Textbooks don't have to be brought home. They can just be used in school.

^lunch break^

I'm a teacher (on my lunchbox) and I hate the lack of textbooks. I sent my DD to private MS and finally she has textbooks for the first time in her life. It's ridiculous that I have to pay tuition so she can have an algebra textbook. I'm pretty sure algebra hasn't changed since hundreds of years so why no textbook? It also has a link to online resources. I also bought a book from Amazon that lets you watch their videos online for help solving problems. I teach in a Title One school and we have classroom libraries. The kids have to take home a book on their level each day and bring it back the next day. Every year I lose anywhere from 25% up to 40% of my books when kids don't return them. That's another reason why they don't send textbooks home. They are expensive and will be lost and parents don't have $50 to replace them.

Exactly. Because textbooks and workbooks were created to be a teaching tool. So now that they aren't being used, the only teaching tools are the teacher and the computer.

I think the lack of textbooks has contributed to the growing achievement gap. They should be brought back so all teachers have the same starting point. Most textbooks also have built in differentiation in the form of extension questions and projects meaning the teacher does not have to actually formulate separate plans.

In terms of limiting, right now students are the ones limited in the information and learning they are receiving.

I've brought this up here many many times and keep getting teachers chiming in that a textbook is limiting. Of course it's limiting. It's not meant to be your only resource. It's meant as a starting point. Uggh. Textbooks were never meant to be the only resource to be used in a school. And then there are the teachers who chime in how easy it is to just make up your curriculum daily and how much freedom they have. Language arts is a joke. Language arts at our school consists of kids getting books from the shelves to read to themselves, read to a friend, or reading books online. I understand teachers don't want to be constrained with a textbook, but it is beyond me why they think random unrelated worksheets and open ended projects with no resources to help guide the student is a better curriculum system than a textbook and workbook.

You can ask for a textbook. It is in the classroom but there is just not enough for all the classes. It may not be exactly what they are following but it gives you a resource. Yes, it is frustrating not have a textbook.

I don't understand how we can have all this focus on education and teaching and teachers, and yet we have schools where the norm across the board is to not use a textbook. How is that an improvement?

This is my biggest complaint Op and echoing you and Pps.

IT drives me insane esp with math and science. Dd was doing fractions some wonky way and having trouble with it so I tried to teach her my way (I guess considered "old school"...and I'm a FCPS product myself), but to no avail. Then she was trying to figure out the difference between solution and solventS in science and I had to Google it on my phone (!!!) to help explain it bc there was no explanation with her homework packet. I could go on.

I can see how some upper grade subjects could, in theory, eliminate textbooks bc the subject gets outdated so quickly by the time the textbook is edited, goes to print, approved by the admin, and finally distributed throughout the school system, but ES and MS subjects where the info is fairly standard really need textbooks.

I agree it's terrible. I actually was an a fcps teacher, and my first year was a nightmare. I had NO idea what to teach. I kept asking, isn't there a textbook?? Instead, I was pointed to the SOL's - which, yes, do really stand for "s**t out of luck," because all you get there is things like "student will understand commutative properties of addition" and other vague statements that don't actually tell you what to teach exactly. The language arts sol's are so vague that the only way to know what they mean is to just look at the SOL test and use that to backtrack to what the student actually needs to do. So basically, we created a curriculum based on the tests from previous years that we found online. That apparently counts as a world-class education these days.

We are in DC, but in 7 years, I've never seen a textbook. DC is in 5th grade now and figured things are going to get harder. I myself need to catch up with all the math and what have you. Asked teacher for the exact book they are using, but all I got was that they use Eureka.
Ok, so I typed in "Eureka math 5th grade" and Amazon study guide shows up. Is study guide a textbook? Is module a textbook? Part of a textbook?
I love textbooks. They made my life easier when growing up. I even remember how the textbooks looked like going back grade one.
Went to Europe and got some math textbooks. Ordered and picked up straight from the publisher.
Parents are encouraged and asked to be so involved in their children's schooling here, but only when it comes to sending money, baking cookies and volunteering. Send me the list of textbooks to buy and I'll be involved.
I'm sorry OP, I'm pretty frustrated myself. I can't think of a reason they don't have textbooks at school and a copy at home.

Saves FCPS a ton of money by not buying the workbooks and textbooks and pushes the workload/cost down to the individual teacher/elementary school level

What grade? DC had textbooks for all his classes in HS. SOMe were electronic,but they were still there.

MCPS is the same way and I completely agree. This year they did get a math workbook and they've only used it a few times. Its disappointing as its a nice workbook.

This I know. It sucks trying to help your kid as a parent and it's a major PITA when your kid is out sick for a week.

1.) It doesn't save much paper. My kid gets endless paper worksheets.

2.) I doubt it saves the teachers time. If anything it adds time trying to find stuff online and make copies

3.) I assume maybe it's unfair to low income kids? If so, I would gladly start a donation campaign to level the field and make sure ALL schools had these textbooks.

4.) It doesn't seem to save money if you have to xerox everything.


So why? why? why?