Why my daughter's bookstore will be 10 inches tall

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

...U.S. kids are legally entitled to education through high school, and their parents don't pay for textbooks (outside of taxes)...

I started to put the little laughing icon here but decided that would be a wee bit snarky. When I was in High School (grades 9-12), we had to buy our books. Same was true when my kids were in High School. If a book was discontinued at the end of the year, the book store wouldn't buy them back (when it would buy them back, you got only 50% of the original purchase price if in pristine conditional; essentially, you were renting them).

[luqmaninbmore]

Did you and your children attend public school?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

Did you and your children attend public school?

Yes. Two different school districts. I suspect the book issue will vary from state to state (yet another reason I have problems with state rights).

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by Scott Nicholson

I posted on my blog about my recent visit to Borders and how it felt like a museum, but the most important thing was my 10-year-old daughter, a huge reader, was way more interested in the Sony reader that didn't work--she'd trade ALL her books for an e-reader. Her sample comment:

“I like the smell of paper, but I think this would be easier because you can read any book you want, and you don’t have to carry 3,000 books everywhere you go.” And she didn’t even read the marketing material. Her generation gets it.

The whole thing is at http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com

I believe her generation will not have the nostalgia that causes so many people to get fightin' mad over the idea their paper books will be taken away.

Scott Nicholson

DON"T buy her an ebook reader. She should learn to enjoy REAL BOOKS!

She should also learn to use a slide rule and use a dial phone.


I'm at 60 now, and many of the things I did in the past are no longer around. Some good. Some bad.

The kids today will read from "something" other than a paper book. If they read at all is great.

I lived for the library. Summertime I would walk a long way home with a HEAVY load of books, shifting them from one arm to the other.

Book stores were a vacation for me.

But from the first time I read in a book of someone electronically reading something, I wanted to do so too. But that was just science fiction. Heck, computers were for MAJOR universities, BIG businesses, and the military!

The point - How, and on what, people will read is something that'll evolve over time. And when books can be downloaded into our heads some will way "But it just feels better to hold an ebook in your hands!"


The only question I have concerns this;
Scott Nicholson
Posts: 140
Karma: 499
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Boone NC
Device: Kindle

And this;
"Outside, I asked my daughter about the e-reader, an object she’d heard about but never seen." July 20, 2010

???

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

DON"T buy her an ebook reader. She should learn to enjoy REAL BOOKS!

I don't understand this "it has to be one thing or the other" attitude. I have (numerous) eBook readers; I also have (and still buy) numerous paper books. Each has its pros and cons. Use each for what it's best for.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

I started to put the little laughing icon here but decided that would be a wee bit snarky. When I was in High School (grades 9-12), we had to buy our books. Same was true when my kids were in High School. If a book was discontinued at the end of the year, the book store wouldn't buy them back (when it would buy them back, you got only 50% of face value if in pristine value; essentially, you were renting them).

I'm curious what school districts you're talking about. What would those districts do if you couldn't afford the books? I'd bet they could be successfully challenged in court if they denied you an education because you couldn't afford them. Maybe those school districts got away with it, because parents could afford books and no one complained. Or they somehow accommodated needy parents. Some schools do things that violate students' rights, and they get by with it, till one student complains or sues. I'd bet that that would happen if schools started requiring tablets and making all parents pay for them.

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand this "it has to be one thing or the other" attitude. I have (numerous) eBook readers; I also have (and still buy) numerous paper books. Each has its pros and cons. Use each for what it's best for.

I'm sorry Harry. I tend to think that when I'm being facetious it is obvious to everyone. Especially when the next line is read.

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

DON"T buy her an ebook reader. She should learn to enjoy REAL BOOKS!

She should also learn to use a slide rule and use a dial phone.

I’ll try to remember to use smiley faces when I'm being facetious.

[HarryT]

LOL

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

I'm curious what school districts you're talking about. What would those districts do if you couldn't afford the books? I'd bet they could be successfully challenged in court if they denied you an education because you couldn't afford them. Maybe those school districts got away with it, because parents could afford books and no one complained. Or they somehow accommodated needy parents. Some schools do things that violate students' rights, and they get by with it, till one student complains or sues. I'd bet that that would happen if schools started requiring tablets and making all parents pay for them.

My children are in their mid-thirties now so, for me, it's a little late to be worrying about it. In case you haven't heard, AZ is essentially bankrupt so sueing would be a waste of time. My son, the one with children, lives in TX. He is a big boy and can deal with these issues himself if needed.

