Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Three years ago we removed the textbook from our eleventh grade US History and American Studies curricula. Ditching the textbook was a bit scary. The structure on which I had relied was gone. Ditching the textbook was also absolutely liberating. Not only do we seek farther afield for secondary sources, not only do we dig deeper into primary source documents so students can draw their own conclusions about history, but we also reach out to guest speakers and performers more readily. My exuberance was not matched by the students and their parents, however. Just as I was poised on the cusp of something new, ready to let go of my control of the narrative and thrust the mantle of knowledge into my students very capable hands, I discovered that many weren’t ready for this change. I had to reconfigure my course, to teach the students how to be active learners and create a student centered learning environment while simultaneously alleviating their fear about “is this on the test?” This study examines the attempts, failures, and successes of the first two years of this adventure. I still think the kids are inclined to play it ‘safe’ with a textbook; the message of any medium or technology is the changing pattern that it introduces into human affairs. Textbooks did not teach learning. And while they are helpful at keeping us on track, giving us a framework that teachers and students alike can follow, the textbook’s message limits us.