by Giulia Socolof ’19, Staff Writer

One of the issues at Newark Academy today is about the textbooks we use. Do they help us in our classes, and provide a better learning experience? Are they a hindrance in our academic progress? Or do they really not matter?

I have found that the answer to this question varies between classes. For example, the books we read in English and Humanities are a huge necessity, especially in English because without the novels we read, there is not much of a class. But I personally dislike the Science and Language textbooks. For example, 6^th grader Drew Flanagan said, “I would like to see books used for practice and teaching, not one or the other.” I can understand this because especially in Science, you rarely use the books in class, except for pair-sharing homework. When I spoke to 7^th and 8^th grade science teacher Ms. Reeves, she said, “There are some things I like and some I don’t like. The ‘Apply It’ questions are great, but they skip over more difficult concepts and some of the questions are just busywork.” Also, 8^th grader Olivia DeLamielleure said that she does not like the textbooks because if you forget them, there isn’t much you can do. She believes the solution to this is more online, electronic textbooks. I think this is a good idea because not only does it get you out of a pinch, it also prevents backpacks from being heavier than you are.

Here is another big question: how much do we use our textbooks for class? 7^th grader Ryan Gajarawala says, “Sometimes in Science, and everyday in Mandarin. Mostly we use them in class.” To contradict this, I only use my textbooks for homework, except occasionally in languages. Textbooks are good for homework, because they have a lot of the practice problems in them, like in math. 6^th grader Lauren Holtzman also feels that textbooks should be more for homework. “Textbooks aren’t the real teachers, but they are great for reference. Textbooks are more for homework.” Also, 8^th grade science teacher Mrs. Mason said she used textbooks in her class “Maybe 5 times throughout the year. Of course, we talk about what is learned in the textbooks in class, but it is mainly for homework.” I have noticed that kids in my grade, who don’t wish to be named, don’t like their textbooks. To go along with this, 7^th grader Harry Echtman said that the like versus dislike of textbooks “Depends on the class. I prefer worksheets, but they are ok. But I don’t like the Mandarin textbooks.”

As you can see here, all the textbooks differ greatly from class to class. Personally, my favorite textbook is my Spanish textbook, not the workbook, because it is something we use almost every day, in class and at home. But for me, a lot of the workbooks, such as the science and the language workbooks, are not that useful, and are mainly just busywork. Also, I like the idea of going completely online. It would make everything simpler, and if you forgot to bring your laptop, you wouldn’t have to hit up every kid near you to ask if you can borrow a textbook. So, in conclusion, I would like to say that we should invest in more useful textbooks to use more in our classes.