Is it risky to teach outside of a textbook?

Question

Is it risky to teach outside of the text book?
I'm still a little wet behind the ears so forgive me if I seem ignorant when it comes to teaching. When I shifted from Highschool to College, I was left stunned in my history class because a lot of the stuff I learned in college was nothing like I learned in school!

I'm wanting a EC-Grade 12 teaching degree. I'm not considering a career as a college professor at the moment. If I were to teach what I would learn in a college course to a highschooler along side what they learn in a text book, would be risky? I know so many people have a different views on what happened in history (especally when religion comes into play).

Answer 1

The textbook is NOT the curriculum. It is one of the tools you use as a teacher.
You will need to find out what the state and local standards and benchmarks are, find out what the local curriculum is, and use the textbooks and any thing else you have to meet those goals.

You will often have to skip sections in a text because they are not in the local curriculum AND, more usually, you will have to add things to meet that curriculum. After you have taught everything that you are required to teach (and the social studies standards are very extensive and very specific to each grade level and course.), then you can teach your students anything that is appropriate to the age and maturity level of your students. (For example, I can only show feature films that are rated G. No PG. even in high school. I disagree with that ruling, however, it is a ruling under which I work, since I want to continue teaching!)

Answer 2

I would not worry about teaching from the text book, however I would worry about covering the curriculum. In Canada our contract is to teach the curriculum that is laid out for us. If you can convey this without using the textbook I think that it is great. Students learn so much more from being involved in their learning. If you want to look at different angles of history I think a great way would be to bring debates into the classroom. That way the students have to research a topic and they will retain more information this way.

I would suggest going over your plan with the administration first just to cover your bases. Nothing too radical, if you want to bring in religion I suggest bringing in all religions that would be involved in the topic to get a full picture of the situation. The only down side to this is that it is time consuming, remember there is still the entire course's curriculum that you will have to cover. And that will be the bottom line that the admin is looking at.

Good luck

Answer 3

It's only risky teaching outside of a textbook if you don't know what you're doing (which in my opinion, means it's ALWAYS going to be risky when you teach). Textbooks are simply a resource that professionals use. If you're a professional, you shouldn't have to rely solely on a textbook to do your job. You're better than that. A great teacher makes sure she teaches the course of study she's been mandated to teach, but she does so in creative ways that make that curriculum relevant to the students. Especially when it comes to social studies, this can be done without relying heavily on a textbook.

In your particular case, I think it would be interesting to assign students research projects on given topics that are part of the curriculum. Give a handful of students the same topic and see what they come up with based on their sources. Your students will be able to see for themselves that their textbooks are not always giving the whole story, and hopefully they'll become really interested in uncovering the truth behind what really happened in history. The first Thanksgiving would be a really killer topic to explore (I recently read that none of it happened the way we're taught in elementary school- at all).

Another thing you might want to consider is giving your high school students the impression that what you're "supposed" to teach them is not in actuality what really happened. Stray from their textbooks and share with them what you learned in college (as long as it still relates to the course of study you're supposed to teach). They'll think you're that edgy teacher who doesn't care what "the man" has to say- you're all about the truth. They'll dig feeling a part of uncovering some governmental conspiracy.

Answer 4

I've always disliked the state curricula and textbooks. I had the same experience as you--the things I learned in college were so much more ineresting than what I learned in the state-mandated high school curriculum.

If you're interested in skipping textbooks and state tests, consider teaching at independent or private schools. They offer individual teachers much more freedom in designing curricula and in choosing texts. In fact, they seldom use textbooks at all.

Once you finish your degree, you might check out the two major private school headhunters, who can give you a sense of the jobs that are out there and how likely you'll be to get one given what and where you've studied:
http://www.carneysandoe.com
http://www.ergteach.com

As for trying to do this within a state-mandated setup, I doubt it would work. There's just not time to accomplsih everything they want you to get done and do your own thing, at least not in any systematic way.

Answer 5

School districts have state laws to comply with, and are governed by the local school board. The local school board could have a big say in your choice of subject matter. If the school board approved the curriculum then you are okay. If not expect corrective action up to and including termination.

Answer 6

My suggestion is to ask someone if it is ok. In my experience, if youuse too much outside material, the powers that be begin to complain that you are not using their curriculum. If they bought books, they want you to use them.

Answer 7

no.don't limit yourself and the things your students will learn from you. just be sure what you're feeding them are accurate info and just be careful in giving opinions.