An iPad for every student, in the 45th ranking state

Sometimes we stumble across a story so ridiculous that we hope its content and motivation was typed by a room full of monkeys.  Alas, such a story popped up on The AJC about Georgia Senate President Tommie Williams who is proposing that middle school students in Georgia receive an iPad, in lieu of text books.

Williams met with representatives from Apple who put forth a proposition that would provide iPads and all the text book updates for around $500.   His rationale was that the textbooks in the schools are outdated; and that the $40 million a year they spend on them is a poor investment as they aren’t reflective of current events.

I can hear the monkeys suggesting the idea of a state, that ranks 45^th in the nation for education, providing an iPad for all of their middle school students.  The iPad is an amazing tool, that is perfectly suited for education, but purchasing tens of thousands of them for middle schoolers in Georgia is not the answer.

Is another e-reader, tablet or more cost effective computer an option?  I understand the reality that school children need to learn history and current events in a timely manner.  What about when the kids don’t charge them, lose the iPad, go to inappropriate sites or damage them?

If, and this is a big if, IF the parents were held responsible for the replacement and upkeep of said computer I would be all for it.  However, I can hear a room full of monkeys already complaining about how that wouldn’t be fair to the parents or children.

I’m thankful that Baby Mojo is only 16 months old and doesn’t have to worry about this yet.  Hopefully by the time he goes to school Georgia would’ve figured out this situation.