE: Nice to know
By Arsynic on 6/26/2012 11:57:10 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I thought California had a budget deficit? I don't live in California and unless they ask for a federal bailout, I could care less.


RE: Nice to know
By fic2 on 6/26/2012 2:54:42 PM , Rating: 2
How much less could you care?


RE: Nice to know
By nofear4COMment on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Nice to know
By NellyFromMA on 6/26/2012 4:14:07 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, but Amazon isn't California's best friend, soooooo...


By kilkennycat on 6/26/2012 11:42:25 AM , Rating: 2
I'm sure that the iPads and iBooks will make up for the great young teachers the San Diego school district has just laid off.




By Iaiken on 6/26/2012 11:47:52 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, the city struck at deal with the union 6 days ago that brought all of those teachers back on board for the start of September. The question is, where did the $13 million for these iPads even come from?


By msheredy on 6/26/2012 11:54:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
The question is, where did the $13 million for these iPads even come from?


quote:
While the idea behind the iPad deployment is sound, many were curious as to how the district was able to pull off a $15 million bill from Apple for 26,000 iPads in a total of 340 classrooms.

The answer is Proposition S funding, which was passed in 2008 and offered money for classroom technology. Each iPad was purchased at $370 a piece.


Another question is did you even read the article???


By SDBud on 6/26/2012 2:34:03 PM , Rating: 1
IF $15 mil, each iPad cost over $575. If $13 mil, cost per was $500.

EITHER way, they could have bought them on Craigslist for less. Such a a LARGE purchase SHOULD have gotten them a discount.

Oh, wait, it's from Apple. Never mind..


By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 3:05:43 PM , Rating: 2
Yeppperrrrrr! Idiots would pay for that.


By johnsmith9875 on 6/26/2012 4:30:59 PM , Rating: 2
I'm sure they got a support contract with the purchase. Buy them on Craigslist and all you will get are pieces of ipad-shaped wood in boxes.


By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:19:56 PM , Rating: 2
The answer is obvious is you take even 15 seconds to scan the article, instead of just knee-jerk reacting.


By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 12:30:36 PM , Rating: 1
Dumb idea! CrAplle can not be a real one-on-one as of true substitute teacher. Is this an idea to left no child behind? This is where Obama purpose his new election. Our children education system having no quality at all. Where is Obama bailout? his bailout suppose to be use on education and infrastructure. Where is it?


must be nice..
By carigis on 6/26/2012 11:48:43 AM , Rating: 2
now I see why californians are stuck with about a 10% sales tax and the govt has been known to issue IOU's rather then your tax refund..

When I was in school.. we got 20 year old used textbooks. and traveled up hill to school both ways and in the snow...barefoot

seriously though. luxury items should be paid for by parents. not tax money.




RE: must be nice..
By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:17:04 PM , Rating: 1
Modern text books shouldn't be considered as a luxury. Unfortunately the textbook publishers see nothing wrong with charging $200 a piece for them.


RE: must be nice..
By Ringold on 6/26/2012 2:35:46 PM , Rating: 2
When I was in high school, I did have a math textbook I think it was from the year I was born.. It wasn't uncommon for kids to get a textbook and see their parents signature in it from years prior, or young teachers to give out the same books that they had when they were students there.

Science ones were more up to date, though. Some history ones. I can't say that I minded; math is math, unless you're a kid today, in which case math is just a calculator.


RE: must be nice..
By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 4:08:07 PM , Rating: 2
You are an absolutely right! parent pay for it? maybe, if the kid performed well overall GPA. Part time summer job then pay it for him or her self, house chore and curfew time that's likely in under a condition. These kids should earned it before they are getting it.


RE: must be nice..
By johnsmith9875 on 6/26/2012 4:31:47 PM , Rating: 2
Oklahoma has a 10% sales tax and its the reddest state in the Union.


Fuzzy Math
By scuttlebutt on 6/26/2012 1:32:43 PM , Rating: 1
How are the iPads $370 a piece? $15 million/26,000 iPads = about $577 each.

And Apple isn't the charitable type to give discounts unless it's to their drones.




RE: Fuzzy Math
By Hakuryu on 6/26/2012 2:19:46 PM , Rating: 2
In order to decide to buy the iPads, a hotel conference room was needed, with rooms for the speakers, and dinners, and rental cars and first class airfare to get there.

Honestly though, it was probably (mainly) some service agreement; they say they only spent $370 apiece, but the real price was much higher factoring in sustainability via service contracts with Apple.


RE: Fuzzy Math
By ilt24 on 6/26/2012 4:04:35 PM , Rating: 2
Your assuming the $15M is just for the iPads. Maybe to make the iPads useful, they need to install some network equipmentm, file servers...


RE: Fuzzy Math
By jimbojimbo on 6/26/2012 6:15:26 PM , Rating: 2
The other $5million went to line some people's pockets. Of course.


