Education Books

THIS BOOK IS AN EXCELLENT LEARNING TOOL. IT IS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT AND I AM SURE IT WILL BE READ AND EACH CHILD WILL LEARN FROM IT!

An excellent message and a good chapter book for those readers who are starting to gain confidence.

I just got this book yesterday for my son who just turned 3 years old. He really enjoyed it and after reading it, he kept asking me to read it over. He was very interested because he started asking questions at the end. He just started preschool and I wanted to introduce him to possible situations he might go through while in school. This story gives a great lesson on how to handle a situation when someone says something mean to you. My son also enjoyed it because the situation takes place in school and at a basketball court, which he can relate to because he started school and he loves to play basketball.

I was looking for a book to help my 9 year-old deal with other kids who say cruel and demeaning things. My son and I sat down and read the book together and then discussed how saying "so" when mean things are said takes away the bullies power. We decided that "so" was his new secret weapon.

My son was so excited when the very next day at school he used his secret weapon and it worked. He has also shared the book with a few of his classmates and it has helped them too.

GREAT BOOK!

The Meanest Thing To Say is not about saying mean things back to mean people. And it isn't even about mean people. What it IS about is children learning self-control, level-headedness and heart. When the new kid, Michael, calls Little Bill names, and says he has to think of the meanest things to say back the next day, Bill is frustrated and anxious. This comes up at home and his dad tells him to just say, "So?" to everything. Little Bill does this and it halts Michael. It takes two people to fight. But the moral of the story doesn't stop here. Bill observes Michael is a new student and maybe just needs a friend. So he invites him to play basketball with him and they become friends.

Unfortunately it is reality that children can be very mean and hurtful. As parents, we need to teach our children how to handle bullies and it's equally as important to teach them not to BE a bully. Also, just ignoring mean actions and words doesn't always work. Everyone has good in them and we all, ages 2-102 need to offer kindness instead of anger. Great job, Cosby! Thank you and please keep writing. Peace & Soar!o8E

There is no wasted verbiage in this book. Counting the index, it is but 205 pages in length. In those 205 pages are jewels of wisdom that most management teams are lacking.

The most prevelant gems are pithy observations set aside by top and bottom border lines. One example:
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"The atmosphere in most American companies is so riddled with fear of expendability that workers are afraid totell a boss what they think of his methods of managing."
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The book is organized in such a way as to point out the shallowness of bottom line neurosis and the strengths of inclusive decision making. Over and over, Dr. Jones identifies "Spirit Killers," i.e., those actions in an organization which diminish productivity and, subsequently, profitability, educational insight, and family harmony.

This book intertwines management schemes in business, education and the family. such integration serves to:
-Expose the fallacies of autocracy.
-Explore the possibilities of democracy in an organization.
-Break up management notions that have been set in stone.
-Propose better methods for bringing about civilized organizations.

The book seems to be intended as a tool in business, a text in academia, or a how to book for families. Personally, I'm inclined to recommend it to business schools and/or corporate trainers, though not to the exclusion of the other two entities.

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Hello; I sent in a review nearly 2 months ago and have not seen it posted. Is there a problem with it? Jim Harmon jimharmon@charter.net

Every manager wants the silver bullet that will transform his or her organization from an also-ran into the leader of the pack. Dr. Jones shows us how, without preaching. In today's environment the emphasis is always on some measurable result - profit, productivity etc. Dr. Jones reminds us the result is not possible without the journey and the journey begins and ends with how employees are treated. Great job, Dr. Jones!

Rod Walsh, Co-author - Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way

Once read, this book can be set aside for the moment, but a compelling urge requires that you return to it for insight and guidance. Dr. Norman Jones has assembled a work that reflects his knowledge of how we relate to each other within our family unit, in our business, acedemic, and social lives. We can improve our relationships within these units, by using the techniques that he outlines. It is not just our own genetic make-up that determines out actions, but it is how we are treated by the people in our lives that have the most influence on us.

