Rudy Acuña – TO THE PUBLISHER. “Occupied America “Sorry that I…
TO THE PUBLISHER. “Occupied America
“Sorry that I was in a rush about the LOs.[Learning Objectives] Since my heart surgery I have had to walk. As always you made me think. One of the conclusions I have come to is that the book does not belong with Pearson, it has not felt right since Harper and Row. I have taught K-12. In elementary school the teacher is on center stage.In Middle and high school the textbook is the center of the teaching experience. In college the stage shifts.At 86 it is a whole different ball of wax. I teach two classes, a lecture class with 45-50 students and an online class with 80-95 students. The textbook becomes a tool not the teacher. Even the lecture class is a hybrid. In both classes the computer is at the center. Canvas necessitates having learning objectives built into the course (not the book). Teaching is taken to a different level. Although I prefer the lecture class I have to admit Canvas makes it easier. Exams, assignments are all posted and I just have to adjust to the classes. Like the LO the computer keeps it focused.
College students have their own computers or at least access. What makes Pearson different than Harper is that Pearson sells to institutions . It does not sell to the mass market. Its books are generally supplements rather than texts. Texts sell through college bookstores that are monopolized by giants such as Follett that have a monopoly. The rub comes in the difference between a text and a trade-book. Occupied America is a monograph that is treated like a textbook and Longman and then Pearson have wanted to convert into a textbook confusing its identity. The problem is also l with me. I am a teacher but also a skeptic. In truth, I should have left Occupied America as is after the first edition and moved on.”