Confessions of an English Teacher

How Textbooks Affect Literacy Improvement and What to Do About It

By: Richard Sinay

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Confession of an English Teacher: How Textbooks Affect Literacy Improvement and What to Do About It argues that the textbooks used in many average-level classes affect literacy development among high school students. The author argues that the literature in the textbooks is ill-suited for most students in the classroom. He argues that a custom-designed literature program would enable students to develop their language skills more rapidly. He also claims that textbooks are both linguistically and culturally out of touch with today’s students. Instead of a textbook approach to teaching literature, English teachers should design their programs around their students' language levels and cultural proclivities. The literature textbook also tends to dominate class time, thereby leaving other critical literacy components of English instruction unaddressed. It is also the author’s view that a balance of fiction and nonfiction should be the foundation of the reading students do in an English classroom. For too long, literature has dominated the English classroom curriculum, and integrating nonfiction will encourage students to read more texts that reflect the real world. Writing will not have to focus so much on literature, and will prepare the student for college with more appropriate writing. The author offers solutions to the textbook-based curriculum by customizing the English program for average students.