Education Books

I read this book for a youth ministry class in college and it is probably the best youth ministry book I have ever read! They cover a lot of ground and make it applicable to real life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Great resource for anyone who minister to youth. I bought this book for our youth ministry team. It has helped them to focus on the important issues that youth face today.

I can't wait to start using the checkpoints as laid out in this book, or use it to create our own version.

Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall have done amazing "legwork" for Youth Leaders everywhere in defining essentials that are usable now. To find out there's curriculum to go along with this book was a lifesaver.

I highly recommend this book to help define your YM strategy.

this is the most practical book for streamlining a youth ministry i have ever found.

If you are looking for a guideline to run your youth ministry by this one is great. It gives you a guide to follow and freedom to make it your own. This book is full of so much information, it's amamzing. It is right on target for this generation of youth.

Delivered quickly and much cheaper than college book store. This was teacher's edition, which has answers the student edition does not.

I must say I felt bad with the price of the book - I felt it was much too high. But after reading the first few chapters of the book, and noting that it flows and is very easy to understand, I do not have to complain so much now. I am loving the book now.

There isn't much more to say. This book is concise -- it gets right to the point, every time. It is also thorough -- it covers everything you need to move on to advanced statistics. But, best of all, it presents the material in a way that is very easy to understand and allows students to apply their new knowledge to the behavioral sciences.

I have taught statistics for many years and this is the best stats book I have seen. It is clearly written, has easily understood formulas, and excellent examples. I highly recommend it!

[A review of the 7th Edition, that came out in 2006.]

The text starts off easily. With the elementary definitions of mean, median, percentiles etc. Things you probably should have dealt with in high school. Likewise with its treatment of probability theory. Though the latter goes directly to the normal or Gaussian distribution.

But the meat of the book really starts in part 3, which is about inferences of means and mean differences. For you, as a student or researcher, what is important is not a definition of terms and distributions, but how to test hypotheses. From this flows such ideas as the t statistic and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Part 4 builds on this, with nonparametric tests and regression analysis. The linear regression in one variable is simple. Then you get multiple regression with 2 variables. Tied in is the chi square test and various other tests.

The book also is a quick introduction to using SPSS as your basic statistical program. In your field, SPSS is likely to be the dominant such program, and you need an indepth acquaintance with it.

Divided into 12 monthly teachable values this book gives "lesson plans" for preschoolers and elementary age children along with a story (sometimes two or more), guidelines for parents, simple games and disussions that further illustrate the topic for the child/ren over the course of a month and guidelines for encouraging praise throughout the month as children begin to exhibit or model the desired trait.

Although major Christian values are covered, Christian parents may notice that God is not directly mentioned as this book was written generic traditional moral values(with no biblical reference) but there is room for you to add your religious belief and doctrine although you will have to do the footwork yourself (look up scripture reference and incorporate God into the little stories).

Values are divided into two categories: values of being (who we are) and Values of Giving (what we do). They include:
honesty, courage, peaceability, self-reliance, discipline, fidelity/chastity, loyalty, respect, unselfishness, kindless, and justice and mercy.

The authors raised NINE children with these concepts. Creative parents will find it a great launching point for them to expand on monthly while EXHAUSTED parents will find it a wonderfully easy "road map" to use when instructing their children that requires virtually no advance preparation and is easy to execute.

Parents of preschoolers will find that the preschool activities while geared to the younger set are NOT dumbed down which may make it a fun activitity to do with older siblings as well.

Teaching Your Children Values is one of those rare books that outgrows trends, critics, and what is currently popular in the way of teaching and parenting. This book, written by Linda and Richard Eyre, is full of stories, games, and activities that teach values, such as honesty, courage, love, self-discipline, respect, and unselfishness.
The Eyres draw from years of experience raising kids(nine), and being active in the national movement toward more conscientious parenting. Richard has served as Director of the White House Conference on Children and Parents, and they host their own radio and TV programs, geared toward helping parents to become better at instilling the same values they speak of in this most wonderful book, destined to become a classic.

This book is a must-have for parents who are worried about the effects of our increasingly values-less society on the well-being of their children. The authors present a number of important values and then provide strategies to teach these to children within the context of the family. I found the anecdotes from their personal experience--the authors are a married couple with nine(!) children--to be especially helpful and encouraging. I have read and re-read this book many times, and passed it on to anyone who will agree to read it!

