Why oh why don't schools use textbooks anymore??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know what I hate? Quizlet!

Kids need REAL flashcards to study. They need to put pen to paper and feel the information as they write it down and practice quizzing themselves.

I think the lack of tactile sensation as part of learning and studying is a real real mistake.

You can make your own set of flashcards. You can print right from Quizlet or do it yourself from the list of words.

You and your child probably didn't pay attention when this was explained multiple times. You could have also figured that out with a few clicks and half a brain.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:It is not just nostalgia. Children need to be manipulating more objects than just computer mouses. Turning pages is fine motor skills practice. It is also physically grounding in the tangible physical world. It truly does engage different parts of our brains and bodies. And you can’t beat those beautiful color photos, eye-catching graphics, etc. My students really enjoy getting out our old set of gorgeous textbooks.

None of this is true. None.

I disagree. You seem very defensive though. Why, do you think?

Because I've taught children ages 2 to 80, pre K-12, college, continuing education, as well as graduate school, where I mentor teachers in all settings and have done so for almost 40 years. I've written tomes of curriculum for public and private schools, as well as charters for private schools. I am a reading specialist who has worked with every type of learning disability there is, and, within the last ten years, also have been very much involved with the autism community. I've written three books, too many articles to count today, and am a frequent guest on educational podcasts. I've taught Reading, English, English Literature, Humanities, History, Social Sciences, as well as three math disciplines interspersed throughout the years.

That is why I know what I am talking about. I understand what interactive synchronous and asynchronous/ dynamic curricula looks like, how it is used, how collaboration is used, and the role of a teacher. I uunderstand what a textbook is, having edited 20 of them and having used textbooks in entirety for almost 25 years. I've seen the progression of technology as it has developed since I was in the trenches all this time. I understand the uses and possibilities of many materials. I can honestly say that a child today can literally go through school without one textbook (!) and learn more than what was ever available in 1963, 1973, or 1993, or even 2003. Can a textbook have a place? Sure, but now only as a temporary reference. Literature? Sure, the physical book is lovely, all for physical books as ancillaries and motivators, but we can still buy more of those as ebooks if we want to maximize $$. But discipline-based textbooks...not really necessary and I can make a good case for their shortcomings, which are many. Think about how everyone gets their news today. Do you wait for your morning physical newspaper to find out what's going on in the world? No.

My advice- let educators decide how to teach. That's what we do. It's just not that simple or binary..textbooks or not. There's so much open source and commercial material online that you are not aware of or even how to use it.Why not spend some time looking into it before you come up with an opinion not in your purview?

How much did you all get from Google and Microsoft to come to these conclusions? My bet is you are going to find out your entire career was wrong.

Nothing. I have multiple degrees and teach at the graduate level in my field. I think I would know what the field entails.
I hate to break it to you, but this comprises best practices in education today. Of note, if Microsoft and Google is all that you understand, there's quite a bit more to know. You are not trained and are living in the 1970s.

Best Practices = whatever they tell teachers to do at any given time

News Flash- teachers are "they." We know what to do and how to do it. What we aren't going to do is let untrained, out of touch, and uneducated people with zero experience tell us how to do our job, just like anyone, in any job, who has trained and has considerable experience in the field. This isn't a consumer driven field where the public decides how they want their product
delivered. There is a solid swath of practice and expertise here that isn't asking for your advice, nor do we require it! We aren't letting parents write curriculum and cherry pick what is to be taught in the classroom based upon their political and religious beliefs. We are happy to explain what we are doing, how we are doing it, and welcome anyone to come observe. We also welcome people to become trained in various methodologies, which includes technology in order for said people to understand how it all works. But, no, we aren't going back to 1976 because that's what you remember about education.

I'm an educator who taught in DCPS for nearly 20 years.
I have a BA, an MA, and an MAT.
I'm not telling you what or how to teach.
But I am telling you that what DCPS is doing is shortchanging students.
Stop being so defensive. Try listening. There's a lot you could be doing to improve the quality of the academic program.

Pretty sure you aren't teaching now, so, sit down.

Still teaching, but not for DCPS. And I use textbooks, trade books, short videos, some online platforms. I produce my own video lessons. Definitely not anything anybody was doing in the 70s.

What access do parents have to all that material you are using to support the school work at home? When the kid doesn't remember what was in the video and doesn't have time to rewatch the whole thing (times 6 classes) or sort through on line platforms to quickly review the confusing point, is there a book or a piece of paper to reference? I get how these things make it interesting and more dynamic for you as a teacher, but I have seen first hand how it loses the kids who cannot reinforce (or even find) at home what they were supposed to have learned at school -- unless they have a book with an index.

I teach online. Parents have access to all of the content that I post. And I use a downloadable textbook that can be printed so that students can highlight, code, and annotate.

That’s an equity issue right there. Not all parents can print at home, and woe to the kid who asks the teacher to print it out, because ecoconsciousness.

I agree. It is an equity issue. But it’s better than not offering a textbook at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what I hate? Quizlet!

Kids need REAL flashcards to study. They need to put pen to paper and feel the information as they write it down and practice quizzing themselves.

I think the lack of tactile sensation as part of learning and studying is a real real mistake.

