San Francisco, U.S.A.– Back-to-school time is just about here. The rush is on to get those last-minute school supplies, pack up the car, and shove off to each student’s college or university. College textbooks may be an afterthought until students arrive on campus and start unpacking their belongings and preparing for classes to start. According to the research, conducted by the 20 Million Minds Foundation, textbooks have increased in cost by four times the national rate of inflation over the past four years, with the average annual cost of textbooks coming in at $1,260 per student.

With this exorbitant cost in mind, the deals and money-saving website Coupon Snapshot is proud to offer numerous deals and discounts on college textbooks and alternatives for students this year. Thankfully, students are not forced into making their textbook purchases at the university bookstore.

“College textbooks seem to be one of the most costly expenses of going to school these days,” says Coupon Snapshot’s marketing director. “It is hard to believe how the costs keep climbing for school books each year, but they still do. We are glad to do anything we can to help students and parents defray the cost of textbooks by providing a variety of coupon codes and special sales for textbooks, e-textbooks, and related services.”

Coupon Snapshot’s dedicated deal-finding team gathered up as many textbook deals as they could find in order to help students and parents escape some of the high costs of going to college. Some of the top companies offering deals on school books include Textbooks.com, AbeBooks, Amazon, Chegg, and CourseSmart, to name a few.

The following are some of the top deals on textbooks, e-textbooks, and related services:

• AbeBooks – 50– 90% off list price
• Buy.com – Back to School Store: Up to 86% off
• Chegg – Up to 80% off textbooks
• CourseSmart –Free Trial on e-textbooks, up to 60% off one e-textbook reading, and more
• Textbooks.com — 10% bonus buyback, Free shipping on orders over $25, and Save up to 90% every day on the biggest selection of used and new textbooks

Many students buy used textbooks from the school bookstore or even on Amazon.com. Saving money by purchasing textbooks online can truly help the overall cost of each college semester while also making those funds available for other things such as participation in school athletics, activities, and maybe even a few tanks of gas so that students can come home to visit once in a while.

In addition to textbook deals at Coupon Snapshot, parents and students should also check out the website’s Back-to-School Deals page. Deals are available on back-to-school clothing, shoes, accessories, school supplies, and so much more.

“The start of a new school year is an exciting time for parents and students alike,” says Coupon Snapshot’s CEO. “We know college isn’t cheap, and it is a big lifestyle change – and sometimes a big move – for many young men and women. It is our great pleasure to bring together these wonderful deals and discounts on college textbooks, e-textbooks, and all kinds of back-to-school items to help alleviate the financial burden many families feel when sending kids off to college.”

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Keeping track of their course material expenses could help save college students and their families up to $2,500 annually. Under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and extended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, a tax credit of up to $2,500 each year has been authorized for out-of-pocket higher education expenses for course materials, tuition, and fees for 2009 through 2012.

The National Association of College Stores (NACS) and its more than 3,100 member stores are urging students and their families to take advantage of the measure known as the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). Families should consult tax preparers or the IRS on their eligibility for this important credit and keep records of eligible course material expenses incurred.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 made textbooks and other academically required course materials eligible for a tax credit for the first time. The credit covers textbooks and other course material expenses – as well as tuition and fees not covered by scholarships or grants — up to $2,500 each year for the first four years of college. Forty percent of the credit is refundable.

According to an October 2010 study by the Treasury Department, AOTC recipients in 2009 received an average tax credit of more than $1,700. In addition, 4.5 million students and families received a tax refund from the AOTC in 2009 with an average value of $800.

“NACS and its members work hard to help make textbooks and course materials as affordable as possible, and have long been advocates of including academically required course materials in tax credits. That is why NACS to provide individuals with accurate, easy-to-understand information about how to best take advantage of this beneficial tax relief,” said Rich Hershman, NACS director of government relations.

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A kindergarten class in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, uses dolls with lifelike parts – including genitalia with pubic hair – to teach children about sex. An agency, Imagine China, provided photographs of the dolls to the Huffington Post. The photos were taken in April at Yaolan Kindergarten.

The Shanghaiist, reported that a typical conversation in a Yaolan classroom involves a 4 or 5-year-old student asking if babies fell from the sky only to be corrected by another student who explains: “Daddy’s sperm finds mommy’s egg, and then a baby grows inside mommy’s stomach!”

The graphic dolls used to teach kindergarteners about sex have produced debate and concern among parents. “I am worried that it’s not good for the kids to know sexual knowledge so early,” a parent said, according to The Shanghai Daily. Yaolan has “managed to transcend traditionally retrograde attitudes on sex education, having reportedly taught 4 and 5-year-old children sex-ed since 2008,” The Shanghaiist said.

Discussion on whether or not to teach sexual education to children of various ages is taking place in many places in China. According to CNN, a report in a local Beijing newspaper about a new sex education textbook for elementary school students has spurred much debate on this issue online and beyond.

The Beijing Times, a popular local tabloid, said that the textbook titled “The Steps of Growth,” uses images that are too graphic for young children. “Is it for elementary school students? That’s way too early for them…unacceptable!” a person wrote on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter.

According to CNN, authorities in China said the textbook is only an experiment in some schools but claimed that the teachings of the textbook are important.  In a fax statement to CNN, they said, “it’s very important to carry out health education, including sex education, to elementary and middle school students.”

Those in support of teaching sexual education point to China’s abortion rates to prove the need for early education on sex. China has one of the highest abortion rates in the world – a number which is growing. According to a government tally, 9.2 million abortions were performed in 2008, up from 7.6 million in 2007.

But the count only includes hospitals, and state media report the total could be as high as 13 million. The Huffington Post said that many blame the high abortion rate on liberal attitudes toward premarital sex, as well as a lack of sex education.

According to a report by China’s National Working Committee on Children and Women under State Council in 2010, 60% of young Chinese aged 15-24 were open to pre-marriage sex, while 22.4% actually had sexual experience. Among those who got pregnant before marriage, 91% had an abortion, while only 4.4% of unmarried people aged 15-24 had the “correct knowledge” about reproduction.

It also added that only 14.4% of that group understood the risks of HIV, CNN reported. Deciding on the right age to teach children sexual education remains a heated, ongoing debate. “Children still need sex education when they’re little,” opined Li Yinhe, a sociologist who specializes in sexology studies in China.

“They need to know basic knowledge such as gender differences. What matters is that the teachers should also tell children what is right and what is wrong in terms of sex morality, and teach the children to protect themselves from sexual assaults.” China is not the only place where opinion is split on the issue of sexual education.

On August 31, The Vatican referred to New York City’s new sexual education classes as “useless, and even harmful.” The curriculum involves teaching middle school students how to correctly use condoms.

 
Hung Chung Chih / Shutterstock.com

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