Textbooks

When I was in highschool we used these incredibly heavy English Literature Anthologies that weighed a real lot. More than 5lbs. My teacher, Mr. Klock would throw these books like discus if you forgot to bring them to class. Once, we threw one so hard that he smacked some kid (not the kid he was aiming at) with the book and it knocked him out cold. That is the epitome of why I do not like textbooks. They are too heavy, too cumbersome, too out dated and too intimidating for the average high schooler. At the same time, especially in English, they can be useful because they are a nice and neat condensed version of info. They also contain little bits of info that can be interesting and fun to read.
I have one question though. If we as teachers use textbooks, and these textbooks provide every bit of info on your subject, what is the point of the teacher? Why not use TV stand-ins, or internet chat rooms? Seriously, I feel that the use of textbooks negate the use of the teacher, and the knowledge they bring to the classroom. Why did I sit through Chaucer in old english (Whan that April with the shore's soot, the drought of march hath pierced thru the root) if I was never going to be able to bring that into the classroom? I just feel that a lot of education about education is about how to convey the info in books, not the info in our heads.
Anyway, I thought that the chapters about textbooks are going to be very useful later on. I especially liked the part about different ways you could use the textbook in the class room to make it more approachable to the students. I did not like the idea of splitting a book into parts and having each student read a chapter and share what was in that chapter with a group. I think that it is important for students to read literature in its entirety. I am convinced that you cannot grasp the idea of a story if you only read little bits of it. Anyway, is anyone else having trouble with posts? This is the second time I have posted this assignment- the first one I posted disappeared. Hopefully this one will stick- have a great night all!

What I really think of blogging

I think that I wouldn't want the whole world to know what I would write in a personal journal. What is the purpose of this? (Other than class- I mean in the world wide sense)