Too frequently textbooks used in class are criticized heavily by educators. In and of itself, a textbook is neither good nor bad. If the text has been carefully chosen, there may be reasons for criticizing its use. Textbooks should always be carefully evaluated when new basals are chosen so that the very best one(s) are selected for a class.…

Teachers' ability to act as full professionals is significantly limited by textbook programs in state and local curricula as well as the use of standardized achievement tests. Curriculum reform and upgrading of teacher professionalism go hand in hand. (SK)

The teaching of history is part of the continuous process of redefining American civilization that lies at the center of what it means to be an American. A major challenge facing teachers of U.S. history is how to strike an appropriate balance between the forces of continuity and change. Much of the concern over history standards and the choice of…

Recent research demonstrates that one in five school districts is under pressure to purge objectionable books from its libraries and classrooms. This paper briefly summarizes literature and court decisions dealing with censorship in the schools and describes a study of censorship in Illinois schools. In the study, a 68-item questionnaire asked 200…

Discusses roles of scholars, interpreters of scholarship (instructional materials developers), and teachers in bringing appropriate instructional materials to students. The responsibility of textbook publishers to meet teachers' needs for appropriate materials with materials developed by scholars and interpreters is described, and the relationship…

A first-year first grade teacher's professional disappointments were broken down into three divisions: (1) power and control, or the lack of them; (2) co-worker socialization; and (3) lack of professionalism and support. Lack of control was reflected in pressure from administrators to use certain texts, or even to decorate classrooms in a certain…

Examines: (l) disagreements with publishers during 36 years of authoring textbooks, (2) difficulties of co-authoring textbooks in view of the haste with which they are produced, (3) necessity for high textbook standards from both teachers and publishers, (4) the fact that there are few textbooks authored by teachers. (NKA)

The school curriculum has been under scrutiny in an attempt to improve the educational experiences of children, often in the form of federal and state control to make schools accountable for students' education. The goal of standardization is to increase minimum standards in all classrooms and to make sure that all students receive a foundation of…

The seven articles in this focused journal issue are concerned with choosing books for teaching and the various constraints on those choices. The first article, by Richard Lederer, discusses George Orwell's "1984" and the principles of Newspeak. His article sets the tone for the next two articles: "Beware the Misuse of…

Ways in which social studies teachers can help students in grades 6, 7, and 8 improve their reading comprehension and understanding of social studies ideas and concepts are discussed, and sample reading comprehension activities are provided. First, teachers must choose a textbook with readability and concept levels appropriate for their students.…

This collection of columns on teaching English as a Second Language in Japan appeared on the English education page of a Japanese English-language newspaper over a period of almost 4 years. Article topics include these: principles of second language learning; differences between language skills; standards of usage; avoiding stereotypes; school…