In Wagner & Herbel-Eisenmann’s work on math textbooks, I found it interesting that the authors suggest that textbooks have the potential to shape the learner’s identity, I believe the subject matter itself is subjective every learner's experience in education.
Reflecting on my own experiences, I’ve found that as a student, textbooks served as a reliable source for learning independently. They were a helpful tool for reinforcing concepts and understanding new ones. As a teacher, I continue to rely on textbooks to structure my lessons, check my own understanding, and find supplemental materials to enrich the class. However, I believe that every textbook has its value, and it’s essential for educators to use interactive methods to combine various types of textbooks. We should test them out, using our judgment to find the best fit for our students' unique needs. From my own experience in China, I witnessed students tearing textbooks after completing large-scale assessments, which signified how their attitude toward the textbook was shaped by the teachers’ approach. Instead of holding textbooks up as the authority, or the standard, it’s essential to see them as a starting point, a tool to share and build upon knowledge. This can be my personal challenge for the upcoming long practicum. Since I will be teaching knowledge heavy content (Calculus 12), I will be making observation of the student-textbook relationships and how they will affect students' learning. And for myself, I will find creative and engaging approaches to boost student' progress.
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