Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure they are needed. My child was issued books for his language arts classes, plus a soft cover science textbook. For other classes, he has handwritten notes from his classes, plus the teachers post powerpoints that they prepared covering topics.

He is in middle school, and a fair amount of the work is project-based (e.g. DBQ essays for history classes). He either gets a physical or electronic copy of source documents.

You're not sure textbooks are needed, but your child was issued books. My two elementary school students don't have any textbooks. Both are behind on writing, spelling, and grammar/editing.

Anonymous wrote:My students are elementary and they bring home tons of paper. It seems super wasteful. Is there a reason we don't have textbooks or even a tablet with a PDF text?

Yes. The reason is it’s 2022.

Paper is too white.

I'm not sure they are needed. My child was issued books for his language arts classes, plus a soft cover science textbook. For other classes, he has handwritten notes from his classes, plus the teachers post powerpoints that they prepared covering topics.

He is in middle school, and a fair amount of the work is project-based (e.g. DBQ essays for history classes). He either gets a physical or electronic copy of source documents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

I am a teacher and a parent. I would like to see a return to textbooks myself. Especially for ELA and Math. I would rather that the core of what is being taught be guided by a group of learned peers and reviewed by learned peers, rather than one teacher's last minute rush to find something for that day or week. Respectfully, right now I see many of my peers using TPT or other sites, often willy nilly, rather than in a concentrated or focused way. While I respect my fellow teachers, I certainly see that one person can have tunnel vision and might not see the myriad of ways to discuss or unveil concepts with students.

This: almost all of my students' work is from Teachers Paying Teachers. From an environmental perspective, the school must pay an exorbitant cost in paper/copies. Because teachers aren't using a textbook, there is a lot of variation from teacher to teacher. My son enjoys homework and I would like to review the concept he's leaorning in class to help him with his homework questions. He usually does his homework at aftercare and I sign it in the evening and we discuss. I think there is value in having a set curriculum and supplementing it with Teachers Paying Teachers rather than no text. In college, I had a professor who didn't use a textbook, but rather his notes. Then when we got to exam time, the exam was over concepts we did not discuss. I also notice that my kindergarterner's teacher uses a lot of GoNoodle and pandemic type videos/exer gaming now. I really want to limit my kids' time on screens. My third grader's teacher said the kids are behind in spelling and writing/editing because of the use of tablets and computers during the pandemic in virtual learning. She is working to get them ahead. I see a huge disparity between my son's math and reading. He is very advant ced at math and just average at reading. His spelling and editing skills are low average per the MAP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

I personally think it’s a backlash against the overuse of technology and app-based learning. Just not sure those programs really fit into a curriculum and offer the best learning tools. They were understandably relied on heavily during virtual learning but I’d like schools to get back to basics of pen, paper and actual books in hand. Enough with the constant technology!

Strongly agree.

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

I am a teacher and a parent. I would like to see a return to textbooks myself. Especially for ELA and Math. I would rather that the core of what is being taught be guided by a group of learned peers and reviewed by learned peers, rather than one teacher's last minute rush to find something for that day or week. Respectfully, right now I see many of my peers using TPT or other sites, often willy nilly, rather than in a concentrated or focused way. While I respect my fellow teachers, I certainly see that one person can have tunnel vision and might not see the myriad of ways to discuss or unveil concepts with students.

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

Thank you for this perspective. I suspect that the concern about textbooks may be for certain subjects and certain grades. For history/social studies at higher grades, the value of primary source work is clear. On the flip side, you would think a math textbook could be helpful to help track the concepts taught even if practice can be done with apps, etc.

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

I personally think it’s a backlash against the overuse of technology and app-based learning. Just not sure those programs really fit into a curriculum and offer the best learning tools. They were understandably relied on heavily during virtual learning but I’d like schools to get back to basics of pen, paper and actual books in hand. Enough with the constant technology!

As a teacher, I find this discussion fascinating. For years, teaching from the textbook has been looked down upon as old fashioned. Parents and students used to complain about teachers just assigning work from the book. Teachers are now encouraged to use more primary sources and a variety of other materials to teach. So why exactly do you all want the textbooks so badly? Is it so you can follow the curriculum more closely? Do you feel like the book is more challenging than what the teacher is providing? Are you wanting your kid to use it to learn independently?

Anonymous wrote:I moved my kids to private school where they now have textbooks , as well as some worksheets, and they are required to read multiple books each year for their English class. The difference is astounding.

We were talking with existing parents at a NoVA private school admissions open house recently. One mom said they moved from ACPS to private in part to get real paper textbooks. She said their DC have learned a huge amount in one year since moving from ACPS to private. (And, Btw, that parent was not white so they did not move to avoid minorities.)

I moved my kids to private school where they now have textbooks , as well as some worksheets, and they are required to read multiple books each year for their English class. The difference is astounding.

Anonymous wrote:Kids are FIVE grade levels behind in ACPS? Holy crap!

Not surprising at all.

The US DOE released the Nation's Report Card last week. Results were disastrous, especially in VA (largest decline in reading in the nation for fourth graders, tied for largest decline in math for fourth graders).