RE: Fuzzy Math
By Milliamp on 6/27/2012 9:55:49 PM , Rating: 2
The other money was to buy the required digital library of books and software maybe?


Worth a shot
By johnsmith9875 on 6/26/12, Rating: 0
RE: Worth a shot
By jimbojimbo on 6/26/2012 6:16:49 PM , Rating: 3
Yeah, they'll turn it on and play games or watch Youtube videos. Duh.


RE: Worth a shot
By Wurum on 6/26/2012 6:37:31 PM , Rating: 4
Even harder to get a kid to read a book when a game or other distraction is already in his hands and just a click away.


For those complaining about the cost...
By Odysseus145 on 6/26/2012 12:11:12 PM , Rating: 2
The program was supported by a property tax measure which the people of San Diego approved with 69% of the vote. The money is also being used for school construction and renovation.




RE: For those complaining about the cost...
By carigis on 6/26/2012 1:20:26 PM , Rating: 2
yea thats fine and dandy if you actually have kids and are recieving any sort of benefit for it..

if not you just get to pay for other kids devices. oh yay

and I think they sold the public on the usual "think of the children" are schools are falling apart.. and we must upgrade the lowly 286 pc's in every classroom.. not hey we are gonna buy ipads for everyone... so they can break them because they are in 5th grade..


By The Raven on 6/26/2012 3:07:51 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Proposition S
School Repair and Safety Measure
San Diego Unified School District
To improve every neighborhood school by; repairing outdated student restrooms, deteriorated plumbing and roofs; upgrading career/vocational classrooms and labs; providing up-to-date classroom technology; improving school safety/security; replacing dilapidated portable classrooms; upgrading fire alarms; and removing hazardous substances; shall San Diego Unified School District issue $2,100,000,000 in bonds at legal interest rates, requiring independent citizen oversight, annual audits, NO money for administrators, and bonds issued only if NO estimated tax rate increase?
Yeah I'm pretty sure when the voters read that "iPads" were the furthest thing from their minds.

But if I was trying to get iPads into the school, then I can see where you could justify/jam that in there. Voters are way to trusting of the gov't, big or small.


iPads, DOH!
By SDBud on 6/26/2012 1:58:52 PM , Rating: 2
The San Diego school district is laying off more than 1,000 teachers due to budget deficits, yet they can afford to buy 26,000 iPads??

Doesn't ANYONE ELSE see a problem here??




RE: iPads, DOH!
By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 3:48:56 PM , Rating: 2
A cheesee is trying to save himself or herself a job but not everybody else.

Our new generation does not need to ask his or her parent about our constitution of United States any more or something like...whose is our 44, 45th president of United States? maybe our new generation knows it all. Teacher's respond "Google it". Kids will be likely use a $577 dollars Ipad and text to each other in their own classroom.


RE: iPads, DOH!
By Redwin on 6/27/2012 4:25:40 PM , Rating: 2
Came here to say this. I also live in SD, and all I hear on local news is the crisis with the schoolboard funding cuts, teacher layoffs, classroom consolidation, etc etc...

Now I come here and find out the same school board is buying 26,000 iPads??

/Facepalm


Dumb idea
By Etern205 on 6/26/2012 5:46:50 PM , Rating: 3
Most people don't take care of their electronics, sooner or later all of the iPads will either be broken or busted to a point rendering it useless.
The school should charge the student a full price of the iPad if they break it. This goes for any electronic devices even if they decide to buy the Kindle or other brand of tablets.




RE: Dumb idea
By jimbojimbo on 6/26/2012 6:18:05 PM , Rating: 3
This was exactly what I was thinking. Think about how well the typical kid takes care of their electronics and now think about how well they'd take care of a device that's not theirs. Hell, even adults at our company take care of their phones like crap because they know it's not theirs.
50% of the iPads will be broken or severely scratched by the end of one year.


We could fix public education
By tayb on 6/27/2012 4:50:24 PM , Rating: 3
We could fix public education if you guys spent as much time looking into the mirror and examining how you are handling your child's education as you did blaming the teachers. Kid failed a test? Blame the teacher. Kid got a C? Blame the teacher.

My sister spent a few years teaching English in South Korea. Her first year she handed out pencils and erasers to the students on the first day of class and received hand written thank you notes from each student the next day. In America kids walk up to her desk and TAKE pens and pencils. They're outraged when they are told they can't do this. Where did this sense of entitlement come from? YOU. IT CAME FROM YOU.

That same sister failed 18 kids last semester at a public high school in Texas. Of those 18 kids only 7 actually failed. The other 11 had their grades changed by higher ups, some as much as 20 points. Why is this possible? BECAUSE OF YOU, PARENTS. BECAUSE OF YOU.

