Man, I can’t wait to see the “Law & Order” episode they’re going to make out of this. The family who filed a class action lawsuit against their son’s school district for allegedly spying on their son at home through the webcam of his school-issued Macbook has demanded to see the actual photos and other digital records pertaining to the case. The family claims that the school was watching the him on suspicion that he was using and selling drugs. They insist that the incriminating photos caught him … eating candy. [More]
iPod Explodes In Class, Killing Nobody
By February 26, 2010
An iPod erupted on a high school science room desk in Pentucket Regional High School in, MA yesterday. Supposedly… [More]
Public School Issued Laptops To Students With Webcam Spy Software Included
By February 18, 2010
If your child has a school-issued laptop, you may want to leave it closed whenever possible, or just cover up its built-in webcam. A family in Pennsylvania has accused their son’s school district of installing software on school-issued laptops that allows officials to spy on students at any time through the laptops’ webcams. [More]
Kids Design Cute Heinz Ketchup Packets, Learning Important Early Lessons In Mass-Market Commodification
By October 20, 2009
Impoverished High School Seniors No Longer Able To Finance Gaudy Proms
By April 26, 2009
The recession continues to rot America’s cultural core, this time by attacking one of our most cherished traditions: prom. Gone are the ice sculptures and $1,000 dresses. America’s children are now buying dresses off racks and trading limos for the family car. Imagine!
Kellogg Agrees To Tone Down "Frosted Mini-Wheats Are Brain Food" Nonsense
By April 21, 2009
What? It turns out that giving your kid a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats will not guarantee a nearly 20% uptick in classroom attentiveness, despite what Kellogg claims on packaging and TV? I probably should have figured that out on my own, but I rarely eat Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast, so I am quite likely retarded. Luckily for all of us, the cereal company just reached an agreement with the FTC to stop misleading consumers with its faux-scientific claims.
Abel's Copies Won't Issue A Refund Even After Selling You The Wrong Product
By February 8, 2009
Abel’s Copies is standing by their strict “No Refunds” policy even after ordering the wrong course packet for reader David. The workers at the off-campus bookstore near the University of Texas at Austin insisted there was only one instructor for David’s course and that they couldn’t order a new course packet unless David paid in advance. When David got home, he realized that Abel’s sold him the wrong packet. He called the store and learned that Abel’s had the right packet in stock for $25 less than he paid—but Abel’s refused to issue a refund…
By January 15, 2009
Need to save money on textbooks? Textbook Media offsets the cost of its digital copies by inserting ads at chapter breaks. BookSwim rents textbooks. Also see these old suggestions, and today’s morning deal.
Teacher Confiscates Linux Discs, Chides Charitable Computer Group, "No Software Is Free"
By December 12, 2008
Recently a Texas teacher confiscated Linux OS discs that a kid was passing out in class. She then sent a nasty email to the nonprofit that built and donated the Linux-loaded computer…
Indoo Ships Your Textbooks To You When They Feel Like It
By September 19, 2008
Don’t order textbooks from Indoo.com if you need them right away, because they’re a little casual with their shipping. Joe ordered two textbooks on September 5th. Four days later on September 9th, they sent him an email saying they’d been shipped via USPS Priority mail. They hadn’t arrived by the 16th, so Joe emailed to ask what was going on. They responded that actually the books had been shipped on September 11th via USPS Priority and that “the arrival expectation is 4 to 5 business days.” Joe received one of the two books yesterday, on September 17th, which would have been 5 business days after the 11th. Still no sign of the other book.
Economics Professor Self-Publishes Textbook To Subvert Overpriced Publishing Industry
By September 17, 2008
R. Preston McAfee, a Cal Tech economics professor, is annoyed at how overpriced textbooks are. “‘The person who pays for the book, the parent or the student, doesn’t choose it,’ he said. ‘There is this sort of creep. It’s always O.K. to add $5.’” To fight back, he’s foregone the potential six-figure advance traditional publishing would have granted, and published his textbook online for free.
Is Walmart Passing Out Fake Back-To-School Supply Lists?
By August 19, 2008
Blogger Kelby Carr says that her local Walmart has totally fake but official looking back to school supply lists posted in their stores. The lists not only contain some extra supplies that are banned from the schools, but are actually missing some supplies. Here’s how she describes the lists:
NYT Editorial Board: Hey Congress, Textbooks Are Too Expensive!
By April 12, 2008
The New York Times editorial board called on Congress to make college textbooks more affordable. The measure they endorsed wouldn’t do anything Soviet like directly cap prices, but it would require textbook makers to tell professors exactly how much books would cost impoverished students.
Student Stripped Of Title, Suspended Over Contraband Candy Purchase
By March 12, 2008
As some schools districts whore themselves out to corporate sponsors in a desperate attempt to raise funds (hey, we sympathize with them, but it’s still whoring), others are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against unwelcome intrusions. In New Haven, Connecticut, the school district banned candy sales in 2003 “as part of a districtwide school wellness policy,” and when an 8th grade honors student was caught buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate two weeks ago, he was stripped of his title as class Vice President and suspended for a day.
Should We Bribe Kids And Teachers For Good Grades?
By March 6, 2008
Here’s a question where money meets ethics: should kids be paid for good results in school? No, we’re not talking about parents dishing out the occasional $5 or $10 bill to junior for getting an “A”. Instead, there’s a new sheriff in town. Now schools and teachers are doing the giving and are handing out much more than most moms and dads. The details:
The fourth graders squirmed in their seats, waiting for their prizes. In a few minutes, they would learn how much money they had earned for their scores on recent reading and math exams. Some would receive nearly $50 for acing the standardized tests, a small fortune for many at this school, P.S. 188 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
And it’s not only the kids making money off the scores…
South Carolina Will Place Ads Inside School Buses
By February 5, 2008
South Carolina will begin selling ad space inside their public school buses—11-inch strips above the windows are now for sale, and “Interested school districts get about $2,100 per month per bus.”
Harvard Bookstore: "We Own ISBN Numbers"
By September 24, 2007
The Harvard Crimson ran a story last week about a student who was asked to leave the premises for writing down the prices of six textbooks at the Coop, Harvard’s bookstore of record. The bookstore’s president says that there’s no official policy against students writing down information, but “we discourage people who are taking down a lot of notes.” But what’s more surprising, he tells the Crimson that the textbooks’ ISBNs—which can be used to look up the same books online—are “the Coop’s intellectual property.”
Try Not To Light Yourself On Fire Once You Get To College
By August 31, 2007
According to Consumer Reports’ Blog, the number of fires in campus housing has risen dramatically over the past few years—from 1,800 fires in 1998 to 3,000 fires in 2005.