You can make your own set of flashcards. You can print right from Quizlet or do it yourself from the list of words.

You and your child probably didn't pay attention when this was explained multiple times. You could have also figured that out with a few clicks and half a brain.

It's actually not that intuitive. You have to find the elipsis and pull down a menu to print.
Unbelievable how nasty you behave on this forum. I hope you're not a teacher.

[Anonymous]

LMS systems have huge issues with usability, particularly for children. The training provided to teachers, parents, and children is inadequate. I implement online training for adults via LMS systems. My clients have very strict standards for consistent presentation of information, navigation, and alternative access strategies (such as printed content).

The idea that kids have the necessary executive function to navigate to each teacher’s site to identify due dates, access materials in an orderly way and then review multiple individual pieces to prepare for exams is absurd. It is a lie told by software vendors and school administrators.

I have watched the LMS train wreck and even ran teacher training sessions as a private school when COVID hit to try to support the teachers. In that case the principal set up consistent guidelines for all teachers and ran parent training sessions, so that helped. But there is so much privilege assumed, there has to be a parent to help, we have to have laptops and WiFi, we have to have printers and paper/ ink and scanners/ phones to upload separate pieces.

[Anonymous]

Op - schools have textbooks. They are quiet, filled with kids in uniforms and have good manners. They are called private. The era of public school ended in March 2020. The melody continues but not for much longer…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - schools have textbooks. They are quiet, filled with kids in uniforms and have good manners. They are called private. The era of public school ended in March 2020. The melody continues but not for much longer…

Yeah, and private schools have a a faculty of staff who are literally untrained and unqualified. There is no need for any if them to be certified. They are paid babysitting salaries. They have no support anywhere. There's also no one monitoring curriculum...only a charter needs to be written. There's no accountability. They teach out of books and workbooks. Yup.

Private schools who support best practices in education require certified staff, engage in training, and, yes, use OER and online resources.

Sorry. What you want is some backwards uber religious school. But, it won't be education and it won't be relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - schools have textbooks. They are quiet, filled with kids in uniforms and have good manners. They are called private. The era of public school ended in March 2020. The melody continues but not for much longer…

Keep dreaming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LMS systems have huge issues with usability, particularly for children. The training provided to teachers, parents, and children is inadequate. I implement online training for adults via LMS systems. My clients have very strict standards for consistent presentation of information, navigation, and alternative access strategies (such as printed content).

The idea that kids have the necessary executive function to navigate to each teacher’s site to identify due dates, access materials in an orderly way and then review multiple individual pieces to prepare for exams is absurd. It is a lie told by software vendors and school administrators.

I have watched the LMS train wreck and even ran teacher training sessions as a private school when COVID hit to try to support the teachers. In that case the principal set up consistent guidelines for all teachers and ran parent training sessions, so that helped. But there is so much privilege assumed, there has to be a parent to help, we have to have laptops and WiFi, we have to have printers and paper/ ink and scanners/ phones to upload separate pieces.

Feel free to continue to allow under resourced communities stay that way by not assuming or assisting in the use of current technological supplies. Whenever we hear something like "but these families can't do this or support this...." what it actually being said is "And we will make sure it stays that way."

We support families and students with broadband, computers, cells, and training. We don't give up. We give everyone the privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LMS systems have huge issues with usability, particularly for children. The training provided to teachers, parents, and children is inadequate. I implement online training for adults via LMS systems. My clients have very strict standards for consistent presentation of information, navigation, and alternative access strategies (such as printed content).

The idea that kids have the necessary executive function to navigate to each teacher’s site to identify due dates, access materials in an orderly way and then review multiple individual pieces to prepare for exams is absurd. It is a lie told by software vendors and school administrators.

I have watched the LMS train wreck and even ran teacher training sessions as a private school when COVID hit to try to support the teachers. In that case the principal set up consistent guidelines for all teachers and ran parent training sessions, so that helped. But there is so much privilege assumed, there has to be a parent to help, we have to have laptops and WiFi, we have to have printers and paper/ ink and scanners/ phones to upload separate pieces.

Well sometimes you have to get the staff to move their cheese. And you need to interact with what is developmentally appropriate and feasible for subject, assignment, and age. And, most of all, administrators and staff need to be on board to be able to do it. There's always the hold back staffer who wants to do what is more comfortable.

Let's talk about privilege. Privilege is when you think other people can't or shouldn't have what is appropriate because they aren't deserving. You are the one who is exploiting your privilege by making it easier for YOU, not them. You should be making it work for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know what I hate? Quizlet!

Kids need REAL flashcards to study. They need to put pen to paper and feel the information as they write it down and practice quizzing themselves.

I think the lack of tactile sensation as part of learning and studying is a real real mistake.

You can make your own set of flashcards. You can print right from Quizlet or do it yourself from the list of words.

You and your child probably didn't pay attention when this was explained multiple times. You could have also figured that out with a few clicks and half a brain.

It's actually not that intuitive. You have to find the elipsis and pull down a menu to print.
Unbelievable how nasty you behave on this forum. I hope you're not a teacher.

Man, we really hope you aren't. Lord help us. "You have to find the elipsis...."
I literally laughed out loud.