This book is a must-have for parents who are worried about the effects of our increasingly values-less society on the well-being of their children. The authors present a number of important values and then provide strategies to teach these to children within the context of the family. I found the anecdotes from their personal experience--the authors are a married couple with nine(!) children--to be especially helpful and encouraging. I have read and re-read this book many times, and passed it on to anyone who will agree to read it!

I've read lots of parenting books (over 50 or so) and this is my second favorite. My first is by the same authors, 3 Steps to a Strong Family.

This book contains information on how to teach values to your children. We've just started using it but are having excellent results already. My kids are happier and are grasping concepts they've struggled with in the past. There is a calmer feeling in our home as we all work together to master a certain value.

I appreciate the personal experiences the authors share and the writing style is easy to understand and very well organized.

My two 6-year-olds enjoy the games and stories. They do not have any problems with them as an earlier reviewer mentioned would happen.

I highly recommend this book, but suggest you read 3 Steps to a Strong Family first. These books work and will make your home such a happier, calmer place.

This was an extrordianry book...i fell in love with it..it gave me hopes and dreams about my crush..and how one day, he would soon fall in love with me...it showed me how cliques can hurt, and how much i used to love hanging out with my old friends, before i found my new ones...i just loved this book...

Wonder is about a seventh grader who goes from popular to loser over the summer. She tries to make it through the school year with no friends and her ex-best friend against her. She then shows SCANTA that she isn't bothered by their teasing and gets to be friends with them. Wonder was WONDERful and a very fun book to read.

Jessica and Shelia have been best friends since kindergarden, but everything changes on the first day of seventh grade.I would recommend this book to a girl in the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade. I would also recommend Wonder to a girl who likes to read books about two best friends. Since Shelia is now popular and Jessica is a social outcast, Jessica doesn't think she will ever have friends again. One day jessica becomes popular and shelia becomes the social outcast. The last reason i would recommend this book is because it teaches you a lesson. The lesson is always remmber who your true friends are.

I don't know how I would have survived junior high. "Wonder" is wonderful and an amazing portrait of a girl who goes through, just like most junior high girls, the junior high struggle of losing and gaining friends. I was like Jessica in sixth grade. I was short for twelve. My best friend had left me and I was alone in a world where people changed best friends as often as they did their clothes. I went through sixth grade feeling upset and out of place. Junior high is not an easy time, and that is a fact. In seventh grade, however, I had what Jessica happened to her happen to me. She made new friends and was glad with the fact; I made friends I would never trade with anything. She kept in touch with her old best friend Sheila, saying it'd take some time before they hung out together; I did the same with mine.

"Wonder" changed my life. Will it change yours?

This is my favorite book, and the situations in it are things that happen in real life. I found it easy to relate to some of the characters, and a lot of them reminded me of my friends.I loved the ending, and anyone with major problems at school or with friends should read this book to see that the situation could be much worse.

I've always been a fan of feminist comics. I wrote my thesis in 2003 on underground feminist comix as resistance art and include Arnoldi's work because it's so outside the norm. Autobiographic with stark images of people who've abused her turning into monsters. Her story of resistance and self-preservation is inspirational and moving. Her artwork is simple; it doesn't need to be more complex. Her story has enough complexity. It's a phenomenal read for an adult but it's also a great book to share with teens. I've used it in middle school and high school therapy groups and had a great response. I can't recommend this book enough!

Arnoldi's graphic-novel about a single mother is great. It is not only a direct and clear critique of the problems facing young single-mothers today (an increasingly large demographic in the U.S.), but it is also a hopeful and inspiring story about the way out of those problems -- a way out created by young single mothers cooperating as they find solidarity with one another. Although the story is simply told and very easy to read, it is not a simple story, and she weaves together issues of sexuality, family, and labor union politics.

