What Role SHOULD Textbooks Play in Modern Education?
Honestly, I can't remember the last time I've used a textbook in school, or the last time I saw a teacher using a textbook in school. I think the last time I actually used a textbook for learning was probably in middle school social studies, which was four years ago! That's crazy! Or is it?
I have always been the kind of student that didn't like using textbooks for my learning and education for two main reasons...
1. Textbooks are often corrupted by politics
That has always been my own opinion on textbooks, and after reading Nicole Daniels's article in the New York Times today over the role of textbooks in education I stand even firmer in my opinion on textbooks.
Nicole Daniels writes a wonderful article (while also quoting opinions and research from writer Dana Goldstein) about how textbooks are becoming less useful in the classrooms to both students and teachers. She talks about how textbooks are almost always shaded or influenced by politics and depending on the textbook company or writer it changes drastically from textbook to textbook, creating a stark contrast across the country in what students are learning. Along with creating this confusion and disconnect among students across the US, allowing politics to shape our textbooks often leads to falsified information being taught to students, or parts of the greater story left out or ignored, especially when it comes to history textbooks. Daniels also goes on to briefly state that as if all this political corruption isn't enough, recent studies show that students these days hardly retain anything they read or learn in textbooks because textbooks simply aren't engaging enough to spark true learning and understanding.
From a teacher standpoint, this is all important feedback and knowledge to know going into teaching; especially with my deep interest in wanting to be a history teacher. What I learned is textbooks can be a helpful guide for outlining topics and units to teach on a subject, but to take what they have written in them with a grain of salt. Also, students tend to engage and learn more from materials that aren't straight from a textbook, and that primary sources are often more interesting to students and more reliable as well.
As I head into my second semester of teaching and observing in classrooms, I will definitely be paying more attention and be more interested in the ways that textbooks are being used in the classroom.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/learning/what-role-should-textbooks-play-in-education.html
I have always been the kind of student that didn't like using textbooks for my learning and education for two main reasons...
1. Textbooks are often corrupted by politics
2. Textbooks are so stale and boring, and they tend to teach in a way that is not relatable or even understandable to students.
That has always been my own opinion on textbooks, and after reading Nicole Daniels's article in the New York Times today over the role of textbooks in education I stand even firmer in my opinion on textbooks.
Nicole Daniels writes a wonderful article (while also quoting opinions and research from writer Dana Goldstein) about how textbooks are becoming less useful in the classrooms to both students and teachers. She talks about how textbooks are almost always shaded or influenced by politics and depending on the textbook company or writer it changes drastically from textbook to textbook, creating a stark contrast across the country in what students are learning. Along with creating this confusion and disconnect among students across the US, allowing politics to shape our textbooks often leads to falsified information being taught to students, or parts of the greater story left out or ignored, especially when it comes to history textbooks. Daniels also goes on to briefly state that as if all this political corruption isn't enough, recent studies show that students these days hardly retain anything they read or learn in textbooks because textbooks simply aren't engaging enough to spark true learning and understanding.
From a teacher standpoint, this is all important feedback and knowledge to know going into teaching; especially with my deep interest in wanting to be a history teacher. What I learned is textbooks can be a helpful guide for outlining topics and units to teach on a subject, but to take what they have written in them with a grain of salt. Also, students tend to engage and learn more from materials that aren't straight from a textbook, and that primary sources are often more interesting to students and more reliable as well.
As I head into my second semester of teaching and observing in classrooms, I will definitely be paying more attention and be more interested in the ways that textbooks are being used in the classroom.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/learning/what-role-should-textbooks-play-in-education.html
So, so true. It's rare that I agree with most every element in an analysis report, but in this case 95%.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent analysis! I would say, quite close to a true Bobby-Dazzler.
One small caveat however (hence the 5% from perfect). There are those students who do indeed benefit from the printed word in textbooks. These are the ones that are not blessed with average, or above average comprehension abilities. These are the guys that make good use of their texts, and highlighters, in order to refer back and refresh their memories to selected important facts.
So, I believe textbooks should still have a place in the modern teaching world, but perhaps a much smaller place then they have now. --P