A Pox On Textbooks

BEDA 6 - Things I Would Change #1

If I were princess of my own school, what would I do differently?

Textbooks would never be ordered.

They are big, bulky, expensive, and in my opinion full of very biased and incomplete information. And even when textbooks are digital, the content is still so watered down from political and economic pressures that they are less valid than normal tertiary reference sources.

Here is one example of the lack of breadth and depth of textbooks. My colleague and I recently did a presentation on non textbook print digital resources for the social studies curriculum. We ran a quick discussion of the Japanese Internment during WWII. We had letters, pictures, signs, and interview, and a scanned image of the actual order signed by the president to move citizens into these work camps. It took me about one hour to gather all of these sources. Everyone got to choose one piece of information to review for 5 minutes. Then we discussed it in a large group setting for another 15 minutes. Everyone learned something and there were some emotional discussions. When I asked the teachers who much space the textbooks devoted to this subject, I was told "less than a whole paragraph and one tiny picture." BTW - we have many students in our school with Japanese heritage.

School districts spend millions of dollars per year on textbooks, and I per school district. I am not exaggerating. This money, at least in Indiana, comes from one of two places.

The first thing schools do is bill the families for these texts. Most call this book rental. School fees are getting really, really expensive. My daughter, who is in High School, brought home her book rental last August and the cost was almost $300. At about the same time, my mother just happened to give me some documents from my high school days in the late 80's. There was a receipt for book rental that amounted to $35. Book rental fees included some technology funds and other "disposable" fees as well (for toner, printer paper, and some supplies), but most of that money goes to pay for textbooks. Textbooks that I believe are worse than a lot of the free information on the web.

Unfortunately not every family can afford to pay their school fees every year. Our family is firmly on the middle class scaffold, but that $300 fee was a punch in the gut of our budget. So, what happens is that many, many families just do not pay these fees, ever. When $300 is all you have for food or day care, or your light bill..., well priorities are priorities.

What then happens is that the schools encourage students fill out forms for financial aid (free and reduced lunch as we call it) from the state to supplement what they cannot pay, or schools just don't get money for a student, period. If students do not complete the application for aid, or are deemed to be financially able to pay, some schools will send parents or guardians to a collections agency. Mostly that money is not recovered and if it is, the attorneys get a big chunk off the top. So schools in poor areas take a loss every year on textbook fees, and somehow in Indiana our property taxes or other state/local funds need to make up the difference.

No matter how much money schools recover (or not) for book fees, the publishers always paid. Of course they do, they are for profit organizations. They are in the business of making money, not in educating children. This, IMHO, is a huge conflict of interest. Not because publishers and authors of original work don't deserved to be paid. It is a conflict because these companies know that their client base (students) is basically unable to make their own choice for purchase because they are captive to a compulsory system that requires them (or the state) to purchase approximately one book per student per subject per year. The average high school students will have lug around more than 40 books in their 4 years in high school. This is a much different scenario then say, students and teachers deciding that it is worth to all read Elie Wiesel's, Night. This book was not written primarily for the purpose of making money off of schools.

Publishers spend millions on marketing to schools, especially schools in states like Indiana, where the DOE committee adopts a set amount of textbooks on a 5 to 7 year cycle. Schools are expected to choose from the vendors on a list approved by the state. It seems that publishers will do or say just about anything to get their product in front of administrators and teachers. And in some cases their marketing messages are getting downright insulting.

Last semester I was writing a curriculum review for a prepackaged curriculum along with other students in my class. One teacher wrote her review on a software/textbook/testing program that was all nice and shiny and shrink wrapped. Here was their selling point. The "Teacher Proof" curriculum. WT? In my line of work, them's fighten' words. What has our profession come to when a publisher can feel safe make those claims while marketing to the same people they are insulting?

Many states do not have compulsory text book adoptions. I think the ration of adoption states to non-adoptions states is close to 50/50, but I would have to double check this claim, my info is a bit old. Even Indiana is realizing mandatory textbook adoption is a waste of time and money. This year the DOE released a statement about the lack of quality in social studies texts (see: http://thejournal.com/articles/24033). However, still districts have the last word, and many teachers opt for the crutch of textbooks rather than choosing their own curriculum from better sources.

What would I do instead of textbooks?

Teaching and learning would be based on authentic literature, peer reviewed non fiction sources, primary source material and user created content. This would includes print, digital, and multimedia genres. All information collected would be written/produced from a variety of viewpoints (not just the rich white guys of old).

Students would read periodicals, picture books, trade books, short stories, plays, etc... in the original, unabridged form. Often the students would self select reading materials and as they get older and would evaluate the content they use in their learning. However, one of the main roles of the teacher or teacher-librarian would be to keep up with new information, creatively and collaboratively collect and create information, evaluate information for credibility, and then push it out to students, families, and the community.

