I related to this week’s reading on a spiritual level
so to speak. The more I read, the more I nodded in agreeance. Yes! Finally,
someone is saying it! “It’s not about coverage anymore – it is about thinking.
Students don’t need more time with their noses in the textbook – they need tons
and tons of practice time reading, thinking, and writing about important
subject-matter context (182).” [Inserts a few hallelujahs and amens.] Although
it was ironic to read how students shouldn’t be subjected to textbooks while
reading a textbook, I was happy that I was not alone in feeling this way. 
I believe whole heartedly that assigned reading and
textbooks are my most dreadful memory about grade-school, and, if I am
completely honest, it is going to be the death of me even now on the collegiate
level. Although I am an avid reader, textbooks are tremendously difficult to
read. Even as a lover of all things related to English, I hated having to read
my English books. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that they are a necessary
resource in most cases. However, be that as it may, I do not believe students
and textbooks get along very well.
Growing up, my teachers did not believe in using other
methods. Textbooks were the bibles of almost all my classes and the teachers of
old did not believe in deviating from them one bit. They would assign chapters
upon chapters of assigned reading, most of which many of us failed to
understand. I vowed that when I was in their position, I would not subject my
students to such torment. I really enjoyed the suggestions delineated in
Chapter 6 of Subjects Matter. My favorite approach, however, was to use the
textbook as a reference. As previously stated, I recognize the importance and
the serious need for course books, but I do not believe that students best
learn by only doing assigned readings. They often struggle to understand and
apply what they have read. By using the book as a reference, the students are
able to draw out only the important information. In doing so, they have a
better sense of what it is we want them to learn, and consequently, are able to
work and retain the information much easier.
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Hi Marlainna! I like how you referred to the book when they said to use textbooks as a reference. I agree that the textbooks are not entirely useless but should be used carefully. I mean carefully in the way that the sections being read carefully selected and the teacher must read the sections that their students will be reading to ensure the students will get the main ideas. That being said, it might be easier to do what the Hilsman Middle teachers do, and post PDF files online of the specific pages and sections they want their students to know!
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I definitely can relate to how much of a struggle it is to read from textbooks. It is almost like the teacher expects us students to fully understand everything after reading a textbook. What I have learned through college experiences is that both teachers and professors should teach the material without reading from the textbook. They should make power points or pull important stuff from the textbook, but then let the textbook be the reference when studying for tests. I like when the teacher explains the material, so I know what they are thinking and what they expect us students to know. If we just read from the text, we do not exactly know what the teacher really wants us to know and not to know.
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