That same sister assigned an essay to be turned in the first week of March, 2012. 26 students, of her 170, failed to turn in the essay. She gave them a 0. The first week of May, 2012, the Principal forced her to change the grade of 18 of those 0's to a 70 without an essay ever having been turned in. Why is this possible? BECAUSE OF YOU, PARENTS. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Blame the teachers. It's convenient and easy. You don't even have to change a thing because that is what you already do. Keep blaming the teachers for your horrible failures as parents and as adults.




Savings?
By KFZ on 6/26/2012 12:24:18 PM , Rating: 2
I'd like to take a closer look at their textbook costs. My public education was a tradition of hand-me-downs, and I went to districts that are considered wealthy. Just how much were they wasting on materials that this is considered a big savings?

We had to bring a thick pack of paper and pencils to do our work, and I thought it was nice that we got milk delivered for our lunch time. We didn't even have lockers in elementary school. Just what are kids being taught they should "need" today?




fix
By fic2 on 6/26/2012 2:59:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The students will likely be using iBooks, which is an ap


should read

The students will likely be playing Angry Birds, which is a game....

Oh, and no reason to repeat this:
The school district plans to offer the iPads to 5th grade, 8th grade and select high school classes starting this fall.

in the middle of the story since it is the bold faced first line.




let me get this straight...
By Argon18 on 6/26/2012 11:39:42 PM , Rating: 2
The state of CA is bankrupt (due to their left-wing finance policies) but San Diego feels that spending $15M on iToys is the right move? No wonder CA is bankrupt. lol.




Pathetic of used $120M
By nofear4COMment on 6/27/2012 11:04:16 AM , Rating: 2
Recent Foxnews reported that District or State of California have spent for Ipad (16gb?, 32gb?, 64gb?) over $120M of tax money then they file bankrupt.

My opinion, Administration of California was wrote a blank check.
They already knew that they have no funds in checking account (my thought and these people should not be in his/her position-stealing taxpayer money).

1. Kids in grades school should not or deserve to get this device despite of rest of others states that everyone have not had one.
2. Parent/Kids should pay to get his/her own device.

These types of fund provides like in the following:

1. Provides free meal to the kids with low income family.
2. Replace an outdated computer for classroom and library
3. Inviting of parking spaces in surround Building.
4. Maintenance in general - no brain-er

However, the listing are endless despite in above are just a few. State of California has been ridiculous spent large sum of money that they knew the money that they don't have then filed bankrupt. therefore, a responsible party should be fire and two things have to happen that part of a shipment of Ipads should be returned and returned money should give to a difference state because State of California was improper used of money.




confusing
By anandtech02148 on 6/28/2012 8:05:52 PM , Rating: 2
I thought California is deeply broke, people are selling their homes and moving to Texas, how the hell did they spend this much of money on stupid kids and poor immigrant children? they also built a 300million high school. what kind of sick liberal society spending is this?




Hungry Hungry Hippo
By EricMartello on 6/29/2012 6:59:33 AM , Rating: 2
Someone should tell that fat chick to stop eating all those ipads.




Wow!
By Apone on 6/26/2012 4:26:42 PM , Rating: 1
Ugh, no wonder California cities like San Diego continue to swim in the financial red (ahem, San Diego Pension Scandal/Mayor Dick Murphy's resignation, etc.).....




By msheredy on 6/26/2012 12:03:33 PM , Rating: 2
Wow I jist gots stupider by reeding yours post, thankz.


By leviathan05 on 6/26/2012 12:05:57 PM , Rating: 2
Um, what?


By Tony Swash on 6/26/2012 12:57:50 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Apple's tax benefit. CrApple use this tactic to influence our youngs mind. iPod is a good product when you are playing just a music. When your PC crashed then you are done, iPad and iPhone applied the same way. YOURS media that you did not purchased from iTune because your friends were sharing with you and I would say a good bye.


It's ironic that this was posted in a discussion about education.


By EyesWideOpen on 6/26/2012 1:57:08 PM , Rating: 2
I think they were trying to make a point about Technology in the classroom. A physical text book requires more destruction to become useless; but a tablet has many points of failure to make it useless.


By Ringold on 6/26/2012 2:38:49 PM , Rating: 2
And I thought maybe it was about giving Apple exposure to young minds in terms of marketing. Maybe we're both right, or both wrong :P


By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 3:13:38 PM , Rating: 2
Early MARKETING strategy.


By Tony Swash on 6/27/2012 6:14:44 AM , Rating: 2
Whatever he meant the iPad purchase is just another example of how Apple is getting them young.

Do any college students even use Windows laptops anymore?

Oh well - Surface will ride to the rescue - at some unspecified date - when it's finished - and they have a price - and some apps - real soon :)


By MrBlastman on 6/26/2012 12:59:46 PM , Rating: 2
You really should be afraid to comment. Change your name. :)


By nofear4COMment on 6/26/2012 3:19:14 PM , Rating: 2
Why should I be? I wanted to make appoint. In a subject say it all.


"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is bullshit." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng's take on patent troll Soverain











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