I'm not a teen mother (or any sort of mother), but after reading a story about her struggles and her decision to put it in a comic form, I was intrigued. Her drawings describe her transition from being neglected by her mother and having no other place to go, other than to live with her sister and abusive brother-in-law. She was raped by a stranger in a car, after she left her sisters house and was again rejected from her mother, which left her to wonder the streets. She had the child from the rape, and she dreampt of leaving the town and attending college. When she was fired from her factory job after exposing hazardous working environments, she took off with her new boyfriend to Arizona. When her boyfriend began beating her, she left him, even camping out in the desert under the stars. Eventually she met up with a positive peer group, and began attending college. Great story, helps analyze the variety of circumstances that can happen to teenage mothers, particulaly alot of the negative social backlash that affects them.

I don't have a lot of experience with graphic novels, but this one is really powerful. It almost moved me to tears in several places. I love the illustrations in which she imagines what's going on in her daughter's brain. A great book to share with teen moms or any young mom who needs some encouragement about pursuing a college degree. Accessible even for those who aren't big readers.

This is the true poignant story of a young woman and her struggles to make dreams come true. Katherine Arnoldi, raped and left with a baby at 17, was forced, out of necessity, to take a dead-end, hazardous factory job. Her dysfunctional family tried to crush her and her dreams; her boyfriend turns on her and beats her. Yet through all of her pain and despair she does not give up. Arnoldi shows, in her comic book form, that if you hold on and pursue your dreams that you can overcome the ugliest past. This book is a treasure. It is simply great. And because it is so good you will want to pass it on. This is a book that can speak to the broken hearts of hundreds, if not thousands, of struggling teenagers, single moms or not. Her enduring love for her child, her courage to change her circumstances, a little luck, and a few kind people, transforms what could be a disheartening story into an inspiration.

There are some excellent reviews here that I'll not attempt to repeat. The quality of the book and printing is great; designed for heavy use. This dictionary was also a breakthrough in clarity of meaning and presentation.

I don't hand a lot of five-star ratings, so why this tome? It is, IMHO, a "must have" for anybody who wants to enhance their understanding of early American writings, especially the Founding Fathers, Dickenson, Emerson, etc.

I read aplenty from early American, colonial, and other material back into the 1600's. This is the one reference book that I keep open on a stand next to my elbow. Many words still current today had a slightly different shade of meaning, and an appreciable number have meanings that have been lost or radically altered. I have had keen "A Ha!" moments as passages that just didn't seem quite right unfolded before me with a better understanding of the author's words.

I also find this dictionary helpful for much earlier writers such as John Locke. Though he lived 100+ years before this volume was published, its English is almost 200 years closer to Locke than our modern dictionaries. If you don't have access to a more contemporary dictionary, this will still aid in opening Locke and other earlier authors.

I recommend this treasure as a basic principle, a necessity for understanding the sundry roots of the English language. Websters First Edition is masterful and generous with word etymology. Here we have a great companion to classic American literature. I personally find it a great help while studying the King James version of the bible. I truly recommend this dictionary, It's worth it's weight in gold.

E.W.Campbell

We loved this product. This was the only one we could find anywhere and it holds a bundle of definitions. it does have religious intonations, but that was what we were looking for because religion was such a focus in 1828. It is a lovely edition and can easily be displayed and look lovely.

Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary is a very good classic dictionary
that gives definitions to some words you won't find in the Oxford English
Dictionary. It is well worth it!

Whenever I want to know what the "TRUE" definition of a word is (not some politcally-correct, smoothed-over definition you find in current dictionaries), I go to this great treasure. Every American home should have one of these jewels, and it should be kept front and center somewhere, preferably displayed open so that it can be accessed and used readily (it will tend to get used more often that way too). Yes, it is kind of expensive, but how much are truthful and accurate word definitions worth to you? In a day and age where people are making up their own definitions to suit themselves (example; remember Bill Clinton saying ".... it all depends on what your definition of "is" is!? Lawyers also like play free and loose with words.), it is more necessary than ever before. This book will take you back to the roots of truth this country was founded on.

Libby Koponen's novel Blow Out the Moon is based on her own experiences growing up. She includes photographs and drawings throughout the book.

At dinner one evening, Libby's father informs her and her siblings that they would be traveling by ship to live in England for six months. Her father would travel ahead and meet them when the ship docked.

Libby would be leaving her home, her school and her best friend Henry, but it was a short-term adventure. That's what she thought. The six months turned into eighteen months and Libby wasn't happy about the extension.

