By Kailyn Huynh & Reese Meister
The Huntington Beach Union High School District (HBUHSD) recently experienced a push to consider resources other than physical textbooks to support curriculum.
“Some of these proposals are to consider more online textbook options (like OpenStax) or to consider options like [Open Educational Resources], which offers a variety of curriculum resources to assist teachers,” Heather Han, Huntington Beach High School history teacher and HBUHSD Social Science Facilitator, said.
Han added that this movement would not completely eliminate the use of textbooks but would instead transition to ebooks or other online resources that teachers throughout the district could use. So far, Han has researched costs of textbooks compared to online resources, and she is responsible for the “vetting” of the alternative materials.
To some students, online materials seem more beneficial. For example, freshman Bethany Nguyen prefers the online format of textbooks.
“They’re a lot more portable and easy to use, whenever and wherever, especially if I need to study real quick or go somewhere, I don’t have to lug around my very heavy textbook with me,” Nguyen said.
Even so, Nguyen expresses that textbooks should not be removed.
“I think they could also be helpful, somewhat, especially for students who like physical textbooks more and who like taking notes and annotating,” Nguyen said.
The priciness of textbooks has contributed the most to this idea of transitioning toward online resources. According to Han, a single textbook can cost up to $180. Additionally, she mentioned the disadvantages of their weight, bulk and limited information.
Meanwhile, U.S. history teacher David Uribe does not view the potential push away from physical textbooks as a positive change. He mentioned that some other history teachers feel similarly and have reached out to the district to voice concerns over the effects on AP classes especially.
Uribe admits that he does not often source class material from textbooks in his regular U.S. history class, able to access adequate alternative resources fairly easily. However, with his Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) classes, there is not enough time to teach all of the required material without using a textbook.
“The kids have to do a lot of reading that I can’t get to as a teacher,” Uribe said. “This textbook is definitely a lifeline to students—it’s written precisely how the College Board wants, it has to be approved by the College Board, etc.”
Some students have noticed this same value in textbooks. Sophomore Nasa Cao, who mainly utilizes textbooks for AP European History and Chemistry, explained how she favors the physicality of having a textbook to study from.
“Already reading a bunch of pages for history or another class is very draining and it’s just not mentally stimulating, but having a physical textbook—being able to see what you’re reading and feel the pages—personally, it helps me study more because it keeps my mind concentrated and focused on what I’m actually studying,” Cao said.
Freshman Kaylie Mai also agrees to this remark, as she often uses her AP Human Geography book to study from.
“I personally prefer physical textbooks because I’m able to tab them and annotate with sticky notes. And I think it’s also easier for me to retain information when I see it physically,” Mai said.
Additionally, she added how textbooks affect classroom environments.
“I think physical textbooks are really useful, especially for class use, so that we’re not fully reliant on computers,” Mai said.
Han agrees that textbooks can teach curriculum well, and she likes how they can be accessible to students at home. At the same time, she believes that the district could take full advantage of the Chromebooks that they have issued to students.
“There has certainly been a ‘push’ to utilize Chromebooks to their full potential by being able to access a variety of sources,” Han said. “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also helped to prompt this ‘push’ to consider more online options.”
If the district were to transition to online options, though, Uribe mentioned that they would need to ensure that they had proper, updating licensing for the materials. As a result, finding substantial, concise replacement materials could take a significant amount of time. However, so far, these ideas have not led to any official proposals.
“I know it’s one of those things that’s coming up, but I don’t want to jump the shark yet because I don’t know what’s happening officially,” Uribe said. “I’m worried about the idea of no textbooks…if [AP students] didn’t have it, we’d be in trouble. Big time.”
Uribe plans to attend a meeting hosted by Han later in the year, likely after AP testing concludes in May. He plans to oppose the proposal on behalf of the AP department. The meeting will give APUSH teachers the opportunity to “vet” OpenStax resources to consider whether they would be effective for the curriculum.
“As of right now, there is very little movement on this. The OpenStax vetting in May is the first step in this process to see if these non-textbook options are actually good options for our students,” Han said. “If open/free materials are not approved, then all school sites will go through the traditional textbook adoption process, which could take 1-2 years.”
