Question of the Week Archives

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Paul Richmond - Horseheads, NY
When I used to purchase a textbook for class, it wasn't the book I wanted, it was the multi-media package that could be purchased with the textbook. With this in mind, I have already eliminated textbooks in the classes I teach. I use state standards and curriculum as a guideline/outline and teach my courses with the assistance of the internet. With planning and preparation, there are countless resources available on the world wide web that provide lesson plans, teacher collaboration, and most importantly, up-to-date data and statistics! My website, www.energizetheclassroom.com, is an example of a teacher-based website that can aid in this process.

Paul Richmond Grade 12 Economics and Government Thomas Edison High School Elmira Heights, N.Y. www.energizetheclassroom.com

NY
I teach in a self-contained middle school classroom (grades 6, 7 and 8). Years ago I came to the conclusion that the use of textbooks with my students would be ineffectual as their needs and abilities were so varied. Instead, information or content area topics are presented with as many visuals and hands on projects/activities as I can accumulate. I still gather materials to support the instruction for the students to use - but I make sure they are at varied reading levels and that 'extra' information doesn't interfere with the 'meat' of what I want the students to know. I have observed classrooms where the textbook is the main or only source of information. The students in those rooms are often unengaged and have checked out. Not all learners benefit from textbook instruction - all learning styles need to be addressed.

NY
I teach in an inner city public school district. We rarely use the textbook for certain subjects. More and more, the students are given essential questions to answer. They are given documents to read or critically view and respond to. The difficulty I have with this is two fold: First, I question if the students have been exposed to enough basic knowledge to be able to adequately answer such tasks. Secondly, the internet becomes relied on too much as there is no way to stop faulty information from seeming like facts. Textbook tend to be much more reliant, however fawed as well. There is no substitute for a good teacher who knows their subject well and is able to guide students through each process necessary to gain important facts.

TX
Our district has already veered away from reliance on textbooks. We gave up our spelling books long ago, we are "discouraged" from using the basal reading texts, and the last time a science textbook was purchased was well before our current state standards were adopted. At first this created chaos for me because I felt that I was making everything up as I went along... yes, I was supposed to be teaching "distinguish fact from opinion in various texts," but I was just pulling stuff randomly from everywhere! I think the biggest problem was that there was no extra TIME in my day to create the resources to replace those that were taken away. I know the administrators believed that we would have a more rigorous, relevant instructional program when we were no longer leaning on the crutch of the textbooks, but we went through a long period of struggle before there was any glimmer of this! Certainly the curriculum isn't JUST the textbooks, but creating good quality materials to replace textbooks takes time and resources.

Terri - Bremerton, WA
If my school decided to eliminate books entirely, I would be in heaven. If teaching was strictly standards based, then my reluctant learners could focus on topics that interested them, but still met the standards I need my students to know/show. I believe there would be less behavior problems in school and kids would have ownership to what they were learning. Books have their place as long as they are not intended to be used as the only source of information. I believe that books limit a teacher's and students' creativity to really devle deeply into topics that interest students.

MO
I already teach primarily without using a text book. Unfortunately, the textbook we use is not very good in my opinion, so therefore I make/find most of my materials. I create notes, write guided practice problems, and create independent practice worksheets and homework for each lesson. It can be very time consuming, but the end result is a much more aligned and relevant set of notes and problems. Plus, these can all be reused from year to year. This does consume a fair amount of paper, but I have students write their own notes from the board, and I use class sets of worksheets for the independent practice to cut down on copies and the students must use their own paper. I usually hand out half sheets for homework with problems on both sides if necessary. So for me, eliminating text books entirely would not be much of a change.

NY
I would jump for JOY! There are so many good resources on the internet and in my files of nearly 25 years of teaching that I wouldn't be the least bit concerned. Of course, if I were suddenly moved from the primary grades to intermediate, I may be a bit nervouse. However, every school and every state SHOULD HAVE a complete curriculum so that if one were to switch grades, the expectations would be written down. Using Rubrics and alternate assessments would make reporting progress easy. The only problem? We need to give "STATE TESTS ALIGNED WITH THE STANDARDS" and the students are tested on those.

Alberta Canada
I have not used text books in my classroom for at least 15 years. I do sometimes refer to textbooks for examples and practice. I teach using meaningful questions and problems of the kind not available in any texts I have seen. Textbooks mire teachers in low level teaching and thinking. We need to teach, practice and help students understand high level thinking.

Nv.
For students that can read, I would use library books, newspapers, and computers. I would also look at the world around us and try to get students active in thinking of ways to improve their lives and those of others worldwide. Students learn easier and more if they are active and interested, so I would open new avenues for them to explore and work in the real world. Let students set up "stores" in the classroom, provide fake money and jobs that relate to the real world then teach them to balance their "lives" to give them a taste of reality. Take them out of the usual classroom setting as much as possible -- not on field trips, but on a daily basis where they are learning from the world around them and are active in improving their surroundings, learning to live off the land, and reacting with each other in positive ways. They need to learn the social skills that were lost long ago and learn to love mankind as well as themselves.

Jeanne - New Port Richey, FL
I'd purchase a subscription to Big Universe. Big Universe has 1000+ books on all curriculum topics and it has a built in authoring tool for students to write their own stories, books, and word problems. It is one tool yet very versatile and it would meet my needs to teach without textbooks.