Everything in England was different. She wasn't happy until she left for boarding school. There she meets new and interesting people, learns how to do things the way the English do them and even learns to ride a horse. But she refuses to sing "God Save the Queen."

During Libby's adventure she leaves childhood and becomes a young lady. And just before she leaves England, she decides it wouldn't hurt to sing "God Save the Queen," just one time.

Koponen's book is interesting but it's not particularly exciting. It reminds me of a story one would write for a family member, not the world.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are interested in learning about the way other people live, you might be interested in this story. If you're looking for an exciting novel with a plot, you might not choose this book.

I love this book. It reminds me of being a kid again. I forgot what it was like until I read this book. I can't wait for Ms. Koponen to write another book. I'm going to gobble it up!!!!

"Libby's joyous times at Sibton Park make you laugh out loud."
--A 6th grader writing in Just Books.

"Koponen's tightly written prose is laced with humor." --Seattle Times

Yes, I'm the author -- but this is what OTHER people said. I get emails from kids all the time saying they loved the book; maybe you will too.

This is the story of Libby, a young American girl who lives in England for a year and a half. She is naturally independent and spunky, yet learns that being polite means caring about others' feelings. Overall, this book is wonderful; it's engaging in a way that too few books are. Schoolgirl Libby is a joy to watch as she travels to England and attends boarding school, encountering difficulties and misadventures along the way. Unfortunately, author Libby Koponen's writing is a tad overly simplified, and she fails to fully transform her voice into that of a true child. Koponen instead comes across as an adult trying to write like a child. Still, that's my sole complaint about this great book.

Libby Koponen's 1950s childhood was given an exciting spin when her family moved to England for a year and a half. Eight-year-old Libby, a headstrong child who loved to write, looked forward to the adventure though she knew she'd miss her friends in New York.

"Blow Out the Moon" is Libby's memoir, written for the 9-to-12 age group. She tells of the family's ocean voyage on the Liberte and their new life in a London flat. The gloomy London winter and her isolated, unhappy days at school tarnished the adventure. Fascinated by stories about boarding school, she persuaded her parents to send her away to school in the Kent countryside.

At Sibton Park Libby learned to ride horses and to behave with proper English manners. Today's more sophisticated children have grown up at Hogwarts with Harry Potter, as pointed out by Megan Tingley, editor in chief for young readers at Little, Brown. They may find 1950s England a bit tame; but as long as there are kids interested in looking over the horizon, charming books like this will be well-loved.

The book is illustrated with photos of Koponen and her family, and other related drawings and photos. They are somewhat poorly rendered in the book, but come to life on the author's web site, ifyoulovetoread dot com.

"Blow Out the Moon" was marketed in an unusual way: Koponen put the entire book on the internet and after collecting raves from kids, was accepted for publication by Little, Brown. The web site is a feast of photos, reviews, and extra chapters. Anyone interested in this aspect of the book business should check out the Boston Globe article under the REVIEWS section of Libby's web site.

I recommend the book as a nostalgic memoir of another time and place; there is much for children and adults to enjoy here.

This book is a must read for every parent. We need to bring up our children to be morally responsible citizens. Each chapter shares ideas and simple acitivities on how to plant the seeds to produce people you would want to be in charge of running the world. It also reaffirms that as a parent you have the most important role in shaping your child. As a counselor, teacher and most importantly parent to three children, I have recommended this book to both family members and clients alike!

I have a sixteen-year-old who is questioning all morals. I was finding it difficult to put into words the importance of morals. I bought this book for her to read. She isn't reading it, but I am and I'm finding it very helpful in facilitating discussions with her. At dinner time I bring up one of the seven moral virtues and ideas that the book presents. I've found that it leads to great conversations with her about character and moral behaviors. It has given me the words for concepts that can be difficult to convey in our current morally challenging times. I recommend buying this book when your children are young and referencing it often.

