Textbooks

 As a teacher, I understand why the examples are focused on who the textbook is aimed for, and specifically the language used in textbooks. A wordy textbook may be one that turns students away and is not accessible to students, especially students who are ELL. I also think the language of textbooks can either be engaging or disengaging for students. For example, if the textbook is full of problems that students cannot relate to, like the train is travelling east at 30 km/h example, students can become quite disengaged. Additionally, teachers should be previewing the textbooks given to students because let's say a textbook was written in Montreal and focuses on examples around Montreal, this can be disengaging for students that live in Metro Vancouver. 

As a student, I always used my textbook as a tool to study with. I remember from a young age my mom and I sitting with a math textbook and working through the problems so I could be prepared for tests. I always saw the textbook as a holy grail, holder of all knowledge, until I got to calculus in grade 12. In grade 12 I really disliked the textbook we were using in class and I supplemented what we were using in class with resources online. Additionally, as a student, I always found textbooks to be too wordy. I also always found myself losing steam by the time I got to the challenge questions and would often leave them, not necessarily because I did not understand them. I think as a student I would have benefitted from harder and easier questions being dispersed throughout the textbook. 

I think textbooks are a great tool for students to have something to fall back on. Textbooks are also great for parents who want to be involved in their child's learning and see what we are doing in the classroom. However, with our everchanging curriculum, textbooks must be supplemented with additional resources. Teacher made resources can often be tailored to student needs, and can provide students with more direct instruction than a textbook can.