City Council Speaker/Prospective NYC Mayor Christine Quinn unveiled a whole bunch of new education policy proposals today, including one to replace school textbooks with electronic tablets. Which sounds like a fine plan, because children develop important survival skills while getting mugged?
In a speech [pdf] at the New School today, Quinn did note that the amount of money schools spend on textbooks for each subject—approximately $100 million, if you're curious— would purchase tablets for every student in the public school system. And the new technology would allow teachers to utilize more interactive multimedia assignments and tools in the classroom. "Technology has changed what we need to teach, and it's also changed how we need to teach," she said.
Aside from arming school children with shiny new tech targets, though, Quinn also called for longer school days, and pressed on the importance of parental involvement in the classroom. She outlined a proposal to improve "customer service" between schools and parents, comparing it to online shoe company Zappos. "Zappos is widely recognized as a standout in customer service. bordering on obsessive. Their operators are instructed to stay on the phone for as long as a customer wants," Quinn said. "If Zappos can have that level of commitment and urgency when they’re dealing with shoes, the greatest city in the world should be able to do the same thing for our parents and children." Plus, free shipping!
According to Quinn, the total cost for these new policies would run under $300 million, a price tag the Department of Education could afford if they cut down on pork like the $1.2 billion spent on contracts and consultants. "We want middle class families to come here because they know we have the best public schools in the nation," she said.
