Okay, so I'm late and catching up, but Gunner
wrote on Wed, 05 Apr 2006 08:08:15 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :

I, for one, agree with kurgan: It's cultural. Blaming liberals and
conservatives is divisive and counterproductive.

Its factual, no matter how much you wish to deny it. They have had
total control of the system,

Yeah, I don't buy that. There are a tremendous number of schools boards
across the country at all levels that are solidly conservative (Kansas,
anyone?). THAT is factual.

Look at the teaching standards..and which states have higher scores on
exit exams.

What most people don't know about is the minor issue of "clout", and
how textbook printers will develop a textbook for their major markets. If
memory serves, Texas has one board which buys all the textbooks for all the
schools in Texas (hence the Schoolbook Depository in Dallas). The LA School
district is the 800# gorilla for California, and thus the country.
California buys Textbook A, because it is exactly what they want.
Well, exactly what the people on the board making the purchasing decision
have agreed makes for a good textbook. So the sales rep goes to the next
sale and says "California just bought this textbook..." and who is to
argue. And because California bought 'em by the trainload, the publisher
can make a deal for the smaller school districts. Or do you want to spend
more money for fewer books, which aren't being used by most modern school
districts?"

My Dad ran into this as an Air Force Chaplain. Company A put out very
good Sunday School material, unfortunately, they could only supply 10,000
units. The Air Force, by the nature of the beast, couldn't order less than
50,000, so bought materials from Company B, whose product was sometimes
deemed less than desirable. :-)


tschus
pyotr


--
pyotr filipivich
Most of the intelligentsia haven't studied history, so much
as they've absorbed the Correct Position on "History".

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 07:51:18 GMT, pyotr filipivich
wrote:

Okay, so I'm late and catching up, but Gunner
wrote on Wed, 05 Apr 2006 08:08:15 GMT in rec.crafts.metalworking :

I, for one, agree with kurgan: It's cultural. Blaming liberals and
conservatives is divisive and counterproductive.

Its factual, no matter how much you wish to deny it. They have had
total control of the system,

Yeah, I don't buy that. There are a tremendous number of schools boards
across the country at all levels that are solidly conservative (Kansas,
anyone?). THAT is factual.

Look at the teaching standards..and which states have higher scores on
exit exams.

What most people don't know about is the minor issue of "clout", and
how textbook printers will develop a textbook for their major markets. If
memory serves, Texas has one board which buys all the textbooks for all the
schools in Texas (hence the Schoolbook Depository in Dallas). The LA School
district is the 800# gorilla for California, and thus the country.
California buys Textbook A, because it is exactly what they want.
Well, exactly what the people on the board making the purchasing decision
have agreed makes for a good textbook. So the sales rep goes to the next
sale and says "California just bought this textbook..." and who is to
argue. And because California bought 'em by the trainload, the publisher
can make a deal for the smaller school districts. Or do you want to spend
more money for fewer books, which aren't being used by most modern school
districts?"

My Dad ran into this as an Air Force Chaplain. Company A put out very
good Sunday School material, unfortunately, they could only supply 10,000
units. The Air Force, by the nature of the beast, couldn't order less than
50,000, so bought materials from Company B, whose product was sometimes
deemed less than desirable. :-)


tschus
pyotr
===============================
You have identified one of the major "rip-offs" in education.
this is true not only in el-hi but if anything is worse in the
post secondary field, where the typical text is now about 100$
*EACH* and several may be required for one course/class.

One alternative I have used is to see if the GPO has a suitable
text. Generally these were developed by one of the armed forces
for use in their internal schools. True enough these have the
familiar heavy beige paper covers, have minimal
illistrations/pictures, and are printed black on white in a plain
[but highly readable] type face, but these are also 5.00$ or
less, and present the information Joe Friday [just the facts,
ma'am] style.



Unka George
(George McDuffee)

There is something to be said for government by a great aristocracy
which has furnished leaders to the nation in peace and war for generations;
even a democrat like myself must admit this.

But there is absolutely nothing to be said for government by a plutocracy,
for government by men very powerful in certain lines and gifted with the "money touch,"
but with ideals which in their essence are merely those of so many glorified pawnbrokers.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), U.S. Republican (later Progressive) politician, president. Letter, 15 Nov. 1913.