Textbooks and Their Uses

[clay dube]

Thanks to all who have contributed assessments of the textbooks they use or have considered. Please keep these reviews coming! If possible, change the subject line of your message to include the subject (world history, literature, or whatever).

Here's an LA Times article about a joint textbook project.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/30/world/fg-textbook30

Here's a journal article on the topic:
History & Memory, Volume 21, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2009
E-ISSN: 1527-1994 Print ISSN: 0935-560X

Old Wounds, New Narratives:
Joint History Textbook Writing and Peacebuilding in East Asia
Zheng Wang
Abstract

Powerful collective memories—whether real or concocted— often lie at the root of conflicts, nationalism and cultural identities. In most societies, history textbooks are the “agents of memory” and function as a sort of “supreme historical court.” This article reviews initially how controversies over history textbooks have become sources of conflict in East Asia and then examines the activities of a trilateral history textbook writing project between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It also aims to contribute to the theoretical discussion about why history textbooks are worth fighting over and how joint history textbook writing can be used as a means for peacebuilding.

Here's an article about the Chinese version of the book:
http://www.danwei.org/books/a_joint_approach_to_history.php

[Anonymous]

My district uses Holt for Lit too. The All American Slurp is widely read here too. I teach Social Studies in 7th grade. We use the TCI History Alive text books. For China we have chapters on The Political Development of Imperial China, China Develops a New Economy, Chinese Discoveries and Inventions, and finally, China's Contacts with the Outside World. This may sound like a lot of material, but considering the size and scope of China's history, this is almost nothing. We do the best we can though, just like everyone else.

[clay dube]

Many teachers have read and some have even used with students a provocative book about the teaching of American history. James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me has been an academic hit. He's a sociologist and recently wrote about his experience trying to write an acceptable preface for a new Chinese edition of the textbook.

He describes trying to meet the censor's concerns. Ultimately, though, the Chinese decided the preface was fundamentally too troublesome and published it without the new preface. You can read what was judged too dangerous in the attached document.

Please do share your comments.

[Anonymous]

I feel obliged to put in a plug for the textbook that I use in my AP World History class. The textbook is entitled Traditions & Encounters and it is written by Bentley and Ziegler. The publisher is McGraw Hill and, in my opinion, it is the best college level world history textbook available. It provides ample coverage of China/East Asia from 10,000 BCE to the Present and makes a legitimate attempt to balance its coverage of all regions on the globe. The text is not so dense as to be unreadable for high school sophomores but also, it is not so simplistic that it fails to cover the most important aspects of history that a college student must know for an adequate survey course in college world history. Two thumbs up for Traditions & Encounters!

[Anonymous]

Modern World History: Patterns of Interaction. McDougal Littell, 2003

Surprisingly, my school textbook does do a pretty good job in providing various sources and teaching suggestions which are all aligned according to the California Content Standards.

The California Content Standards for tenth grade World History does not cover Chinese history very well. Because of the standards, the book does not put much emphasis on Chinese history either.

Just last week I brought up a week long lesson plan on Asian history during Imperialism. The feedback I was given was, "It will not be emphasized on the test so it is not worth spending a week on it." Again, like A.P. European history, Asian history is not emphasized to it importance on the current world stage.

[Anonymous]

I find most textbooks extraordinarily boring and void of any interest and relevance for my students. I use them as background information that I supplement with lots or outside reading. They are usually written in a very dry manner that fails to delve into any subject matter. I use Howard Zinn to counterbalance the traditional US history book. I have also put together a wealth of primary documents that include a plethora of visuals, film, and other types of text to explore the various topics more profoundly. I find that students get into a mind set that all they have to do is look for words in bold to be able to answer the questions at the end of the section. Unfortunately, this is the way that many history classes are "taught" by assigning rather than teaching the material, especially in high school. ONe of the best comprehensive programs for teaching history in middle school and high school is History Alive. This comprehensive program has units with simulations and role plays that really engage kids.

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