Well, we've waited and waited but it seems the only media coverage of Apple's Steve Jobs' bashing of teachers' unions and the textbook industry is that of the "tech" mags and sites.
To us it seemed like huge news, seeing that Education has been a big customer for Apple almost since it's beginning. There were a few union reps that started slinging mud at Jobs, but they were quickly reigned in by higher ups.
To us it seemed like huge news, seeing that Education has been a big customer for Apple almost since it's beginning. There were a few union reps that started slinging mud at Jobs, but they were quickly reigned in by higher ups.
2 comments:
I have to agree with Jobs.
1) Teachers' unions, like most unions, prevent any kind of performance-based evaluation. (I say this based on experience with my own schooling, but I can't imagine that other districts are much different in aggregate.)
2) Textbooks, in their current incarnation, are obsolete. The distributers (publishers) control the market, to the benefit of no-one but themselves. Textbooks are almost entirely tertiary sources of information. A open, online distribution system would drive the cost of textbooks down dramatically, in alignment with their actual costs. (note, I say this as a layman to the education industry.)
On the other side, the Gates Foundation (Bill and Melida) donated $500,000 to A+ Illinois to help them ram through their tax swap scheme in Illinois. Their war chest now exceeds $1 millions.
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