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Re: text series that support the standards
Posted:
Feb 22, 1995 6:02 PM
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If you do not utilize a textbook, how will your students learn to "read
mathematics"? One of the major problems I face at the university level
is entering freshmen who have never been required by their teachers to
read the narrative portion of their math texts. Their books were used
solely as sources of exercises. I can only see this as getting worse if
teachers abandon textbooks entirely.
I do believe that there are talented teachers who can teach well without
a text and who will still manage to be sufficiently organized and have a
sufficient understanding of the mathematics content, curriculum, and
scope and sequence, to do a good job. But not the "average" teacher at any
level. You show me an "average" teacher without a textbook or without
specific training or preparation to teach with other resources, and I'll
show you a floundering teacher without direction, students who are
learning relatively little of mathematical value, and angry parents who
want to know why there is "no math program at the school or district."
I am aware that there are some "awful" textbooks on the market. But there
are also some "excellent" ones. Rather than just throwing out all texts,
why not just "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative"? And at
the elementary level [which Elliott Bird was addressing in his post], even
Presidential Awardees would have to work incredibly hard to provide the same
degree of mathematics that is contained in the K-6 Comprehensive School
Mathematics Program [CSMP/21]--and they might not succeed! :)
Ron Ward/Western Washington U/Bellingham, WA 98225
ronaward@henson.cc.wwu.edu
On Wed, 22 Feb 1995, David Young wrote:
> Maybe it's a trick question. I vote for no book as the best way to
> support the Standards!
>
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