Re: SOLs rule

[kber <kber@EARTHLINK.NET>]

Juanita Doyon wrote:

> In a message dated 3/25/02 5:45:59 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> PAVURSOL@AOL.COM writes:
>
>
>> Gotta have textbooks aligned and we haven't figured out what should
>> be in those textbooks I guess.
>
>
>
> That's funny.  Our textbook adoptions are being postponed because we
> have no money for them.

Gee - two messages in one evening about not being able to get
textbooks.  Does that mean teachers can teach without using textbooks?

The reason I ask is that while I use a text book,  I find that I am
constantly having to correct the errors or misstatements (not factually
wrong, but a distroted presentation, for example).  I sometimes wonder
if I might not be better off if I just told the students I had to issue
them a book, but  just put it in the locker and forget about it.
The only reason I don't is that our copying budget is not big enough to
cover all I would need to produce to make up for the amterials in the
textbook that are usable.

NOw, almost all of my students have net access at home - out of 91 this
year, only 5 current students do not.  I could almost forgo the textbook
and just put up what I want them to read/see/hear on my website, and/or
provide them links to relevant matrials (I do a lot of this anyhow).

Then maybe we could escape from the dominance of the publishers, who too
often gear what they put out to what Texas and California will approve.

And btw, how come they approve so many textbooks with so many errors?  I
thought the Gablers one claim to fame down in texas was that the would
identify all the errors.

Hey, I'm on spring break, and feeling feisty tonight.

Ken Bernstein