BY NADIA HERNANDEZ & KAYLYN FISCHER
There is need for new English textbooks, and English teachers have to pilot and decide. The year is almost over, and most teachers have their schedules planned out on what they are going to do for the rest of the semester.
“[Piloting a new textbook] is more work, more time on planning because we’re pretty much piloting something totally brand new,” Robyn Jaso, English, said. “I have to look and see what the book actually consists of and what I have already, and if I can combine anything or if not I have to create everything from scratch.”
The current textbooks are no longer being printed, so if the teachers have to order more textbooks, they would be used instead of new.
“It’s been ten years since we looked at new textbooks for these subject areas,” Teri Larson, English, said.
There are three different textbooks that are being piloted, but each teacher only pilots one. One textbook that is being piloted is myPerspectives published by Pearson.
According to pearsonschool.com “Perspectives is a brand new English Language Arts curriculum… that values the perspective of the learner, collectively and individually, and provides next-gen learning experiences that promote higher achievement and develop the competencies needed for college and career readiness.”
The second textbook is Collections published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hmhco.com says Collections is “Helping you develop student abilities to analyze complex texts, determine evidence, reason critically, and communicate thoughtfully.”
Having to pilot the new textbooks adds a lot of stress to the teachers.
“As a teacher with three preps, plus coaching volleyball and forensics, my schedule is crazy busy,” Larson said. “I am not sure how I’m going to get it all done.”
Teri Larson, English, teaches her freshman English class. Larson plans to pilot the myPerspectives textbook this spring. Photo by K. Fischer