Since you asked, I went to High School in the Scottsdale School District (even though the school and we were in Phoenix) and my children went to High School in the Tempe Unified School District.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

In case you haven't heard, AZ is essentially bankrupt so sueing would be a waste of time.

Suing government successfully is one reliable way to get money; you might not collect immediately, but you will sooner or later, lol.

From what I know of Tempe and Scottsdale, they have relatively well-off populations. I would expect poorer parents to be hard-pressed to pay, and for some rights group to take up their case if their children were denied equal education, prompted by something as big as a transition to e-books.

If I remember correctly, Arizona is where legal threats have arisen over the trials of e-readers for students, without equivalent access for blind students.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Scott Nicholson

I posted on my blog about my recent visit to Borders and how it felt like a museum, but the most important thing was my 10-year-old daughter, a huge reader, was way more interested in the Sony reader that didn't work--she'd trade ALL her books for an e-reader. Her sample comment:

“I like the smell of paper, but I think this would be easier because you can read any book you want, and you don’t have to carry 3,000 books everywhere you go.” And she didn’t even read the marketing material. Her generation gets it.

The whole thing is at http://hauntedcomputer.blogspot.com

I believe her generation will not have the nostalgia that causes so many people to get fightin' mad over the idea their paper books will be taken away.

Scott Nicholson

Nothing offers more hope that when a child expresses the desire to learn and seek tools to make that possible. Do whatever you can to help her in that effort. How wonderful to read of a kid interested in learning/reading over a video game player. Sure the game players are great for them too, but reading is really where everything begins.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Suing government successfully is one reliable way to get money; you might not collect immediately, but you will sooner or later, lol.

From what I know of Tempe and Scottsdale, they have relatively well-off populations. I would expect poorer parents to be hard-pressed to pay, and for some rights group to take up their case if their children were denied equal education, prompted by something as big as a transition to e-books.

If I remember correctly, Arizona is where legal threats have arisen over the trials of e-readers for students, without equivalent access for blind students.

The Arcadia High District had low rent areas even when I was going there. It has gone way downhill since then. Tempe also had it's low rent areas and has gone downhill even more (the neighborhood we lived in was once very nice but is now a crime ridden slum).

The legal threats were on the college level and the trials were canceled because of them rather than pay for coming up with alternatives or fighting it in court.

When it comes to government spending on education, AZ is near, if not at, the bottom of the list. We almost had State fund for education cut off by the (must be nice) "governor" we are stuck with because she was holding those funds ransom to force through the sales tax she was pushing.

Suing governments that are broke (we're closing State Parks, laying off treachers and cops, raising taxes, etc. because the State is so broke) is not a reliable way of making money. Even if one were to win, good luck collecting.

I'm glad you live in Utopia but not everyone has that luxury.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Lady Fitzgerald

The Arcadia High District had low rent areas even when I was going there. It has gone way downhill since then. Tempe also had it's low rent areas and has gone downhill even more (the neighborhood we lived in was once very nice but is now a crime ridden slum).

The legal threats were on the college level and the trials were canceled because of them rather than pay for coming up with alternatives or fighting it in court.

When it comes to government spending on education, AZ is near, if not at, the bottom of the list. We almost had State fund for education cut off by the (must be nice) "governor" we are stuck with because she was holding those funds ransom to force through the sales tax she was pushing.

Suing governments that are broke (we're closing State Parks, laying off treachers and cops, raising taxes, etc. because the State is so broke) is not a reliable way of making money. Even if one were to win, good luck collecting.

I'm glad you live in Utopia but not everyone has that luxury.

If I lived in Utopia, everyone would be able to afford tablets, lol.

My point was that states are broke, so I don't see them moving to e-books for years, because the upfront costs are high, and they won't be able to require all parents to pay for tablets. If they did, they'd risk legal action, which they cannot afford, either. Yes, my ref to the Arizona e-reader trials was at college level; my point was that equal accessibility is lawsuit bait.

We seem to be going in circles here, so I will bow out.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't understand this "it has to be one thing or the other" attitude. I have (numerous) eBook readers; I also have (and still buy) numerous paper books. Each has its pros and cons. Use each for what it's best for.

I strongly agree. Some types of books are suitable for ereaders, while others are likely to remain better on paper for the long-term future (like books where color is essential, such as many trade paperbacks and monthly comic books). I choose the best form of book for me.

[JSWolf]

Many trade paperbacks? How is it they need color?