Review

Textbooks, Readers, and References

Two of the graduate students I taught last semester are teachers at secondary schools that have adopted this text. They hold divergent opinions of the book. One said that her social studies department chose it because of its fine collection of supportive teaching materials. The second complained that this text lacks enough substance, especially explanatory and illustrative details, which could help him encourage his students to form conclusions, in effect, to think for themselves. Admittedly, two teachers make a small sample. Yet each of them volunteered remarks that reinforced to some extent observations I had already noted. In general, it appears that texts are reclaiming a more central role in American high school classrooms. This is partly because of increased use of statewide standardized tests as prerequisites for graduation. In many states, student achievement in Social Studies is being measured by test-makers other than classroom teachers. Teachers, therefore, must aim for as broad and comprehensive a scope as possible in order to prepare their students for forthcoming exams. Another cause for greater use of textbooks as focal points in lessons is that textbook writers are attempting to produce less dry and more interesting accounts that treat fairly the perspectives of diverse groups.	1
This text is better at providing teachers with lesson ideas and materials than with telling a story of the past. The authors have put much effective effort into filling the teacher's edition with an abundance of sound suggestions on how to get students to reflect on the past. They clearly are concerned that students learn to make inferences from facts instead of falling into the habit of forming unsubstantiated opinions. Throughout the book, connections are made between events in the past and today's world, so that students can see that distance in time from the present does not necessarily dilute an event's potency. The visual aids in this text are fine, including maps, charts, and graphs, as well as picture inserts depicting, for example, clothing typical to a period. The only series of enrichment inserts that does not deliver on its promise is the one labeled "Science and Technology." In fact, rarely are scientific discoveries or principles highlighted; almost all concern technological advances, with little or no attempt made to help students understand the science that brought about such advances. This odd uneasiness with science is reflected also in the treatment of Einstein and modern physics, which is placed in a chapter with the word "crisis" in its title, even though, as usual, the chapter containing the European Scientific Revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is extolled as a great leap forward for humanity. Who can say whether Copernicus or Einstein caused more of a crisis for ordinary people struggling to come to terms with startling new discoveries?	2
Like other high school texts, this one does not trust teachers to be able to get their students to a level of thinking so that they can interpret the meaning of the past without habitually evaluating events based on whether they contributed to the stream of progress or tried to dam it up. The major yardsticks employed by Beck, et al. for measuring this worldwide current of progress are modernization and democracy. Thus, the central irony of the text consists of combining today's ongoing critique of European historical actions with praise for areas around the globe that reach to achieve Western democratic values and/or a more modern lifestyle, which are essentially Western in nature. This irony is further complicated by the authors' appreciation for cultural features in societies not considered modern. In effect, the reader is expected to celebrate cultural diversity while hoping that all societies modernize in a democratic and prosperous direction. In this text's concluding chapter, the section "Westernizing Influences on Different Cultures" is followed by "Non-Western Influences Travel to the West." The only example specified in the latter, however, is Islam. In another chapter, the section, "Africa Before Imperialism" contains the contradictory observation that African political systems have historically ranged from village units to large, multi-ethnic empires, the largest of which contained ten million people. Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect textbook. But because of its emphasis on helping teachers use a text creatively in class, this is a good one	3
State University of New York at Cortland   John A. Shedd

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