The Washington Post recently ran an article that was entitled "Most Textbooks Should Just Stay on the Shelf".  The article discusses the uselessness of most textbooks and how teachers and students alike are better off without them.  When I was in school the classroom was defined by the use of textbooks.  I can't recall a single class, except band, where textbooks were not the center of instruction.  Teachers relied almost exclusively on the text and accompanying workbooks.  What about today's classroom?  How have things changed?  In my experience, the textbooks are used as backup, even a last resort, for a lot of teachers.  In eight years, I never taught from the text.  Although my job would have been a lot easier if I had, my students would have been so confused after just the first few weeks.  The texts for my subject area are often poorly organized and out-dated.  Kids who struggle with learning disabilities or attention disorders are completely exluded by the textbook industry, who seems to focus only on the high achieving students by designing their books to suit their needs.  I tend to agree with the author of the article who said that "The best teachers have an ongoing conversation with their class, calling on every student, challenging sloth, praising fresh ideas, moving the group beyond the text, which covers only the state's or the school's curricular requirements."  Teachers who rely on the text often do so because they don't know their material well enough, they aren't good planners, or they are too lazy to create something that meets the needs of their particular students.