Reply to Why no textbooks in ACPS?

Forum Index » VA Public Schools other than FCPS

Reply to "Why no textbooks in ACPS?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I am a secondary teacher in ACPS. I can only speak for myself, but here are the reasons I don’t use the textbook:

When new textbooks were selected a few years ago, the committee was swayed by glossy photos and high-tech features. To save money, they purchased class sets of the books and decided that the kids can use the online version at home. However, there are some problems.

First, the online books do not integrate well with Canvas.  It takes like 10 clicks to get to the correct page.  Supposedly there is a way to do a direct link, but no one can figure it out. It’s hard enough to get the kids to do any homework, and it’s a lot harder if they can’t find the assignment.

Also, who likes reading online anyway? These kids stare at screens enough. Plus it’s too tempting for them to open a new tab and play games instead.

The books are written at grade level, but now thanks to Covid, many of these kids are way behind in reading. Some of my students are four or five grade levels behind. That makes it really difficult for them to access the text.

Also, the books are way too detailed, going well beyond the required curriculum. While that’s awesome for the gifted kid with a strong interest in the subject, it is difficult for struggling readers.

So what do I do instead? I create my own materials or I get worksheets from other teachers. Or I photocopy the old textbook from 15 years ago that I like better. It’s not ideal, and I don’t like using paper, but I have to make adjustments so that the kids can learn. I suspect your kids’ teachers are doing the same thing.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics