Textbook adoption, I can't wait!
Ever think about textbook adoptions. Every seven years or so your district forms a committee to review the next batch of state adoptions whether it’s needed or not, they have to spend the money. Most teachers shudder at the thought of a new adoption or they’re thrilled to dump the last one.
Think about the process. Your state mandates curriculum guild-lines for schools to follow. Then the text book companies come along to interpret the guild-lines, design a text and compete to become the adopted few from which schools must choose. At least the companies do that for the most populace states, Texas, California and New York.
Writers and editors working for the textbook company interpret the state guild-lines, or probably an amalgam of the guild-lines from the three biggest states and compile, rewrite, reformat and reconstitute older texts (I reasonably sure they do not begin from scratch with each new addition).
Then a second group of editors, the ones entrusted with the company profits take over. These guys pare the text into something that will be profitable for the company to publish and be competitive in the bidding process. These cuts have nothing to do with education and everything to do with profit.
This process is a great cash cow for the textbook companies, but is it the best vehicle to get great information into the hands of kids? There are other problems with the system as well. Schools are mandated to spend their textbook money for each new strand adoption whether they need to or not. There is no incentive to save and no avenue if your district’s teachers really like and desire to keep the existing text series. A district has to spend the money or they lose it. What really bothers me is that we never build on a good text addition, we are stuck always buying the new best thing.
Look at math. How much does it really change from year to year? What if a district or the state were to own their own materials and just replenished them. Figure out how to teach math, put the package together and use it year after year. Spend the savings on disposable materials that would directly benefit the students. What if a history text were available with sturdy (even laminated pages) sold in replaceable loose-leaf binders. That way covers could be replaced, sections updated or added and teachers could use the same series year after year and really get proficient, creative and effective with it.
I a firm believer in teacher made materials. I resent it strongly when materials are purchased that teachers never intend to use, but the arguments is always, you are supposed to use the materials, this is the way it’s done and we have to spend the money on textbooks. Why? I could step into a 1st grade classroom and put together a complete curriculum without any textbooks at all. Experienced teachers should be allowed to use whatever produces the best results. Hold teachers accountable for results, but don’t weigh them down with the baggage of unwanted materials and cry that there is no money for supplies. As a primary teacher, given the choice between supplies and textbooks, I’d take supplies any time and produce a better program every time. Give me the guide-lines, I’ll create and adapt my own materials to fit my current class. Don’t tell me how to teach, that’s what I was hired to do.
Think about the process. Your state mandates curriculum guild-lines for schools to follow. Then the text book companies come along to interpret the guild-lines, design a text and compete to become the adopted few from which schools must choose. At least the companies do that for the most populace states, Texas, California and New York.
Writers and editors working for the textbook company interpret the state guild-lines, or probably an amalgam of the guild-lines from the three biggest states and compile, rewrite, reformat and reconstitute older texts (I reasonably sure they do not begin from scratch with each new addition).
Then a second group of editors, the ones entrusted with the company profits take over. These guys pare the text into something that will be profitable for the company to publish and be competitive in the bidding process. These cuts have nothing to do with education and everything to do with profit.
This process is a great cash cow for the textbook companies, but is it the best vehicle to get great information into the hands of kids? There are other problems with the system as well. Schools are mandated to spend their textbook money for each new strand adoption whether they need to or not. There is no incentive to save and no avenue if your district’s teachers really like and desire to keep the existing text series. A district has to spend the money or they lose it. What really bothers me is that we never build on a good text addition, we are stuck always buying the new best thing.
Look at math. How much does it really change from year to year? What if a district or the state were to own their own materials and just replenished them. Figure out how to teach math, put the package together and use it year after year. Spend the savings on disposable materials that would directly benefit the students. What if a history text were available with sturdy (even laminated pages) sold in replaceable loose-leaf binders. That way covers could be replaced, sections updated or added and teachers could use the same series year after year and really get proficient, creative and effective with it.
I a firm believer in teacher made materials. I resent it strongly when materials are purchased that teachers never intend to use, but the arguments is always, you are supposed to use the materials, this is the way it’s done and we have to spend the money on textbooks. Why? I could step into a 1st grade classroom and put together a complete curriculum without any textbooks at all. Experienced teachers should be allowed to use whatever produces the best results. Hold teachers accountable for results, but don’t weigh them down with the baggage of unwanted materials and cry that there is no money for supplies. As a primary teacher, given the choice between supplies and textbooks, I’d take supplies any time and produce a better program every time. Give me the guide-lines, I’ll create and adapt my own materials to fit my current class. Don’t tell me how to teach, that’s what I was hired to do.
posted by Gary at 3:21 PM
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