chapter forty-five

This Chapter includes tips for choosing traditional textbooks, packaged curriculum, workbooks, software-based curriculum, or Internet-based curriculum.

    Times have changed; ordinary people have real access to information. The halls of knowledge have burst open and all people can use libraries, bookstores, retail and mail-order sources, as well as rich community opportunities. Ordinary people have more real money with which to purchase books than ever before in all history. All this, and the Internet too! The Internet, together with personal computers, brings vast stores of information closer to all of us by at least a quantum leap, or two or three. With all this richness, why would you consider using an old-fashioned textbook? We’ll get to those reasons in a bit, but first, let’s consider the fact that many families don’t use textbooks at all.

Textbooks Are Not Necessary

     You may well wonder what reasons parents cite for looking beyond these traditional school materials. One common reason is that textbooks are designed for same-age group or classroom use, making textbooks somewhat difficult to incorporate into home life, where children of different ages learn together. Some parents find that the tedium of a textbook leads their student to dislike a subject he previously enjoyed. Textbooks are often survey courses, jammed with facts, making it unlikely that the gripping story of, say, the Revolutionary War, can be rendered within the covers of one book that tries to cover all of United States history.

    Textbook series can be repetitious and, if used for several years in a row, students can become exceedingly bored. Another problem with a series of textbooks is the challenge of maintaining a consistent quality of instruction at each level. Other texts are so full of errors they are laughable. Topics that are poorly taught in the first book of a series are generally poorly taught year after year. How I’ve tried to forget those ghastly “new math” books, books that went on, and on, and on, and …

    Textbooks are rarely the best choice for children who are primarily nonvisual learners. Even though some textbook authors try to accommodate a variety of learning styles, textbooks are still, after all, predominantly text.

    Some parents are opposed to national trends in education that are reflected in “sanitized” textbooks. History is sometimes re-written and literature is censored. With national testing falling in place, you may be certain that textbooks are being rewritten as I write, rewritten to teach “to the test.” Those rewrites may be good for improving test scores. But they will not be the rich information sources that excite children about learning, the resources that homeschooling families want. You can be certain that topics deemed less important will be ditched in favor of the to-be-tested topics.

Using Textbooks

    With all the reasons NOT to use textbooks, and all the wonderful non-textbook resources available, you may be surprised that textbooks are ever used at all by successful homeschooling families. You would be right, though, if you guessed that those who do use textbooks do so thoughtfully, often sparingly. The textbook or program rarely dominates the family’s lifestyle. Instead, it is used as just another tool for learning. When parents take such a reasoned approach, they may find there are a number of very good reasons for using textbooks. For example:

    The student surpasses the parent. Suppose you started studying French two years ago as a family, and now that your son is planning a trip to Europe with his singing group. Suddenly he is eager to learn faster than the rest of the family, so what do you do? You might look for a textbook, for one thing. When your daughter is trying to figure out differential equations and you are still playing 21 and trying to make sense of linear equations, you might start looking for a textbook. A textbook may be combined with a tutor, a mentor, an online course, a study group, or a classroom experience.

     Students learn independence by working on their own. Eventually the work you do to help your children become independent makes kids want to be, well, independent.

    For some families, life circumstances - perhaps a family illness, or a need for parents to spend more hours at work - require that students become more independent. If the children are eight or ten or so, a textbook in one or more subjects might be a good step toward independence. Some independent students may find a complete curriculum to be a meaningful part of the year’s work.

    Textbooks can offer certain older children, and teens with special needs, extra practice, repetition, and greater independence, as students learn to work on their own.

    A textbook is a neutral authority when parent and children clash. I’ve seen this arise with math. Suppose Dad hates math because of all the repetitiveness he remembers as a student. Maybe Mom feels stupid in math because of the humiliation she felt when, as a child, she didn’t know her multiplication tables. Math Time may not be the happiest time for this family, so what might they try?

    A book or program can offer a neutral learning zone for parents and children to enjoy math explorations together. Learning together is more fun when the math material provides the authority.

    Sometimes kids don’t learn the way parents explain. To work around that frustration, a well-written text “brings another voice” to the discussion, and places another explanation on the table.

    A good textbook is a useful and systematic reference book. Textbooks in nearly every subject area can be used as a reference. A grammar book can be a useful editing tool for a student, much the same way that a mature writer might use Strunk & White’s Elements of Style or The Chicago Manual of Style. A systematic approach to learning a second language can help explain the nuances of verb tenses and other grammatical challenges. It can also provide a glossary of common words and pronunciation aids. A history text can provide a time line, an outline for further study, and lists of suggested readings. A literature anthology may introduce a student to writing styles and authors that he may not meet elsewhere. Science and math texts can provide an overview of specific topics, and explain methods and key terminology. Quality art or music history texts can enrich a student’s applied arts studies while connecting some of the dots of history. Some math texts have dry and repetitive lessons, but the extension activities are stimulating and worth doing.

    A learning club may use a textbook as a basis for their work. A group of teens may want the experience of working together with structured material. A writing study-group leader may use a text as a springboard for activity or discussion, or to gently instruct the group on elements of usage without pointing out mistakes directly.