Instead of purchasing millions of dollars for 6+ to 1 technology (each student has more than 6 books per year), we would invest in that old fashioned sharing technology I still like to call a library. Support your school libraries and there will be thousands of current and quality print and media materials that can physically circulate. Students would receive and create digital content on school provided Netbooks or inexpensive laptops. This isn't a stretch of my imagination. Schools are already doing this.

I would also invest in Internet connectivity for the community to ensure that all students had free and equal access to the same information. But more about that tomorrow...

Still Mucking Around

As I consider my discontent further, and try to find my road to research, I am thinking back on three pieces of advice I have gotten recently.

The first was from my husband (who clearly didn't coin this phrase, but I first heard it from him). He was not talking about public education, but investing in the stock market, which requires a good amount of research in order to be successful.

Invest in what you know.

I would also include ...what you love, and ...what most interests you. At this stage in my life I think all three pretty much connect in one form or another. Please just take my word for it and do NOT make me illustrate with a Venn Diagram. God I hate Venn Diagrams.

I would also argue that a person cannot really and truly "know" something unless they experience this "thing" first-hand on a daily basis (except of course on school vacations and other major holidays...).

This piece of advise is really common sense, but I guess I don't have a whole lot because I needed to hear it. Why would I spend time concentrating on anything else when I will be investing my time, money, and my soul (I think this is a requirement of admissions to a doctoral program) for this research.

So, by following my husband's advice and defining what "know" really means to me, I have narrowed my focus professionally (not personal, my family would be at the top every time) to the short list below (in random order).

High School Education
Library Science
Information Science (including web 2.0)
Literature
Writing (Probably what I know the least but it is more than a passing interest and I am actively involved)

I know a little about cooking, playing guitar and piano, and knitting, but not enough to warrant giving away too much of my time, money, and soul to further my investment. Maybe someday I will be a one woman band while whipping up a souffle and knitting sweater vests, not probably not in the next 100 years.

The second piece of advise was given to me, at different times, by two of my professors at Butler University (Shelly Furuness and Jody Britten).

Isolate the things about your work as a High School Teacher-Librarian that trouble you, that you feel are just not right, then decide if you want to change it.

Notice they didn't say "then decide if you can change it." As master teachers they did not limit my creative problem-based thinking by undermining my confidence. All learners can do that just fine on their own. What learners need is someone to believe in them. I digress...

So, how could I make change? I could stick around where I currently work and try to be a change agent at my school. Or, I could identify other educational environments that are more in-line with my academic ideology and have already implement changes, or are on their way. Regardless, I still need to narrow my focus on those things that rub me the wrong way.

Some people would say that I have another option: leaving the profession. Don't get me wrong, I do have those fantasies of leaving in early June and forgetting to come back in August. I could work at Starbucks (yummm, soy vanilla latte) or work in a Book Store (yummm, soy vanilla latte and that new book smell). I think all teachers AND librarians have at one time or another.

I didn't include leaving as an option because being a YA Teacher-Librarian is not a J.O.B. but a calling. Even if I didn't need the money (which is in no way lucrative or even desirable for most people with my level of education) I am not sure I would be happy doing anything else, at least not in this stage of my life.

The third piece of advise came from Dr. Britten about two months ago.

Articulate why these things are wrong and how you should make changes to the power holders in a way they could understand and not ignore.
Basically, beat them down with it. Leave no room for someone to come along and say, "Brunner does not know what she is talking about." One of my dreams is to start a free public charter school. When I look at research and learning strategies, I always see things through this lens. What would MY school do differently. Even if I was CEO and Principal of a new school, I would still have to answer to many people.

So, in short I am working on articulating what I think is wrong and then the why and how these things can be changed.

The what will come from mostly from my own organic experiences (invest in what you know).

The the why and how will come mostly from those who are much smarter than me and have hopefully done some of the work. (content area professionals, education researchers, master teachers, and proactive librarians) and those that will have the most to gain or to loose from my work.

Often times in education we forget ask the end users key questions: What do you want? What would make things better? What can we do for you? What are your goals?

In my case, the ultimate end users who could benefit or not from my work are are my students, current and future. Second on the list are high school educators including other YA teacher-librarians. Third, the community at large. Every citizen, domestic or global, has a stake in public education.

Tomorrow, what "I" think is wrong and should be changed in public high schools today.

Teachers are Fools! We Should Be In School Today

Today, of all days, teachers and librarians should be in school. But alas, so many of us are out on compulsary Spring Break.

This morning, I have been happily inundated with the most interesting of news, blogs, and tweets, and it is not even 11:00 a.m. Who knew how many ground breaking stories could be unleashed in one day? Much of this news directly relates to teens and their interests. Just think of all the reading, witing, and conversing that would be going on today behind those sacred institutional walls, if only... In less than an hour, I was privilaged to be one of the first (million) people on the pulling end of pushed updates on YA authors, Comics, Video Games, Google Innovations, etc...