Maybe, just maybe, Dr. Jones' approach to the humanistic values in our relationships, expecially between students, their teachers and parents, could have helped prevented the violence that is currently happening in our schools.

Keep it on your bookshelf for inspiration and guidance, go back to it when you need help in any personal relationship, on the job, in your school, or within your family.

Thanks to Dr. Norman Jones for his insight and for this exceptional publication.

Norman Jones is a leadership specialist and a keen observer of what management has done to discourage productivity. He encourages management to lift up the human spirit and to create a more harmonious work environment, therefore creating a people-oriented and inspirational place for ideas to thrive and businesses to succeed.

He compares the Autocratic and Democratic management styles. In the Autocratic world, the boss has a sharp voice, speaks in a commanding way, asserts his/her power, demands cooperation, imposes ideas, criticizes, punishes and has sole responsibility of the group. The Democratic way to run a business puts the "boss" in a different light altogether. He now becomes the "leader," with a friendly voice, he uses his/her influence in positive ways, wins cooperation, tells what he/she would like to have done, sells ideas, guides, encourages, acknowledges achievement, helps employees solve problems, discusses ideas, and shares responsibility with his team players/employees. One of the main problems in business is an impersonal approach to dealing with people.

Norman Jones calls this ..."Spirit Killing." It is one of the reasons so many people are dissatisfied with their work environments and turn to drugs or alcohol to stop the "mental pain." Spirit Killers include: distrust, ridicule, resentment, retaliation, alienation, harassment, deceit, humiliation, stress, tension, fear, sarcasm, belittlement and embarrassment.

These "Spirit Killers" produce demotivation, apathy and insecurity. Not exactly the ideal environment for a healthy productive company. Instead Norman Jones encourages institutions to create self-motivation through: trust, promoting self-esteem, giving employees a sense of belongingness, helping employees obtain job satisfaction, providing a means of recognizing accomplishments, and actually treating employees in a caring manner by listening and showing a genuine concern. When managers learn to listen to their employees the company can grow. Too often, their is a "top-down" philosophy in which all employees are dependent on their ideas from the top. This stifles creativity. Most companies which have our respect not only listen to their employees, they listen to their customers. Amazon.com is one of those companies. They answer every single e-mail from their customers in a very prompt and courteous manner.

"Today's top-down management wants highly energetic, conscientious people, but fails to see how it deprives these people of fulfillment of psychological needs that could stoke the energy." page 34

Since we all have a natural inclination to strive for achievement and need to feel job satisfaction, Norman believes America is hungry for business leaders who not only inspire us to be better human beings, but also encourage us to be internally motivated to meet company goals and be more successful in our jobs.

"When people believe they are helping a company or organization, their self-esteem blossoms." page 19

Unfortunately, modern day businesses use the threat of expendability to attempt to gain optimum productivity and in the process destroy the human spirit. Like a row of dominoes tumbling over, Norman Jones knocks over old ideas of management and shows the way with new principles and creative solutions. He focuses on how business has neglected the research available to them. He sees this as the cause of many problems.

In order to see America's work centers enter a new era of high energy, thriving and productivity in the years to come, the leaders, parents, teachers and even government will need to evaluate their approach to the current dehumanized workplace. Norman believes our country's success will depend on creating a productive arena where the thoughts, feelings and ideas of employees can be expressed. To do this managers must know how to nurture "good attitudes."

An example of a poor motivational statement which is all to common:

"Your report was a good one, but we need them faster and more often."

An example of a good internal motivational statement:

"You can sure be proud of that report; it took a lot of work."

It was also enlightening to compare two letters written by a manager to a difficult employee. In the first letter the use of "I" permeated the letter and caused it to seem demanding and arrogant. In the "improved letter," the use of "we" helped the employee to see they were an integral part of the company. In the first letter, they were expendable.

