While not _all_ of Chris' suggestions are supposed to be serious, we do have
to keep in mind the purpose and intent of state selected text-books.
1) To get the best price through volume buying.
2) To provide a measure of 'quality control' across classrooms, schools,
and counties. The textbook (to some extent) can set a 'unified' curriculum
throughout the state.
3) (2) also applies to home-schooling (growing in most areas) where there
is a legitimate concern about curriculum.
4) A _decent_ textbook provides the able student to learn regardless of the
quality or availability of the teacher. There are far too many math and
science-phobic people teaching (especially at the elementary level) and most
teachers have been saddled with having to deal with too broad a spectrum of
abilities in their classrooms and far too many behavioral problems that are
tolerated beyond reasonable limits in our school systems. The textbook
remains a useful crutch for the interested and capable student.
None of this negates the problem of POOR textbooks, but any viable solution
must take these factors into account. Thus the elimination of textbooks
(perhaps in favor of online content) is not really viable. Neither is the
elimination of a mechanism for selecting the books to be used state-wide.
There are good text books--maybe not many in science--but the efforts
towards public awareness of the problem is a good place to start.
Having just read Larry's comment I think that the idea that each state have
a designated SCIENTIST (or maybe separate PHYSICIST, BIOLOGIST, CHEMIST)
makes the most sense. A committee of one is always the most efficient. ;-)
Rick
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Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu
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----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Horton
To: PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2002 12:24 PM
Subject: Regulating textbooks
I was waiting for someone else to respond to Bernard Cleyet's (sp?)
assertion that people get what they deserve as a reason not to involve the
Federal government. That sounds more like an ideological position than a
contribution from someone committed to our profession.
John Clement made some interesting proposals along this line but no one
responded directly.
So here are some possible modest proposals for Congress:
# Require all state textbook criteria to conform to NSF-established
guidelines.
# Abolish all State textbook commissions.
# Require that one person of standing in their profession take public
responsibility for each science text from the first grade level up.
# Require that the science textbook committee of each State textbook
commission contain a Ph.D. physicist, chemist and biologist.
# Abolish textbooks.
# Pass a resolution specifying that the children of each state shall get
what they deserve, the details to be decided by Addison Wesley and Prentice
Hall in consultation with the Moral Majority.
8-)
Chris
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Christopher A. Horton, Ph.D.
4158 RR#3 (Hwy. 204)
Amherst, NS B4H 3Y1
CANADA
ChrisAHorton2@hotmail.com
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