"Building Moral Intelligence" by Dr. Michele Borba is a book that every parent should read and own. In a world where there are so many negative influences on the internet, in the media, T.V. shows, magazines etc. many parents do not even realize the amount of immoral influences that our children are witnessing every single day. As parents, it is up to us to teach our children the importance of good character. We need to teach them about the seven essential virtues as Dr. Borba explains in her book!
I realize that I'm digressing from a review, but I want to say this. Our world and our lives have changed recently, but the one thing that remains the same is that our children are the future. And as Theodore Roosevelt said "To Educate a Person in Mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society" This book will not only help you raise good kids, it will open any readers eyes and hearts, inspiring them to build their moral intelligence as well. We must teach by example...this book will help you do that! If you want your kids to do the right thing, then this book is for you!

Very useful prescription to put kids on. It is what's missing in America today. To those who really love their family and our country, be sure to read Building Moral Intelligence by Michele Borba, and also, West Point: Character Leadership Education.. by Norman Thomas Remick.

Truthfully speaking i was so desperate to change my son's attitude and behaviour towards his friends and towards life.
I am a full time mother and i had done all i can think of to make my son understand more about life, etiquette, morality, character and how to make friends and be a friend.
This book has brought the truth to me.
It makes me really look at my own life first and foremost , how i deal with people, how i treat others,etc...
My action speaks louder than my words.
I grew up surrounded by priviledge and i take alot of things for granted. I just don't realise that my son whom i love very much is looking at me every second with open eyes and ears!!

This book does not only help me change my son's character, but this book also shows me how to be a better mother, a living example for my children to follow.

We are using this book to discuss character and how to develop it in our Bible class. While the book is not written from a religious point of view, the principles in this book are congruent with Biblical principles. This is a truly wonderful book that I encourage others to read.

This book can probably be read in just a day, but the truths it emphasizes will be valuable for life.

Ethics means you should start with an open mind and listen to those you trust. Then, you make your own decisions. What is right for one may not be the situation for you. You must be able to dream and to hold to your dreams. That is most important, as the dreams tell us what is happening in our subconscious mind. It's hard, but you have to be able to accept criticism and grow from the hurtful comments of others. A great rule of thumb when someone does something intentionally to harm you or your psyche is to "consider the source," and go from there. If you value that person and his opinion, it might be choice to try his advice; if not, smile and say "thank you."

Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," was a failure to himself and his family because he embraced "a corrupt vrsion of the American dream which defines success as money, status and celebrity. Like that conman in "Born Yesterday," written by Garson Kanin. Both plays were written in the 1940s and showed capitalism at its worst.

A good moral code is basically a set of values and principles which guide one's behavior. To be perfect, it should be based on religious training of a lifetime starting with the Ten Commandments of the Bible. Jesus led an exemplary life for his time and place. Today's world is filled with evil. New Orleans, deemed the most sinful city (along with Las Vegas), felt God's wrath with Katrina. The Bible promised we would not be destroyed by floods in the story of Noah and the Ark. Knoxville is teetering on the brink of being almost as sinful with so much emphasis on liquor. It, too, is in store for some form of God's wrath -- in what form, I'm not sure. But I predict that the walls will come crumbling down on Gay Street someday. A moral compass is useful for questions of right and wrong.

The hardest choices rise to the top because the questions which could have been solved with simple rules are delegated to others. Such is our city government, as the mayor isn't facile enough to follow through on his promises to the common folk. This is a town of "studies and plans" going on for years, with no follow through. It takes outsiders to come in and corrupt the whole town. Drinking, drugging, carousing on the downtown streets openly by people who were not born here will be the downfall of a town, not the city it could have been. I have never been good at judging character; thus, I have been let down by some I trusted. But then, I am not a leader; nor a follower be -- I tend to take the road least taken. I believe in causes and was told recently that I came home for a reason. Whether I succeed or fail is still up in the air, and I have made an impact -- something I could never have achieved had I stayed here all of my life. We see in the photographs of the Civil War how Abraham Lincoln changed from the confident President to one of toil and pain etched "ever deeper" in his face. He cared deeply and the price he paid was his life.

+++++

This slim book by professor of ethics and philosophy Russell Gough is like a self-help guide for the soul, showing how we can lead better lives simply by being better people. Gough elaborates:

"This book offers what I call mirroring, rather than a finger-pointing, approach. In one-to-one, conversational fashion, its primary goal is to encourage each of us to think about improving our personal lives...in terms of our own personal character...Each chapter of this book is designed to emphasize a given aspect of the all-important nature of personal character [and are] designed to encourage practical self-reflection and enduring personal growth."

