4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
textbook-critic, January 31, 2004
This review is from: Criminal Law and Its Administration (University Casebook Series) (Hardcover)
properly formating a book greatly helps students gain a better grasp faster.
With this textbook I've struggled continuosuly since late 2002 in finding that "pattern of layout" -- but still I haven't found it! Tonight, I decided to try looking for this elusive pattern one last time. So I looked at Chapter 13. I flipped through it 4 times but I couldn't find that important "roadmap" that would guide me while I read this seemingly interesting chapter.
Now I heard a few days ago that the Publisher will soon be coming out with a 7th edition. I hope success but they will need to consider widening the book a bit and also use some crisp formating method to help the reader... read this stuff, which in some cases, even the Justices writing style is pretty foggy.
So between the poor format and foggy Justices writing style, most student have a great difficulty wading through this textbook.
I have repeatedly spoken to HVCC college's Criminal Justice Department, located in Troy, New York, about my concerns. The teachers there agree with me that the text isn't the best; but they don't seem too inclined to seek other textbooks on this topic. One shrugged, in some resignation, and said "we try to live with it."
Not accepting resignation, I'll soon be speaking to the Chair, Ann Geisendorfer, and see what she says.
Maybe she and I will get a chance to directly talk to the Publisher and get them to take a hard look at the needed format revisions to make this book easier to navigate through. If the publisher can't seem to come up with a viable solution, I'll propose one that I think will greatly help.
Please note, part of education's goals should be, in my earnest view, to always look for ways to make the academic life of students easier, not harder -- which used to be colleges' standard academic philosophy many decades ago.
Colleges should get back in the business of innovation -- especially in the student's Cognitive Learning Process. Textbooks play a major role in this learning process but in most cases colleges faculty spend little time critically analyzing them to see how effective they are when actually used. They order based on what is in vogue elsewhere. How silly!
Modern day publishers, unfortunaely, aren't in the business of critically analyzing anything, except to make a big profit.
Gerard Sagliocca, P.E.
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