Anonymous wrote: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 tried this with my child's math teacher (8th grade). She said they do *not* have extra textbooks, so the kids can't take them home. She referred me to Amazon. I was desperate, so I checked there, only to find they don't have the same one used in the classroom. It's like the twilight zone.

Anonymous wrote: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.

+1000
I am so glad to see a former FCPS teacher saying this. I grew up here and attended FCPS schools in the 80's - and they really were world-class. We had so many resources, textbooks, enrichment, etc. I feel like I received a wonderful education and was very excited to move back here when we had kids. Flash-forward to today, and I feel like I'm practically homeschooling my children, even though they both attend school. NOTHING comes home in the foreign language classes, so I've been forced to teach myself and my children using YouTube videos and tutors. Same with math. It's appalling and yes, before someone inevitably asks, I've emailed and met with both teachers and admin over this issue. No one seems particularly bothered by it. "Well, there's an online textbook..." Sure, unless the internet is glitching or there's a power outage. Just provide a damn book!! It's truly unbelievable.

^ pp here. I hate the no textbooks and know it is complained about here but given the money incentives I imagine it will take a big coordinated push from parents to have any hope of changing it and that that would have to be at levels higher than just one school.

Is there any organized effort to pressure the district to bring back real (not online) textbooks and slow/stop tech purchases to fund doing so?

My admin tells my to make paper copies of books from RAZ Kids. But then we only get two boxes of paper for the entire year. Hmmmm. I'd love to know how they think this is possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have spent the past 20 years teaching and have never heard teachers say anything of these things. We have textbooks but often do not have enough hard copies for everyone. Teachers are extremely frustrated with the lack of textbooks and the new pressure to not use it at all.

They say it here all the time. Also at our school through teachers, principal, administration, and elected officials.

They have textbooks online and there was a webpage listing all of them for each grade level. My daughter's in sixth grade and has a math text assigned to her that she brings home. Ive bought other used math textbooks online to use at home as well.

Anonymous wrote: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.

I have spent the past 20 years teaching and have never heard teachers say anything of these things. We have textbooks but often do not have enough hard copies for everyone. Teachers are extremely frustrated with the lack of textbooks and the new pressure to not use it at all.

Elem FCPS teacher here. This is the biggest stress for teachers. Every morning there are long lines at the copier because we don't have workbooks. Kids have to practice skills on paper. It is incredibly time consuming to have to make up your own materials. The online math book cannot be seen on the Smartboard from all the seats. I don't know any teacher that uses it. There are worksheets you can download from the teacher's guide, but it takes a long time. There are no grammar or spelling books. There is no reader. No science book. The social studies books are a joke. We have to find library books and videos to get ideas across. Parents should realize what a negative effect this is having and absolutely it relates to teacher burnout.

Anonymous wrote:DS in 7th Grade FCPS. They have textbooks for science, history and English - 1 copy each left at school and 1 copy brought home at the beginning of the year. He also has a Spanish textbook, but that stays at school. So, some grades and schools do use textbooks.

What school?

DS in 7th Grade FCPS. They have textbooks for science, history and English - 1 copy each left at school and 1 copy brought home at the beginning of the year. He also has a Spanish textbook, but that stays at school. So, some grades and schools do use textbooks.

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

I have a Pre-Calc, a Chemisty and a I think a Spanish textbook living in my kitchen. They are only used at home an don’t go to school. Last year we had Bio and Algebra II. History is taught using an online textbooks. TJ.

I don't think textbooks cost as much as it's costing them to keep raising salaries in hopes that teachers stay.

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

Seems to me that parents want to be able to see what their kids are learning so they want to look at the textbooks at home. School districts have to pay extra for online access. They would rather not spend the money and make the teachers buy/make their own resources.

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

Nowadays, textbooks and workbooks can be referenced online if a child needs them at home.