This workshop began with a questionnaire that asked participants: how often in a normal week their students use a textbook; their thoughts on the average percentage of use of the textbook in North American classrooms; what a student would be likely to reply if asked whether a particular statement in the textbook was true; how a text is chosen for use; and their opinions concerning the use of textbooks to teach critical thinking. Both students and teachers should critically examine textbooks to find their particular worldviews and answers to questions about: (1) who and what was included or omitted; (2) how the book came to be published; (3) author qualifications; (4) content and biases; (5) visuals and their importance to the book; (6) empirical/factual validity; (7) treatment of concepts; (8) value statements; (9) cause and effect statements; and (10) generalizations. Textbook publishers consider some of these questions, as well as the amount of space to be devoted to each topic, book size, print size, readability, diversity in curriculum in different jurisdictions, and other considerations insisted on by Ministries/Departments of Education. The procedure is complex, often controversial, and highly political. The result is a textbook which reflects what is considered worth knowing by those with decision-making power. (MAH)