It's the 21st century and technology is flourishing inside the classroom. Because of how accessible technology has become, schools are finding it easier to incorporate it into the classroom. So, children are as knowledgeable about technology as they have ever been and it's more readily available than it has ever been. Why, then, are students continuing to carry around heavy, often unhelpful textbooks? In a previous chapter, Subject Matters discussed the need for students to begin acting like lifelong learners now, actively reading material that adults are reading in the "real world." This includes newspapers, websites and novels. I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time I walked into a coffee shop and saw someone casually reading a 1500 page textbook. I guess what I'm trying to say is, with so much "real world" material available to students, why are textbooks still such a big part of the classroom?
I'll follow that question up with another: How can we expect students to spend their time mining through walls of text that offer, as SM puts it, "zero emotional engagement"? Use textbooks as reference material, the chapter suggests - while going on to point out how textbooks are often outdated. For this reason, I feel the teacher, as an experienced reader, should create banks of information that the students can easily "digest." Powerpoints can do this, but, I might add, should only be used as a guide.
I understand textbooks may never be removed from the classroom, but they shouldn't be the main source of knowledge.
I found a great article in The New York Times that details the changing digital landscape: As Classrooms Go Digital, Textbooks May Become History
I actually laughed out loud when I read your comment, “I can't remember the last time I walked into a coffee shop and saw someone casually reading a 1500 page textbook.” This is so, so true. We expect students to “engage” in reading that is, let’s face it, put-you-to-sleep BORING! “Real world” readings are more apt to pull students in, get them passionate about content topics and concepts, and allow them to enjoy what they are reading. Some of my favorite school-assigned readings have been “real world.” However, novels such as, "The Jungle," "Coming of Age in Mississippi," and "Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed" were all assigned to me at the collegiate level. I personally think this is too late; high school students should have the opportunity to read these compelling stories. When my 10-year-old nephew’s 5th grade class was learning about the Civil Rights Movement, I had him read "Coming of Age in Mississippi." He loved it! And we were able to have a great conversation about it when he finished; it took him a week to read it because in his words, “It’s so good Auntie!” So it can be done and it can be fun! As for textbooks and their level of enjoyable readability, I think Subjects Matter (p. 40) says it best:
ReplyDelete“Textbooks are reference books, not novels or nonfiction trade books. [They] belong in the same category with encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses. [They] are designed to inventory huge amounts of information that can be looked up when needed.”
So as education majors and future teachers maybe we should challenge tradition, maybe it's our job to change “the norm” of subjecting our students to this unpleasant form of reading and use textbooks for what they really are… a great resource for information retrieval.