    A textbook or course of study can prepare a student to enter the classroom. If your student will leave homeschooling to enter a classroom in a public, private, or higher education setting, time spent studying with a textbook can provide the student assurance that he is able and ready. Ask for suggestions at the school he will attend.

    If your child is enthralled with a subject and wants to delve deeper, he can learn from the best textbook, the worst textbook, or no textbook at all. Even so, if you decide to get a textbook for this student or for any other reason, why not try to get the best textbook you can find for the wad of bills the book will cost you?

    Seek materials that are educationally balanced. Does the text provide diverse activities that stimulate: the senses, clear thinking, the student’s natural interest, and further study? Does the text balance a systematic approach with engaging ideas and activities? Does the author include drill and memory activities, either as a supplement or to balance an exploratory approach? Are plenty examples given?

    Is a broad range of activities suggested, such as ones that involve physical activities, art projects, family life, social interaction? Are the activities actually doable with common household items?

     Will the text satisfy your student’s learning styles? Open the book to a random lesson and read the lesson all the way through. Do the same thing with several other lessons from different parts of the book. Are the senses engaged? Are the materials and activities appropriate for your child’s developmental stage? Think about how your child might respond, remembering that what seems distasteful, dull, uninteresting to you, may actually be interesting to your child.

    Does the book rely on classroom structures and group activities? It may work well for a classroom teacher, or if you are working with a group, but can you use the text effectively with just one student?

    Choose textbooks that include useful reference tools. When a textbook is to be used as a reference, more is better. A good text can be used as a road map for study, and suggested reading lists could be used as a syllabus. Look for glossaries and other word lists, drawings and illustrations, charts, maps, tables, formulae, time lines, an extensive index, suggested reading lists, rules (in math and grammar, for example) with examples, enrichment activities, review questions, practice sets, answer keys, and the like. A good reference text won’t send you off to other sources for information.

    Examine the book for appropriate vocabulary and writing style. It drove me wild one year. With a classroom of fourth grade students, I was stuck with a math book in which the directions and explanations were written a couple of levels above the reading level of most students. How can a student become an independent learner if he cannot read the directions?

    Textbook vocabulary should be accessible to your student’s reading and comprehension ability. And here is another tricky part: just because your child reads at fourth grade level does not mean that his math skills are at fourth grade level. What if his math skills are at second grade level? And what do you do if your math whiz seven-year-old hasn’t figured out reading yet? Usually, it is best to avoid textbooks until the skill levels merge somewhat.

    Sentences should be simple, clear, and age appropriate. The author should write in an appealing style, introducing concepts in ways that make sense to the student and that build on prior knowledge.

    Be wary of books that rely too much on gimmicks or popular culture to keep students’ interest. These ideas might fascinate some children, but they may also tire of it quickly. It is better to capture interest with classical elements of children’s culture - family, community, bikes, dolls, games, lemonade stands, classic children’s literature, and other timeless ideas. You might consider using old or even antique textbooks. I have an English grammar book on my desk from 1941. It is clear, concise, and easy to use.

    Select books with a simple, pleasing layout. Layout design preferences are highly personal. Make sure the style will work for you and your student, no matter how highly your neighbor praises the material. Open the book. Can you easily figure out how the lesson is laid out? Generally, simpler is better. Avoid books with a complex page design. Some layouts are intended to be clever, but instead they confuse the student.

    Take your student along to preview textbooks. You can avoid making expensive errors that way. Your student will also have greater commitment to using books she helps select.

    If possible, have your child do a couple of sample lessons in the book. Many textbook publishers will provide sample lessons. Perhaps you can borrow a copy of the book from a friend, or from your public library, for a few days.

     Can your student use the text independently? If you want your student to learn independently, he’ll need a textbook that is designed for independent use. Look for texts that are carefully written. The format should be generally the same for each lesson. The instructions should be clearly written and amply illustrated. Typical questions for each lesson should be explained with plenty of examples.

    If a book is to be useful as an independent study text, the student should be able to work independently within a couple of weeks.

    When all else is equal, save money and buy used. The idea that textbooks must be new is pure nonsense. So what if the books are ten years old, if they are well-written books that aren’t badly damaged or marked up? Some of the best textbooks I ever used were dog-eared and worn, ancient texts that wise teachers had saved from the incinerator. See if your public library stocks textbooks. If so, you can check out and renew textbooks to cover key topics.

    Except for seriously dated science or health books, up-to-date textbooks probably make little difference in a student’s learning prior to the high school or college level. I can’t imagine that a sixth grade book is going to have new and special information in it that is so precious it cannot be found elsewhere, or that an older text will ruin your student’s future SAT scores. Use your own judgment.

Finally

    If you choose a textbook or a program that you later discover just plain doesn’t work with your child or student, do what other successful homeschooling families do. Get rid of it. Dump it. Admit your mistake and abandon the material. Save it for a younger child with a different learning style, or set it aside to sell it to another family. Your child will thank you forever.