Transcending the Textbook World

A critique of textbooks -- in themselves, & in terms of how they are used in US educational systems. It is suggested that textbooks could be eliminated entirely in some class situations, particularly by experienced professors instructing students they have taught before. Even in introductory classes & in new teaching situations, their use could be curtailed. However, less tenured professors, who are under pressure to publish, & at the same time required to handle a larger teaching load, are not likely to deviate from the textbook, for lack of time. It is noted that textbooks are not uniformly bad or good; some allow more room for disagreement & invention, enabling students to express their own ideas. Conditions that give textbooks their appeal -- ie, overly heavy teaching & publishing requirements -- must be changed; teachers should be valued for their teaching & their promotion of higher standards of scholarship. 17 References. J. W. Stanton