Published: November 18, 2009 10:42 pm      

MVTHS dealing with textbook shortage

By RORYE O’CONNOR

rorye.oconnor@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — Mt. Vernon Township High School Geography teacher Jessica Pilson is running a little short on textbooks.

Pilson only has enough copies to keep in the classroom, and she doesn’t have a teacher’s edition, either.

There are several other classes in this same situation at MVTHS, but despite the fact that students don’t get to bring some of their textbooks home, administrators say the situation isn’t so serious as it may seem.

Teachers like Pilson have learned to work their curriculums so they are not focused on the textbook.

“I make sure they have plenty of stuff to take home to study,” Pilson said.

Pilson said that being without a teacher’s edition had posed some planning difficulties for her early in the semester, but she had “worked it out at this point.”

One of the reasons students may not get to take their textbooks home is an arrangement between MVTHS and Rend Lake College. Classes that are taken for dual credit at RLC charge students a fee for books — books that are provided for a fee to MVTHS from RLC, MVTHS Principal Ron Daniels said.

Another reason for shortages early in the school year, at least, is that students from the previous school year don’t return books, Daniels said.

“They may take 2-3 days or a week to get in,” he said.

Because some students may drop classes or pick others up at the beginning of the semester, teachers and administrators hold off on buying more textbooks until the numbers of students in classes have been locked down, Daniels said.

“For some classes, there might be 80 students, but then they drop or change and decide they don’t want to take this class,” he said.

He provided the example of the English department, in which teachers were provided with classroom sets of textbooks, instead of buying an approximately $80 textbook for each of the 300 students.

“It adds up real quick,” Daniels said.

While it may seem that students would be hindered by not being able to bring home their textbooks, Daniels explained that in many cases, it is not so.

“Parents think the textbooks are what kids are using for homework, but many times the information is provided separately on notes in class or slides,” Daniels said. “Teachers are trying to gear their curriculums so it’s not just the textbook. The students should be able to answer questions without the textbook.”

Daniels said students who have been sick or who need a little extra time with the books have been allowed to take extra copies home. He added that parents or students with concerns are encouraged to contact teachers about any issues they may have. Contact information can be found at the school’s Web site at mvths.org.