Reader Nati asked me whether I knew of a downside to participating in the education ministry's  new schoolbook borrowing plan. Parents have been complaining about the high cost of schoolbooks as long as I've had kids in school. The books get pricier every year, the schools change curricula regularly, and there are too many workbooks. So the education ministry has allotted a budget for a nationwide book-borrowing project, implemented by individual schools. It works like this: The schools have sent out letters to all parents. Sixty percent of the parents need to agree before the school can implement the program. Parents do not have to participate. To kick-start the project, they are … [Read more...]