Oak Harbor School District in Washington is facing unfortunate stalls in replacing old, outdated textbooks. The school district, like so many others across the nation, has been experiencing widespread budget cuts due to federal and state legislation. Now the decisions made by those higher up are starting to affect students and their education. The article by the SeattlePi quoted the school district’s Human Resources Director Kurt Schonberg exclaiming the following,
“Due to federal and state budget reductions, the district has been unable to replace kindergarten through 12th grade science textbooks since 2002 and kindergarten through 12th grade social studies textbooks since 2003.â€
“Textbooks and technology need to be replaced at least every eight years because they become outdated, worn out, state standards of curriculum change and old technologies don’t work with new equipment, Schonberg said.â€
The dangers of teaching outdated material is very real and should not be overlooked. This is why online textbooks and other forms of digital textbooks are so advantageous compared to their traditional, hard copy counterparts; they can be accessed and updated at nearly anytime. Making learning about current events and other news in the classroom even more tangible for students.
‘”Social studies is very much a 21st century subject talking about the students being participatory in their community,” Schonberg said, adding that students need to learn social studies so that they understand how to vote.‒
Exactly. But how can students make educated, rationale decisions without up-to-date knowledge? Well, they can’t! Those responsible for federal and state educational budgets need to realize that saving money is not the same as progressing academia.