Textbooks = boringg zZzZz

Chapter 8 of The Joy of Children's Literature covered the topic of Historical Fiction which I found interesting and made me think about my past experiences in school that dealt with historical fiction books. On page 209 they talked about how textbooks present history in a stripped – down, depersonalized way that makes students feel detached and insignificant. I noticed this throughout grade school and even though textbooks may mention things like the Diary of Anne Frank, or Grapes of Wrath, they don’t go into detail or give an excerpt. If textbooks gave more detail about people and topics that are relatable – history wouldn’t be stereotyped as boring. One of my history classes in high school was so interesting because the teacher would tell us about the person’s life and little interesting facts that textbooks did not tell you. Things like that helped me remember the person and what they did because something about their life either stuck out to me or I had something in common with them. A quote on pg. 213 that made a lot of sense was “ Writers of historical fiction have the opportunity to show how the past of all cultures impacts and gives meaning to the present of all cultures, ultimately teaching us about ourselves.” I completely agree and I can honestly say that after reading Grapes of Wrath, in my AP English class, I knew a lot about the Dust Bowl, that time era and was able to recall the information better than anything I read about in a history textbook.

Oddly enough, in my CEP 240 class, we just read an article about how textbooks may not be the best form of teaching but textbook companies purposely go along with standardized tests which forces educators to "teach-to-the-test." Most of the classes I have taken at MSU, the actual textbooks are rarely used and are merely “suggested” for purchase as a “reference” or provide a more in-depth explanation on a topic discussed in class.

I find that lectures and discussions about a topic are much more effective than reading from a glossy page that gives a dry definition of a topic. I do understand that textbooks are helpful to busy teachers/grad students (as it noted in the article) but as a student, I would much rather read through a coursepack or articles about a topic that not only give information on a topic but make it relatable with a story intertwined. I do realize that different majors require different material and some can only be taught through a textbook and the teachers almost have to “teach-to-the-test” for their students to succeed. The reading went more in-depth about university professors being pressured into using the textbook so that all the sections of the course are similar. The author goes on to explain that she chose to stray away from the “recommended book” and utilize a novel called, The Learning Disabilities & Life Stories, which included essays of reflection of real students with disabilities. She concluded that this was much more effective in her classroom and the students seemed to enjoy the class more. Yes, textbooks are important due to standardized tests but I have found that novels are more informative – at least for me.