For example:

Author Neil Gaiman is in danger of being stripped of his Newbery for The Graveyard Book - did you hear? http://tinyurl.com/conu44

Marvel Comics signs fresh, young, talent. Anyone can aspire to be a Marvel comic artist! - http://is.gd/q2na

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 developers just added a new butt-kicking character! This babe is none other than Aunt May. Could this be the beginning of the end for media discrimination of the elderly! - http://is.gd/q5hN

Google unleashes CADIE (Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity). An online social being that actually learns, you know, like artificial intelligence. And is it ever cute! - http://cadiesingularity.blogspot.com/

YA educators are missing the academic boat load today for sure. Of course we would have to deal with multiple requests for left handed pens, desks and chairs turned upside down and moved about, permanent marker in exchange for dry erase, and books all backwards on the shelves. I, for one, truly believe the pedagogical benefits of teaching on such a great day in history would outweigh these trivial annoyances.

We are YA educators darn it! We should be engaging our student, not lazying around, sipping coffee, contemplating a shower, or deciding for or against wearing our pj's all day. Today is a missed opportunity to teach, a professional crisis.

Are you with me? Then lets start a movement. No Spring Break on April 1st Act of 2009. Go to this form letter where you can write your congress person asking them to bring this bill before the general assembly. Let's put our students education first people!

I Wish I Could...

I will soon be finishing my fifth year as a High School Library Media Specialist. There are some really exciting things going on this year in my district. First of all, there are several opportunities for departmental doors opening (on their own accord, not with me using a pry bar) to some serious inquiry based learning and more curriculum centered around young adult literature. Secondly, teachers and administrators are coming together in a working committee to discuss opening up access to web 2.0 sites for students and trying to "mostly" eliminate online censorship for educators. Next, we received AdvancED accreditation for the entire district and the Media program was listed as exemplary. Finally, in these troubled economic times, our library budget looks better than ever! Our business department helped us address the issue of underfunded material accounts and I can honestly say that as long as we can rely on state and privately funded online resources, we are well funded to provide for our large body of students.

We've come a long way baby! So why do I feel such a disconnect lately? Why am I rethinking my future in libraries and education. In light of such exciting possibilities, why do I feel so overwhelmed and unprepared? Did I make the right decision about my post graduate education centering on education and curriculum instead of LIS. Is this just a five-year itch? Will I feel differently after spring break or summer vacation? Calgon take me away!

I think part of the disconnect is this: I wish I could teach a class. I wish I could get to know more of my students and create learning relationships with them. I wish I could teach two sections a semester on research and inquiry and/or on YA literature. Actually, I wish that all of the students in my high school could have the elective opportunity to take a course like this, not just 100 or so a year. Why? Because I really believe that any student who would take "my" course would reach new heights of academic and personal success. Now, if I said this to anyone else than a teacher-librarian, I would be labeled a naive dreamer or a self -entered boaster. But really, we librarians see the possibilities, right?

OK whiner (some of you might be thinking), "Just Do It!"

If I told my building administrators that they could open up a new elective course next semester they would probably be so very thrilled. Four new sections a year, without having to hire another teacher? That is the educational lotto for them, right? But alas, I am only one captain in a ship of over 2000 sailors (students) and 150 officers (teachers). I can't sacrifice the needs of the many for the benefit of the few. I need to protect my "exemplary" school media program. I can't, in good conscious, tell my teachers that I am always unavailable for two periods a day. This may be their prep period when they can meet, or it may be that they need me to collaborate on a lesson, or book talk to their classes, or teach a few days of inquiry skills, or the several other things I do throughout the day that are essential in serving teaching and learning. Believe me, I am always motivated to cut out the "non essentials" and I can spot those duties a mile away.

Then there is the other administrative duties that are extremely important to a successful high school library media program. The cleaning up of a messy union catalog to make searching a better experience for my students. The yearly weeding of a collection of over 25,000 materials. The systematic collection mapping to ensure a strong collection and that tax dollars that I have been given control over are used to purchase the absolute best in materials for my students. The leadership duties of heading up building technology issues. The professional development I plan and implement. And, of course, the constant communication it takes to get more inquiry based learning infused into the curriculum school wide.

Then, there is my own abilities I must consider. How much can I do? How much time can I give to my profession? How do I balance family, my own continuing education, and the time it would take to provide the best possible service and education to my students and staff?

When I was in library school, we talked a lot about making programs essential. We were charged with changing the way administrators, teachers, students, and other stakeholder see and use the school library media center and impacting student achievement.

I have worked hard to meet these benchmarks, and now I think I am dealing with the questions of the aftermath. "How much should I do?" "How much can I do?" "How can I achieve my own professional dreams in the current system." "What do I do next?"