Yet that's not the case in many schools today. A new survey of teachers finds many of America's school children are forced to try to study and learn without books and other educational materials. The National Education Association assisted in the survey design and data collection. Our survey found that America has a terrible textbook shortage. PTA leaders from two of the biggest states expressed concern about the survey's results.
Every parent knows that textbooks are important basic resources necessary for children to learn.
When parents see their children bringing home books they used when they were in school, or not bringing home books at all, they know that there is a major problem. More than four out of five teachers believe that every student should have a textbook to use in class, yet one in six teachers reports that students are without them, according to the survey. While four out of five teachers believe that every student should have a textbook to take home, that's not the reality for far too many. Two out of five teachers report that students do not have textbooks to take home. No books often means no homework, according to the survey.