Teachers are throwing out their textbooks

What do you think about this?

Paulsboro science teacher Linda Smith built a hovercraft and "floats" students down the school hallway to demonstrate air pressure.

History teachers Douglas Cervi at Oakcrest High School and Steve Marcus at Egg Harbor Township High School invite veterans into the classroom to help bring World War II to life.

Can thick, heavy, print-laden textbooks compete in these modern classrooms filled with students raised on Dora the Explorer and GameBoys?

"I give the textbook out the first day and tell the students to leave it home and bring it back in June," Cervi said. "It's a reference resource, but if you're just teaching out of the book, you're missing the boat."

"If we're going to be doing inquiry-based lessons, there are no books," said Smith, a former state Science Teacher of the Year. "The students now are learning to find their own answers, not just parrot what's in the book."

This past week in Atlantic City at the New Jersey Education Association convention, Smith and Cervi each gave a workshop that highlighted lessons not found in traditional textbooks.

Down the hall in the exhibit area, book publishers displayed their latest offerings and promoted what they are doing to remain relevant to the YouTube generation.

Textbooks are not yet obsolete in most schools, but they are less likely to be the only source of information. They may provide just an introduction to a topic, or be used as a secondary reference, especially in areas like history and science, which can change in an instant.

AMSCO supplements its $85 hardbound history book with a softcover $11.95 book called "The World Today," which is updated every two years.

"A language arts textbook can last for years," said Irene Rubin, AMSCO vice president of marketing. "Grammar won't change. But social studies and science are not going to hold up."

Textbook sales are a $6 billion per year business, according to the American Association of Publishers 2006 annual report. The K-12 market made up 25 percent of the $24 billion spent on books last year. But the market has been erratic, and sales grew less than 2 percent over the last five years. After 2003 and 2004 fell pretty flat, there was a 10 percent jump in 2005, followed by an almost 6 percent drop in 2006.

Sales, publishers said, are affected by state aid, school budget constraints and state education standards.

"Some districts want their books to last five years or more, especially if they're budget conscious," Rubin said. "Others want to be more up to date." [...]

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(= Sarah =)