What is character? Character, as used in this book, is "what you are in your essence, the sum total of your habits, your personal assortment of virtues [or goods] and vices [or bads]." The title of this book, "Character is Destiny," is an actual quotation uttered by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus.

In fact, each chapter of this book is titled by an actual quotation from a person of great character. These quotes "capture the force and point of each chapter." You'll find that these quotations or chapter titles "are definitely well-worth committing to memory and...living by."

Each of these quotations or chapter titles comes from the following people:

(1) Heraclitus (Greek philosopher)
(2) Socrates (Greek philosopher)
(3) Dwight Moody (American evangelist)
(4) Anne Frank (German-Jewish teen who was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust and subsequently died at age fifteen in a concentration camp)
(5) Ralph Waldo Emerson (American poet and essayist)
(6) Aristotle (Greek philosopher)
(7) Paul (the Apostle)
(8) Albert Schweitzer (German theologian, musician, and missionary)
(9) Jean Paul Richter (German humorist)
(10) The author (ethics & philosophy professor and author)
(11) An anonymous person (thought to be Charles Reade, English novelist)

You'll find that each chapter is easy-to-read and written with great conviction and eloquence. There is not reams and reams of theory to sort through. This book is written in real English for real people on perhaps the most important subject of all--character.

There is an appendix (not labeled as such) to this book that, in my opinion, is very important. Here, Gough states the following:

"In this book, I have focused on the vast majority of times in our daily lives when we have a pretty clear idea of the ethical line separating the right thing to do from the wrong thing to do. Thus, our discussion has been one not of knowing the right thing to do but of having the character to do the right thing."

But what of those rare situations where there is NOT a clear ethical line where we "truly [don't] know what is most ethically appropriate to do." These are called ethical dilemmas. I was glad to see that the author gives us insight into handling these difficult situations.

Who is this book written for? I would say for high school students, college and university students, and adults: in other words, for everyone. (I disagree with the second part of the last sentence of the Amazon editorial review above.)

Finally, I liked the idea that the author stated that he was not perfect ethically. Thus, this is not a book written by a preachy person who thinks he's a saint or thinks that he lives on Mount Olympus.

In conclusion, this is a well-written, easy-to-read book that speaks directly to the moral crisis of our time!!

(first published 1998; forward; preface; introduction; 14 chapters; appendix; main narrative 160 pages; notes)

+++++

The author did a great job all around. He at least nibbles around the edges of trying to put a philosophical foundation under this, still largely, "how to" book. If, like me, you would like to go further and understand the solid foundation that supports all of the author's fine work, I'll give you a tip that can save you a lot of prolix philosophical reading. I found a book called "WEST POINT", by Norman Thomas Remick that explains all the philosophy in easy to read, understandable language behind the 200 years of character building at West Point, the world's premier school for that purpose. It will advance your understanding of the principles presented so expertly by Mr. Gough in his 5 star effort. Regardless of whether you are serious about understanding what all this is REALLY all about, you'll find "CHARACTER IS DESTINY" readable and enjoyable.

It is VERY nice book. Especially for medical students and residents.
You can understand from detail to basic of diseases. With this book, you know how to approach and make your list of differential diagnosis.
I worked for infectious disease patients for a while, and this book was very useful because you can get the general knowledge not only about infectious diseases but also general internal medicine, skin lesions, bone diseases, and so on. I especially recommend the chart of antibiotics(Chart 37). I like this book because we can also get the update etiology of diseases. So nice.

This book packs in all the important aspects of client treatment into each section. The headings are a little hard to see when skimming, but the information is excellent. A must have for Nurse Practitioner school!

Very concise, covering a large number of conditions with information about clinical features, diagnosis and treatment... just the best medical book for students, residents and general prationers.

Everyone has a few books they constantly refer to in their library. This is one of mine. The whole CURRENT series is excellent & I update every new issue as soon as it is available. Ideal reference with clear concise text & pictures throughout the book

It is a very good and useful book. It has everything you'd want in it plus more. It includes the signs and syptoms, what you can do to treat the problem, etc. I just wish that it had pictures in it so you could have more to go off of.