Written By August Pulaski |

Have you ever wondered what it was like obtaining and giving away textbooks to the students of Morgan? Have you ever wondered about the process of getting the textbooks and then distributing them to all of the students of different classes? Social Studies Instructional Leader Diana Rizzo explained the process. 

Ms. Rizzo said the first thing that she does as head of the social studies department is look online for textbook publishers and samples to see which ones are the best and which book would properly fit the criteria of The Morgan School and the social studies department curriculum.

Ms. Rizzo has disclosed that over time textbooks have changed. For example, the texts are now more digital/online then they were 10 years ago. This is good because this means that students will have to worry less about questions such as “What happens if I lose my textbook?” or “I have damaged my textbook, what can I do to have it fixed?” In case you are someone asking yourself these questions,  Ms. Rizzo has some answers for you.  If you have lost or severely damaged your textbook, then Mrs. Rizzo will file an accountability form for you which you can use to pay for it (The price varies by  textbook).

Ms. Rizzo has said that she likes how the school textbooks are now moving online, but she would like for there to be set of physical textbook copies in each class just in case they are needed for class activities. Overall, Ms. Rizzo shared that she is quite content with the current textbook policies. She is happy that publishers are leaning more towards online textbook options which are better for both the students and the staff because they will be easier to transport, and they cannot be lost or damaged since they are on the internet.

Science Instructional Chair Chris Luther stated that only AP classes have online textbooks, but some students choose to have a hard copy. In other science classes, it may be different depending on the teacher and what he or she prefers to do in terms of the textbooks and how they are used by the students. Mr. Luther also said that because this year both honors freshmen and honors sophomores can choose to take Biology, there are too many students to have a hard copy of a textbook for each student.  This is why having access to online textbooks is useful.

It seems that the policies regarding the textbooks in The Morgan School are advancing in a positive way. Textbooks are becoming more and more virtual as time continues which is a good thing.  Since all students have  Chromebook computers,  online textbooks are especially useful. We certainly do live in an age where computers and technology are everywhere, and school is no exception to that conception.