Baker,
Well, I not a guru, but I'll try to answer a few questions that you have. Your from NFLD and I'm from Ontario, so I'm sure there are some differences in curriculum and (it seems like) in textbooks. I have no idea what textbook you were using, but it does seem poorly organized. That shouldn't be however, a slight to the course. As a history teacher and a dept head, I personally don't put too much stock in texts. I tend to use them very sparingly, but that's my own taste. I feel that you cannot teach out of textbook, it makes for bad pedagogy. That said, I do have teachers in my dept who do use the text a lot; I can't tell them how to teach.Hence the need to move beyond the textbook. As for the Gulf War, it really depends on the writer; they are the ones deciding what goes into to it. You need to add material, look to other books, supplements, the internet, etc. For example, today we were looking at the Korean War in my Gr.10 classes. I made up my own handout, complete with maps, pics and detailed info about the Battle of Kapyong.True, but it depends on the course curriculum. Most texts are written to mirror a particular course. For example, in Ontario the Gr.10 Canadian history starts at WWI. The text we use at my school was written for the "old" curriculum, which started at 1900. The expectation is that students will cover pre-WWI material in Gr.7/8 (which they don't always do). I guess the reasoning is why put material in that doesn't apply to a given course.Got more? I'm game ;D