As a teacher, I've never actually had textbooks from which to teach. I've always used original source material as much as possible, or other types of text, etc, to teach various concepts. I wasn't, however, teaching an academic area at the high school or middle school level. So I'm not sure what the answer is for textbook selection.
I remember the light going on for me at one point in high school when something the history teacher said struck me-- history books are fallible. They are subjective accounts. For some reason, that really opened up my thinking.
I've never really been an "in the box" kind of person, my kids are not either. I taught my students the kinds of things I wanted my own kids taught. I like to think I helped teach kids a love of learning, and how to think, not just to sit down and shut up. Of course, the system in which public school teachers must teach really can limit what teachers can do. In the government's desire to step in and get involved and "fix" education, they've made it worse and more standardized. Combine that with a decline in family involvement/support, and there is a lot that needs fixing.
And lucky teachers, because they are on the front line, get the blame. I can honestly say, after working in several states in many districts, I have met many more qualified teachers who put their heart and soul into their jobs than I have met crappy teachers. But yes, I have met crappy teachers. Unfortunately, from the "reform" initiatives I have heard of out there, I really think the public school system in the US is going to decline before it gets better.
<---random ramblings from me.... y'all know education is one of my sticky spots! birthing options and breastfeeding are another, just in the interest of full disclosure....
