Reflection #4

Why Textbooks Are Not Enough

1. What was the chapter about?
In Chapter 3, Daniels and Zemelman review the many reasons why textbooks are simply not enough in the classroom.  They discuss the central role of textbooks, the trouble with textbooks and concludes the chapter by offering suggestions for teachers of whom do and do not use textbooks in the classroom.  The main focus of the chapter was definitely about the disturbances textbooks cause in the classroom, for both students and teachers.  Daniels and Zemelman believe they are extremely overused, which I can agree with to some degree, because some teachers may feel that textbooks are their only resource and don't try to push themselves to find more in depth information.  "Textbooks are superficial, exceedingly hard to read, badly designed, authoritarian, are often inaccurate, not written for students and sometimes cost too much."  Daniels and Zemelman suggest that teachers buy only classroom copies of books, rather than one per student, which would bring down the cost. They also noted that teachers and administrators should be very selective towards the books they decide to purchase because a lot actually come with extra material (CDs full of handouts, videos and posters) and teachers should take advantage of that.

2. What does this chapter tell you about teaching students?
This chapter tells me a lot about teaching students because I now understand how much of an impact textbooks can make on a student's education.  Choosing "the right textbook" can make or brake whether or not a student ends up really understanding the material or not.  I believe the biggest idea is that textbooks are simply not written for students.  Some children may actually know the content material but can't understand what the book is trying to say and convey to the readers.  As teachers, it is our responsibility to make sure we choose books that are student friendly and establish any vocabulary barriers because the lesson begins.  This way, our students won't be as anxious about the textbook and can concentrate more on the actual material.

3. Can this chapter be applied in your content area?
Yes, this chapter can definitely be applied in my content area.  Mathematical textbooks are constantly being published, which allows school systems to trade out old ones for new ones, which is something we as teachers really need to watch out for.  Although textbooks are an excellent resource in the math classroom, there are definitely some textbooks that are better than others.  For example, at the school I am teaching at right now all of the teachers love a certain precalculus textbook and even though different levels of this course require different textbooks, every teacher goes back to that one textbook because of how well written it is.  Although all of the precalculus books are filled with examples, the way this one is laid out and written makes it so much easier to understand the material.  As a math teacher, I will definitely want to use a textbook because it is an excellent resource, for myself and the students, and usually flows in an appropriate manor, but I will certainly keep in mind that some textbooks are better than others and try to find the one that suits mine and my students' needs the best!