My current occupation as a youth mentor allows me to interact heavily with children of a particular urban school district after school, and it is a rewarding experience. One thing that I’ve observed since I’ve begun this position is that certain school districts do not supply their students with textbooks due to the high risk of these books being lost, damaged, or stolen.

Schools across the nation know that reading textbooks are the most direct way to digest as well as share large quantities of information, and certain children are missing out on this valuable resource. Some schools are studying online portals as a means to present information, while others are providing e-readers to allow students to access books wirelessly, but the federal government can offer a better solution.

The U.S. government has the ability to offer textbooks free online to K-12 schools without hardcopies regarding the following subjects:

• Math: (ex. algebra, geometry, calculus)
• English: (ex. composition, literature, speech)
• Social Sciences: (ex. history, sociology, psychology, political science, geography, economics)
• Science: (ex. earth science, biology, chemistry, physics)

This could be the national generic school district (not mandated but definitely a resource) where any child, or parent, could research and review specific and detailed educational content for their child’s grade level or for their own edification or curiosity. A standard government approved textbook could be chosen for the above listed core classes per grade level and accessed online nationwide greatly cutting the hosting and licensing costs for actual school districts who would have the option to use this school. Children in districts where books are provided could use this site as a resource, as well as students who are home taught. A public school in good academic standing can be used as a benchmark. The only issue I foresee when deciding which texts to utilize will occur with the Social Sciences.

Our youth are our future!