Enjoying the Textbook

When I was in Junior High, my father helped write a Real Estate textbook. I was honored when he asked me if I would review the math problems and see if there were any errors. For me, it was the ultimate compliment: he thought I knew enough that I could be trusted to get the right solutions! Now, as a homeschooling parent, I pay special attention to textbooks. Many friends are surprised when I tell them I actually buy a standard textbook and use that to teach math. I don’t use homeschool-specific curriculum. Perhaps they are doubly surprised since our local public schools aren’t using textbooks any longer. To me, there is something timeless and delightful about the consistency of a textbook. When my youngest daughter recently started Algebra 1, she felt so grown up to use a textbook. She was thrilled to find answers in the back!

When she found the answer to number 17 was 17, she felt she had struck gold.

Similarly, when my son found this page in his geometry book, it was a symbol of his growth. All his siblings have referenced this joke as they completed the course. It’s a family favorite.

What did the acorn say when it grew up? Gee, I’m a tree! (Geometry)

Having grown up in Salt Lake City, I loved finding my city map featured in this algebraic discussion of the coordinate grid.

Additionally, I loved this silly example in the statistics textbook we use.

“The recipe calls for four fresh eggs for each quiche. A Salt Lake County Health Department Inspector paid a visit recently and pointed out that research by the Food and Drug Administration indicates that one in four eggs carries salmonella bacterium, so the restaurants should never use more than three eggs when preparing quiche. The manager on duty wondered aloud if simply throuwing out three eggs from each dozen and using the remaining nine in four-egg quiches would serve the same purpose.”

Discuss the folly of the statement!

I’m glad to be an old-fashioned teacher using #2 pencils, lined notebooks and a hardcover textbook.