Yes, You Really Need to Read Your Textbooks, Not Just Browse Them Looking for Answers
I understand that textbooks are hefty tomes that seem more useful as a defensive weapon than as a fascinating reading. But it is still important to actually read them, rather than treat them as a search for the word “find a potential-test answer.”
Get out those Trapper Keepers and sharpen your # 2 pencils – it’s a week back to school ! Going far beyond the classroom, we offer you ingenious tricks and ideas on how to get started with your routine, brush up on old skills, or learn something new this fall.
I remember a class in college where Hip Professor ™ would turn over his chair and triumphantly declare, “We don’t use textbooks in this class — there is one in the curriculum, but you don’t need it.” I would love it. There is no need to spend $ 200 on a book that the teacher did not intend to borrow. But most things are not like that. Don’t let Hip Professor ™ make you think, “If one class doesn’t need a book, then none of them need a book.” Many subjects definitely need a textbook, and this textbook is a must-read.
In Wired, Rhett Allen, assistant professor of physics at the University of Southeast Louisiana, cautions against using textbooks as if it were some sort of scavenger hunt. This is especially true with subjects like physics, Allen explains:
A significant number of students will start with the textbook and start looking for the chapter on bias. But wait, there is no such chapter! How about a chapter on kinetic friction? Again, no luck. Maybe just flip through the book until you find a problem with a block on an airplane – oh, there it is, but it’s static friction. Ok, maybe this will work …
But the same can be said for other natural and mathematical subjects, or even humanitarian subjects such as history. What is the use of highlighting many places and dates if you don’t know what you really understand in context – why and how ? Yes, you get some of this information from the lectures, but did you really get the impression that you will understand everything you need in a couple of hours of conversation with one person? What if this lecture starts at 8 am and you usually stay up late the night before? Remember, textbooks are not a source of answers; they teach you in part to develop your own. Some students think of textbooks as the last resort, and this is the wrong approach.
Take some time, grab a snack if needed, sit down and read. As you read, take notes, highlight passages, and jot down your personal thoughts at the moment so you have topics for class discussion. Study the subject on purpose, not just prepare for a test. In the end, you will be much better. Plus, you’ve had to spend a fortune on these damn things. You could get something from them.