While the main focus of this book is business, a few chapters are devoted to family and the school system. I believe your religious beliefs determine how you raise your children in most cases. Norman Jones did not write this book from a religious standpoint and his book focuses on research.

This book may just be the perfect gift to give to your boss this Christmas. You may just be giving yourself a great work environment in the coming year. After all those "memos" you have to read, the least your boss can do is read an inspiring book! If you are interested in Psychology you will enjoy that aspect. If you are in management you will love the insights on how you can drive your business forward for optimal success. Your employees might even vote you as their favorite boss of all time. After all, who do we love the most in life? People who treat us fairly and give us the respect we deserve.

~The Rebecca Review
Author of Seasoned with Love: A collection of
best-loved recipes inspired by over 40 cultures

I've been teaching for fifteen years, have read hundreds of books on every aspect of theory and application, and can say unequivocally that this is the single most useful and important book I've yet to read. Ok, ok, I'll equivocate just this once and add it's partner book, Positive Classroom Instruction. If you are going to teach, these books are scripture. Everything else is commentary. Whatever your teaching style, whatever approaches you take to motivate learners, these two books will enhance your effectiveness and make your classroom a better place for children to learn. You will get more teaching done in less time and reach more students with individual attention.

I have been using this program for 6 years with my emotionally handicapped class. Teaching is easy and fun due to Jones' simplistic and cost effective ways to self-eliminate behavior. I went from an average of 15 office referrals a week down to less than 5 all year! Best of all the kids are happy and test scores are on the rise! This is the first easy program that applies in any classroom and on the parental home front too!

I had been teaching 7th and 8th grade science for two years at an inner city school and was doing fine. I had my classes under control, but I was getting worn out keeping them under control. I read the intro to this book and couldn't wait to finish it and implement his methods. I read it over again during the two weeks before school for the next 4 summers to refresh myself. He clearly explains methods to maintain perfect control and cooperation with less work and keep your own stress level way down. I go home much more relaxed now. The kids love it too. He originaly developed these methods at schools for the severely emotionally disabled, so I'm sure they will work anywhere.

I read this book a long time ago.
In a nutshell, I remember two ideas:
Number one: Promise the class a reward for good behavior, and reward the class according to how well they behave.
Number two: If a student misbehaves, approach the student and silently give that student an evil eye.

This book arrived in my mailbox one day before my first substitute teaching job, and I started reading it right away. I was 100% better off having read it. In fact, I don't think I would have survived that first day without the techniques I quickly picked up. I've since read most of the book and re-read parts of it many times. Not only does it work in the classroom, it works at home, too. The techniques **work**, they build a respectful, productive relationship with the students, and they require little physical energy to carry out. Simple and sensible.

If your looking to get into the Electrician field or just need a steady reference guide, then this is the book for you. Residential, Commercial, Industrial...you name it. I've been a certified Electrician for 17 years and I still use this book as a quick reference manual to this day. Not overly complex but still gets down to the nitty gritty in details.

Definitely a must buy if you're interested in pursuing a career in this trade.

Some very good information , but very vague on a lot of subjects. It would be nice to have more pictures and details of subject matter I have yet to find a really good electrical book other that the NEC CODE BOOK

It is an excellent book not only for electricians but also for general construction professionals to understand electrical details.

This book is amazing, we can read about to many real points in electrical wiring, actual information help about National Electrical Code 2005. Read this book is a big step to electrical wiring.

I bought this book while in Iraq to study before I get out of the army and try to get under an apprenticeship. This book has helped me learn a LOT about the trade of inside wireman and the basic fundamentals of electricity from fomulas to installation of panel boxes to wiring an entire house and to which lamps will give the best lighting effect in a room. I am really looking forward to learning more about the trade. So far I have read it once and am already half way thru for my second time around. I highly recommend this book however, what I have learned about electrical is only from this book so I do not have a comparison.

