Textbooks and Teaching

One of the biggest issues that I see happening at Corona del Sol is the fact that teachers cannot choose their own textbooks. The reason for this problem is the lack of money that prevents a teacher from choosing from what book they will teach because students do not purchase their own books. The result, however, causes teachers to deal with material they do not fully understand themselves (thus making teaching quite difficult), or information they feel is irrelevant or unnecessary for a high school education comes to the forefront of the curriculum. How can this issue be reconciled?

When it comes to budgeting, there is a certain amount of money allotted for the purchase of textbooks. Textbooks cannot be purchased every year because the cost exceeds what is available. Therefore, when textbooks are purchased new, who is deciding which books will be purchased?

I propose that teachers be required to examine a collection of textbooks by various publishers on their own. Once a teacher has decided which textbook best suits their classroom environment, he or she prepares a defense for that textbook, to be debated at a meeting in which all teacher who instruct the same class and level will collectively decide which textbook is ideal. This way EACH teacher INDIVIDUALLY researches textbooks to discover which is best for them, and then the group COLLECTIVELY decides upon which book to purchase. By doing this, many teachers who have taught the same class (and thus understand where the curricular priority lies) can restructure their class according to their own values, then discuss with the group the best means (the best textbook) by which to accomplish this. Therefore, the collection of teachers who instruct on the same curriculum periodically re-evaluate their course as a group and decide which direction they need to take in order to give the students the fullest and most practical education possible. Don’t let the district decide, let the teachers choose what they teach.

Granted, some of the textbooks that are used are ideal for the classroom in which they are taught. However, without consistent evaluation of the source of knowledge utilized by the teachers, progress is difficult. The archaic texts must be done away with, and the more modern approaches to the same material should be embraced. The most important part is leaving these decisions in the hands of the teachers who actually teach the material. Without this first-person perspective, many of the critical aspects of the various textbooks cannot be fully understood, and thus more problems are created when there is a rift between teacher and textbook. However, when this division is reconciled, the power behind the teaching increases dramatically, and real strides towards progress can occur.