Is the textbook benefiting my students?

So this year I have stirred the water a bit in my classes and department because I made receiving a textbook optional for my students. I have a class set of books in every room I teach and allow students who want a text book to have one checked out to them for the year (and the entire text is online and located on my Web page). I, of course, use the text in my lessons and planning and cover all of the material within the text, but I wonder is learning how to speak a language best done from a textbook?
I remember learning Spanish and using premade questions about Juan y Carmen and where they go/went and what they do/did; however the bottom line was, "Who are Juan and Carmen? and Why do I care what they do and where they go?" The answer was simple. I didn't care (and still don't and neither do my students). I'm really am not sure of the value of constantly practicing fictitional dialogs about fictional people. I think you should use language to communicate and engage with others.
I hope that all foreign language teachers (myself included) will begin to take a more communicative and applicable approach (I actually think our office is moving quickly in this direction). My hope is that we can use some of the PLC time to create more authentic learning activities and assessments to engage students in creating the languge to communicate on a personal level. I don't think that it is a coincidence that the students who come to us from private schools that are well above the average language learner didn't use a text book.

Questioning why the Gifted and Talented philosophy of education isn't just the "Philosophy of Education"??!!

I am starting to get back in the thinking mode after a nice summer break and after starting the PLC book.
First let me give you a bit of history about me. When I first got a job a Euclid Middle school in the Spring of 1999, one of the first teachers to befriend me was the amazing GT teacher there (Robin Carey). She was an incredible mentor to me. She gave me amazing ideas for lesson plans including various project grids, critical thinking activities, logic activities, socratic seminar methodologies, etc. Almost every lesson that I truly felt connected to students, individualized learning and engaged students, initially came from her.
This really got me to thinking... Why were these methodologies conisidered GT? Aren't these techniques just good teaching and what is best for ALL kids? What if all classrooms were designed like a GT class? -Small class size, autonomous learning, constant feedback and assessment, letting the students individualize their learning and using their unique strengths to show their knowledge and students having the opportunity on every assignment to use higher level thinking.
Recently I told my friend Robin that I really want to go to the next GT conference. In fact, maybe all 21st century teachers should go.
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts upon returning to the new school year and thinking of my thoughts for a mission and vission statement. I think my would be that all classrooms run like a GT class. My favorite quote from all of the articles I read was the following...
"Would you have the cyclist who finished the race first continue to ride on a stationary bike until all others finished the race? Or give them the change to enter more races?" - http://www.gt-cybersource.org/
Why should this quote only apply to GT students?