Carrying around textbooks in high school can be an absolute burden. They are heavy and big, and it is almost impossible to fit more than one of them in a backpack at a time. Not to mention the fact that many of them are outdated. Some of them ranging anywhere from 11 to 16 years old. So why do we have them? Camas High School loan has over 10,000 documented textbooks ranging from math to history to science, and for the most part, teachers are quite happy with them. They are usually well written and describe the topics that the students are learning clearly. By using textbooks yearly instead of printing out, worksheets teachers can save paper, and their lectures do not have to be as detailed: The book explains how to do most of the problems.
One of the main concerns student and teachers alike have in common is whether or not the textbooks are up to date To put everyone’s mind at ease; the answer is yes they are. “We’re still using the same copies To Kill A Mockingbird that they’ve been using since Mrs. Dickingsons son graduated… so 20 or more years that these books have been around.” Mrs. Johnna Christensen, a librarian at our school explained. Since the book hasn’t changed at all over those 20 years and they are still in decent shape, there is no need to replace them. Camas is particularly good at keeping their books up to date.
Camas High School’s books are switched out about every ten years, not including history books and of course literature books. History books can be switched out more often: every 2-3 years and literature books are repurchased by the district when the set is useable, or they need more copies. Some teachers enjoy getting new textbooks because of the updated information and others are less pleased “When they update them they don’t change much its just a big cost to the school.” Mr. David Johnson, a teacher at our school, stated.
After Camas is finished with textbooks if they are in decent shape, then they can be repurposed to other schools, and if they are too far gone then, they are shredded and recycled. Both of these methods help reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill.
The main carriers for the textbooks are the librarians; they pass out the textbooks, retrieve the textbooks at the end of the year as well as report missing books. One of the librarians mentioned that textbooks go missing often and it can take months for them to find them again. The librarians and teachers alike push students to write their names in the front covers of the books for easier retrieval. They also request that students not write in the textbooks because it lessens their future usability.
Perhaps in the future Camas High School will switch to ebooks; however, for now, the students at Camas must live with carrying around their dependable moderately old textbooks.
