I believe this chapter was something that all teachers of all subject areas need to read before teaching. As a student, I never truly read a textbook. My teachers would give us reading assignments of 20-page chapters to then just go over the material in class the next day. Because of this, I have always had a negative attitude toward textbooks and their purposes. There is so much more to learning in a class than strictly reading from a textbook and being tested on it. Not only is a textbook overwhelming to a student it is also overwhelming to teachers. Some teachers require their students to read the textbook cover to cover because they are unsure if they can teach absolutely everything that is said in the textbook and want to make sure nothing is forgotten. Teachers can’t even teach because they have too much information to teach on and leave the rest to the students to deal with. However, this does not have to be the case in the classroom. This chapter gives helpful suggestions to teachers such as picking out specific topics to read from the text or small sections that allow students to dig deep and evaluate the text rather than skim through 20 pages and not remember anything in class the next day. It shows teachers how to choose these topics and pick the best information to teach on, which leaves their students feeling more prepared. If a teacher doesn’t know the best way to use the textbook than a student most definitely won’t. Therefore it is important to allow our students to understand the importance of the textbook as ultimately being the best resource to them, but not the end all be all of the class.
Subject Matters: Chapter 6
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You bring up some really good points Katie! I definitely agree with you on the fact that when I was growing up, I hated the textbook because my teacher would randomly assign readings for apparently no reason. I feel like our jobs as teachers is to create an environment that kids want to learn in, and by randomly assigning readings we are doing the students a disservice.
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I completely agree with you Katie! If we, as teachers, don't know how to use the textbook well then neither will our students! I agree with you that this chapter helped to provide some clarity as to how textbooks could be used in the most beneficial way in the classroom. I like that we are learning about how to use things better and to help our students be engaged in the things they are learning in our classroom.
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