My brother and I read this book every morning. It has shown us how to have a more honorable life for God. There is a reason we are here on earth. The Prayer of Jabez for Teens is like our strategy for life. This book offers great opportunities to receive the life God has for you. We sincerely enjoyed it and think you will too.

I didn't enjoy this book because it talked about how to please yourself. The book was suppose to be about bettering yourself but you seek God everything will be added to you.matt.6:33

I Really Like This Book It Is Good For Teens And Adults.
And Very Inspriational.

This book is much like the original but written for younger folks and has different examples. It is the story of a very old prayer that has the same roots as the Lord's Prayer but it is nice to get a new prayer now and then!

THE AMAZING PRAYER

Since hearing about Jabez, I walk around with a different composure, in a different mood. God wants to accomplish great things through us; he's just waiting for us to ask. Jabez's cry was that God would bless him so that he could bless others, change his generation, and change the world. God is trying to make you live like you never have before. God wants to inspire your life, so you can inspire someone else's life so they could live holy and peacefully.

I was just blown away by the simple truth in Jabez's prayer. It's challenging, and it really has touched me. I'm not much of a reader, but I became absorbed with this book and have immediately experienced the power of prayer. His experience has taught me to live expectantly, to be aware that God is at work around me and in me. It's okay to ask god for blessings because through it we're going to be able to reach more people/young people around the world are leading the way in prayer. They're seeing God do miracles.
(Yes this is a good book if you like stories about finding ways to get closer to God)

This is a good book for a would-be inventor, but it doesn't go into the detail or depth that I think is needed.

Excellent for starting up a business. This book is an invaluable asset to anyone who needs a guidepost to determine elements to consider when trying to bring a product to market. Definitely worth every cent...

This is a great book for anyone who is lost and confused like I was on a subject that was very foreign to me. It truely walks you through step by step!

Product Idea to Product Success gives a step by step approach to what you need to know to bring an idea from just an idea to reality. If you are willing to follow the steps you can become successful in every indeaver that you undertake.

I am glad I purchased the book "Product Idea to Product Success."
It is a must read for anyone considering marketing a product.
I am thankful Matt Yubas decided to share his expertise with the world.
I never imagined how much research is necessary prior to marketing an idea
or product. This book is definitely the roadmap for getting started. I will refer to this book often as I sift through the details of my project.

Leah wants to bring her relationship with Miguel out into the open. At the haunted house that Eight Prime is doing for Halloween, though, she breaks it off with him when he refuses to meet her parents. Eventually the two get back together and tell Eight Prime of their relationship, which makes Nicole excited.

Melanie and Peter are getting kind of closer to each other, which makes Jenna jealous. Jenna and Peter argue about it and Peter drives Melanie home from cleaning up the place where the haunted house was. Before he can even start the car, though, Melanie has a little romantic surprise for him.

This is the first book in the series that I have read. I was looking for a good book to read at the library and decided to get this one. It was a good choice! Great book. I think Miguel and Leah are PERFECT for each other! I am now hooked on these books. Ms. Roberts you did an excellent job! read it!

I really like this series! It's great! I can't believe it's ending at book 20! Book 19 just came out. Anyways. This is a great series. A thing I like most about it is how everyone in this book likes someone. Nicole likes Jesse. Jesse likes Melanie. Melanie likes Peter. Peter likes Jenna. Jenna likes Miguel. Miguel likes Leah. Leah likes Miguel. And, well, Ben, he's just out there, but that's ok. Ok, now about this book:

It's really good! Leah and Miguel want to tell Eight Prime about them but Miguel wimps out and refuses and they get into a big fight about it. Melanie and Peter start hanging out a lot, and Jenna gets majorly jealous. Ben's trying to fit in, and Nicoles just jealous of everything: Melanie, Leah...etc. Overall a very good book. Recommend you reading the whole series.

