As you visit classrooms, you probably notice that most, if not all of those classrooms use standard textbook series. The reasons for this are many, depending on the design and focus of the curriculum, the mandates of the administration, and the level of expertise on the part of classroom teachers.

           

            Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:

 

            Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and the design of each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.

            Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons you need to cover a topic in some details.

            A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.

            Textbooks are detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and when to do it. There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.

Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies.

            Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They are source for both teachers and students.

            Use Textbooks Wisely: A textbook is only as good as the teacher who uses it. And it is important to remember that a textbook is just one tool, perhaps a very important tool, in your teaching arsenal. Sometimes, teachers over-rely on textbooks and do not consider other aids or other materials for the classroom. Some teachers reject a textbook approach to learning because the textbook is out-dated or insufficiently covers a topic or subject area.

            As a teacher,you will need to make many decisions and one of those is how you want to use textbook. As good as they may appear on the surface, textbooks do have some limitations.

The following table lists some of the most common weaknesses of textbooks, along with ways of overcoming those difficulties.

 

THINK OF A TEXTBOOK AS A TOOL:

 

            I like to think of textbooks as tools— they are only as good as the person using them. A hammer in the hands of a competent carpenter can be used to create a great cathedral or an exquisite piece of furniture. In the hands of someone else, the result maybe a rundown shack or a rickety bench. How you decide to use textbooks will depend on many factors.

            I would like to add a personal note of caution; do  not make the mistake of basing your entire classroom curriculum on a single textbook. The textbook needs to be used judiciously. A carpenter, for example, does not use only a hammer to build a magnificent oak chest. She may use plane, chisel, saw, sander, or any number of tools to create the masterpiece she wishes to build.. A great classroom program just like a great piece of furniture, needs many tools in its construction.

            When thinking about how you want to use textbooks, consider the following:

A. Use the textbook as a resource for students, but not the only resource.

B. Use a textbook as a guide, not a mandate for instruction.

C. Be free to  modify, change, eliminate, or add to the material in the textbook.

D. Supplement the textbook with lots of outside readings.

E. Supplement teacher information in the textbook with the teacher resource books: attendance at local, regional, or national conferences; articles in professional periodicals; and conversations with experienced teachers.

By: Hermelita C. Meregildo | Master Teacher I | Limay National High School | Limay, Bataan