If the textboook contains the answers, then what are the questions?

In the text, Understanding by Design, Bob James poses a great question of "If the textbook contains the answers, then what are the questions?" In backward design the essential questions are made before the curriculum is created. The textbook question is thought provoking. As my group and I created our essential questions for a unit plan and relating them to student perspective on issues, personal connections, and ability to analyze, I began to understand the necessity of backward design. Many teachers believe that the textbook contains all of the answers. This belief limits students creative ability with asking questions that are not in the textbook, such as "What would life be like if we lost the Revolutionary War" or "How does war make me feel?" These questions are those that will created a knowledge base around subjects in ways that students will never forget. As I went through school, I wish that my teachers had modeled to these thought provoking questions.

The ability to analyze a historical event such as the Revolutionary War,by asking meaningful questions will have a far greater effect than having students read a text and search for answers to questions within the text. The textbook does not contain the answers to those questions that evoke thought in students and force them to internalize events and think about their effects on life, economics, and the entire world. Asking truly thought provoking essential questions will propel the learner to new levels that cannot be achieved by just reading the textbook. A textbook can not tell you about your feelings, perspective, or impressions of historic events and other important Social Studies subject areas.