I really like this series! It's great! I can't believe it's ending at book 20! Book 19 just came out. Anyways. This is a great series. A thing I like most about it is how everyone in this book likes someone. Nicole likes Jesse. Jesse likes Melanie. Melanie likes Peter. Peter likes Jenna. Jenna likes Miguel. Miguel likes Leah. Leah likes Miguel. And, well, Ben, he's just out there, but that's ok. Ok, now about this book:

It's really good! Leah and Miguel want to tell Eight Prime about them but Miguel wimps out and refuses and they get into a big fight about it. Melanie and Peter start hanging out a lot, and Jenna gets majorly jealous. Ben's trying to fit in, and Nicoles just jealous of everything: Melanie, Leah...etc. Overall a very good book. Recommend you reading the whole series.

This book isn't the best book of the series I've read, but I enjoyed all the same. The cliffhanger at the end of this novel was really good - wheter Peter and Melanie will ever get it together or will Melanie & Jesse or Peter & Jenna. Nicole is just way to jealous of everything - Jesse liking Melanie more, Leah and the fact that she still hasn't got a life. Leah and Miguel's relationship is just like a fairytal - poor man falls in love with rich girl. But I liked it when he [Migual] questioned his religion. Jenna is a spoiled brat with good intentions, but she can't get everything her own way and she is just so jealous of everyone. Ben is just Ben - he's goofy and really annoying at the same time. And Jesse, well Jesse is just using people to make himself feel better - Nicole [who is quite thick] and the demoned alchol.

Most of our knowledge of railroads comes from either seeing them as they pass in their multi-hued glory, or in memories generated from films of steam belching locomotives huffing and chugging their way across the countryside. Unless we care enough to learn more, we really do not understand how they work, why they are organized the way they are, or what all the equipment that we pass by is really for. If we do care to learn more, there is a dearth of information about the railroad. That lack of information is what is addressed by this book. This book could be used as a semester-length entry-level university class textbook - it is that thorough yet high-level. In 22 chapters it addresses all the fundamentals of the railroad especially as railroading is practiced in North America.

Through many examples derived from a fictional railroad that operates in the Northeast U.S., the author leads us through what and how a railroad "ticks". He explains why the rails are ballasted the way they are; what historical accident led to the gauge being determined as 4 ft 8.75 inches; how locomotives are measured and what are the important measurements that the operating departments use; How signals work on the railroad; what kinds of railroad cars are there and what they are used for; the way in which a car goes from point A to point B and how the revenue is shared amongst the many hands that touch that load; and how the railroad itself is organized to bring its benefits to the shipping public.

This is a pretty thorough introduction to the art of railroading and is about as much information as any curious observer may wish to have. Besides people who are interested in railroading (maybe as a career?), I can see this book also being useful to model railroaders who want to model realistic operations; shippers who want to understand what happens when they let go of a cargo, or when they receive it; investors and financiers in railroads; and others.

Being somewhat of a textbook, the reader has to understand that getting through this book will take some work - this is not an easy read at the beach intended to help pass the time! But, attention to the words and the concepts they illuminate will help the reader understand the complex world of railroading.

I used this book to help get up to speed on financing railcars and this book was invaluable in helping me understand the differences in railcar types and the way that railroads work. Would highly recommend it.

This book is basically THE textbook on modern freight railroading in America. If you're serious about understanding the fundamental aspects of railroading, you must read (and thoroughly digest) this book. Most of what Armstrong covers in this book is fairly timeless. However, there have been many significant advances in technology, information systems and business practices since this book was last updated. It needs a good overhaul to be more contemporary in these areas. Obviously, since John H. Armstrong passed away, someone else will have to pick up the mission of producing the next edition.

John Armstrong is both a railroader and a railroad modeler. He wrote "Railroad: What it Is, What it Does" to help modelers create realistic layouts by understanding how a real railroad operates. But it doesn't matter if you're a modeler: whatever your reason, if you want to know how railroads operate, then this book is for you!

