Blog 6
Brian Flamand
Strategically and Sparingly
Growing up and going through grade school, I did not
particularly care for reading textbooks.
However, one thing I was really good at was extracting key vocabulary
words from them in order to study for tests.
Sometimes this was easy because they were in bold print along the
margins, and other times it was not as easy.
Looking back at the experience now one thing seemed consistent, the
books were too long and they did not dive into deep thought or analysis. However, simply because I passed my classes
by memorizing vocabulary does not mean other students will be able to do the
same, and it more importantly means that merely memorizing facts is not the
approach we should be taking with instruction.
As our “textbook” argues, I too believe textbooks should be
used strategically and sparingly. Similarly
to how we discussed earlier in the semester, students need a balanced diet of
reading. Especially within my content of
history or social studies, I will need to supply different types of texts to
expose students to multiple writing styles and different points of view. These are aspects of history or current
events that a single text cannot cover.
Our book argues that textbooks will always be needed and are
useful references, and I understand that.
However, they are not going to be the basis of reading material in my
classroom. I can recall how bored and
unengaged I was with my school textbooks, and I feel it would be unfair and hypocritical
if I were to continue the process. I
understand their usefulness, and they will probably make great guides for
curriculum, but my students will be exposed to much more reading material than
just one text.
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