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Teacher
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Editors' note: This feature is meant to provide practical, although not
unbiased, reviews of textbooks based on experience in the classroom. Readers
will note that the teachers who wrote these reviews differ widely in terms
of what they seek in a textbook. Moreover, these reviews are not meant to
advocate or discourage the adoption of any one text. Rather, they seek to
begin a dialogue about textbook use that we hope will continue long past
the posting of this issue. Indeed, we would like to encourage other teachers—both
at the secondary and at the university-level— to send us comparable
reviews of texts for inclusion in later issues of World History Connected.
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Richard Bulliet et al., The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History,
3rd edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2004). |
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The Bulliet textbook, Earth and Its Peoples,
is currently used in our open-enrollment AP World History program. Class
enrollments range from 10th to 12th grades and students
are mixed, ranging from those with Individualized Education Plans to National
Merit Scholar Finalists. |
1 |
There are many advantages to using the Bulliet
text. It gives students a wonderful sense of chronology. This appears to
be the best organizer for students in a course that offers such a broad,
rich curriculum in scope. Each chapter gives a timeline utilizing information
covered in a particular time period. For example, a chapter covering the
Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, Mughal Empire and Europeans in the Indian
Ocean States (yes, all in one chapter) includes a chronology from 1502 to
1747. While this may appear to be an enormous length of time to one used
to teaching narrower survey courses, the chapter still may be covered in
one day. In addition to the excellent timelines, students are given "objective"
questions at the beginning of each chapter. For teachers who like to concentrate
on Advanced Placement preparation, there are some very good Document-Based
Questions at the end of each chapter. The book does an excellent job in
offering specific details to support some of the broader themes necessary
for students to grasp in world history. If you believe that students are
capable of making a better analysis of a time period if they have plenty
of evidence to be used as support, then this book works very well. |
2 |
On the flip side, the book does offer so many
details that some students get bogged down in small pieces of data. Indeed,
this can be confusing in a course that is supposed to allow students to
make big connections. In other words, students may not see the forest for
the trees. Some students complain about the amount of reading assigned in
a block schedule. While typical chapters are a little over 22 pages of reading,
these chapters may be divided in any way a teacher deems fit for his or
her course. However, the biggest complaint among students is the occasional
repetitive nature of the book. This is a relatively innocuous complaint
and from a teacher perspective, can almost be seen as a positive. Another
complaint about the book is that there is not necessarily an explicit connection
among various chapters. Bulliet does frame a few chapters such as "The Spread
of Ideas" (the spread of Buddhism and Christianity) and "Global Maritime
Expansion Before 1450" (in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans) to make
these connections. Otherwise, the students will have to get these connections
in class from the teacher. The support for the text is somewhat minimal.
There are good study guides (for students) available, but the manual for
instructors does not include enough sources for further investigation.. |
3 |
The most common comment I have heard from
students is that the Bulliet text is a lot of work, but when finished, they
are glad they went through it. |
4 |
Eric
Hahn, PhD
Ladue Horton Watkins High School
St. Louis, Missouri |