Re: book sharing (was: Re: Pedagogy)

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@SAINTMARYS.EDU>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pamela L. Gay" <pgay@FAS.HARVARD.EDU>
> I must disagree. While $125 seems to be an insignificant amount compared
> to the $1000+ in tuition a state college student may pay or to the
> $40,000+ a private school student may pay, that $125 may be the amount
> that breaks the camel's financial back.

I'll sympathize with these students IF they don't have cars, don't have
cell-phones, don't wear $125 sneakers, don't frequent the bars more than
once a week, etc.  Higher education has yet to be made 'a right of all' (and
least not in every state) and consequently has not been totally 'socialized'
into mediocrity.  It costs money--always has.  Books are part of that cost.
{ I personally have always advocated a change in bankruptcy laws so that
students could 'mortgage' their education. } There are many forms of
education and training that are not available to everyone because of cost.
Giving up the use of textbooks or violating copyright laws to soften the
financial burden should not be seriously considered.   Other approaches may
not help as much as imagined.  We recently instituted a $200 technology fee
fundamentally because of the cost of paper, toner, and printer repair
spurred by students printing out all the PowerPoint class notes provided
'online' for them by their instructors.  I spend day one teaching them how
to print these out 6 slides to a page, or better yet in outline form--just
to save paper.  We're a small school but are seeing 10,000 pages a day in
student printing requests.

Rick

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Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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