Armstrong covers every aspect of railroading. Starting with history as far back as the Roman Empire, he surveys the evolution of rail transport from mining cars on wooden tracks through the "big steel rail". He covers the pros and cons of flat wheels on flanged track versus flanged wheels on flat track, stone ties versus timber ties, steel rails versus iron rails, and all of the engineering issues that go into building a stable, long-lasting track--and that's just in the first few chapters.

From there he explains the economic issues that go into deciding where to run the track, how to route the trains, and everything that goes into establishing a railroad operation.

Finally he covers all the details: how a consist is put together; the various cars and their construction; the railroad workers and their various jobs.

This is one of the few books that leaves me feeling like I know all about the subject. It's incredible how he packs so much knowledge into these few pages! He obviously knows, and loves, his subject. And he writes with a storyteller's flair, so it's more like a novel than a text--I was sorry when it was finished!

Do yourself a favor. If you have any interest in trains whatsoever, get this book. You'll read it more than once.

John H. Armstrong is probably best known for his books about model railroading. This is not one of those books. This is an introduction to the railroad industry.. It covers such diverse topics as to why goods should or could be moved by rail, locomotives, cars, routing, trackage, passenger service, freight service, organization, accounting, profit and loss, operations and a host of others. It is a book about the industry, not models. I don't think models are mentioned anywhere.

That being said, it is a very useful book for model railroaders who are always seeking to make their layouts as much like the real thing as possible. This book explains why certain things take place in the real world giving modelers an insight as to how to do the same in their created world.

Models aside, this is a great text for anyone who wishes to learn more about this part of the transportation industry.

This is a great book for any teacher. It gives great ideas for teaching writing in an exciting way! I recommend Melissa's other books as well.

After borrowing this book from a colleague, I decided I had to have my own copy. It's a resource I keep going back to each year. My sixth graders love the activities, which are fun and easy to follow. Melissa Forney knows how to motivate students to improve their writing.

I am using this as my guide for writing instruction in my classroom. This book is full of fun activities that involve the students, while delivering the message.

Great ideas for beginning writers in terms of organization. Breaks down the steps simply. Explains what makes interesting writing.

I have used this book with my own lessons and bought it for all the 2-5 teachers in my building. Very user friendly. Has great ideas for mini-lessons and wonderful resources to copy for students to keep in their wirters' notebooks. I highly recommend this book!

If you want help in understanding and helping your teen, read this book. I've read so many books in the past year on teens, parenting, depression, etc. and I gained some knowledge from them. But this book ALONE had the MOST helpful information on the best way for me to interact with my daughter, to listen to her, to understand more about her and to help her make better choices. I love the prayers and suggestions of how to pray for our children. It's an excellent book and I'd recommend it to anyone with a young child, pre-teen, teen or grandchild. It's been so helpful.

Some believe it's almost impossible to bridge the gap between adults and teens. But In Real Issues Real Teens, Suzanne offers parents practical, and Christian-based principles for bringing the two generations together. Through her own transparency as a parent, her personal work with teens, and through true, "live" interviews, Suzanne lets the reader hear the hurts, joys, and frustrations from a teen perspective. From sexuality to spirituality, she offers frank advice and communication that allow any parent to climb inside their teen's thoughts. A fearful ride? Maybe. But not an impossible one. And somehow, this author makes the trip easier. I love Suzanne's compassionate, yet authoritative manner. Where was this book when my kids were teens? This is a book for parents, youth workers, grandparents, and anyone who works with or knows teens. Suzanne's love and passion for teenagers show on every page.

EVERY parent needs a copy of this book! It is a powerful tool that will enhance your communication and relationship with your teen. I really urge every parent to read it.

a great book for teens...it seems the author has put much time anf thought into the book and seems to be great with teens...she must be a great mom!

I so wish I'd had this book when my kids were teens. It is so insightful and eye-opening. Every parent needs (I mean: needs!) to read this book.