Educators Books

If you think that the Ivy League is the only place for a decent higher education, think again. Joanne McClellan Egnor's career teaching at a Florida community college reveals that a lot of people (both students and teachers) with superior intelligence and drive effectively use community colleges as places of higher learning. However, it is the lessons about life related by Ms. Egnor that endear her to her readers. Her book is funny, realistic, practical and makes the reader contemplate what truly constitutes a genuine education. I can't wait for her next book!

Come and help yourself to some Crispy Piffles, Joanne's light and crunchy vignettes from 30 years of college employment. Experience shared wisdom features the author's flashes of humor. Teachers and students alike will welcome this account of college life. (Adapted from the editors, Vantage Press).

What a wonderful book of real life vignette's; all tucked into a neat package that flows with her personal experiences; topped off with a bow of humor that made this a delightful book to own and a joy to read. J. Egnor captured a sense of Community College life that I never was aware of on my way through school. J. Egnor writes in such a creative way that I felt she put me in her situations. Her humanistic and direct approach, into a learning institution, was refreshing and puts REAL face's on the people who teach and guide so many people through Community College's. Great book. Could not put it down. Every page was a new experience. PS: Sent a copy to my mom and she told me basically the same thing over the phone. She loved it too.!

Surely, truth, beauty and goodness lie within the soul of Jayson Duffy. His book, Crossing Silver Creek, revealing episodes in his life, is beautifully written but far too short. His readers will hunger for more.

Unlike the popular, saccharine Chicken Soup series, Duffy writes narratives that not only touch the true nature of humaness but also incorporate great literary style. This look at life is sometimes uplifting and sometimes sad but always well written.

You will not be disappointed with this book. It will allow you to connect with another human being and learn more about yourself.

Crossing Silver Creek consists of 20 narratives, in addition to a foreword, that put a positive spin on personal experiences--at times when the positive isn't as likely to find. Topics range from trout fishing in Northeast Iowa to coping with loss. Duffy's lyrical writing includes a variety of literary techniques that make his storytelling naturally compelling. The author is candid with his personal experiences from boyhood to adulthood. As the reader, there were moments when I felt as if I had shared the same experiences and made the same discoveries. Read this--you'll enjoy it.

I liked this songbook because it has such a variety of songs. It's got some of my favorites, such as "God Bless America," "The Star Spangled Banner," "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," "Amazing Grace," and "This Land is Your Land." If you like these kinds of songs, then I reccomend Get America Singing...AGAIN.

I teach general music in a Marine Corps dependents' elementary school in Okinawa, Japan. I use this songbook and its companion, volume 2 constantly in my curriculum. I consider them to be at the core of my teaching. These are songs that every American should know. They are a part of our common history, our culture, our heritage.
These books were first suggested to me by a junior high choir teacher colleague who knew that I was interested in the Core Knowledge series by E.D. Hirsch. Thanks, Karen.

This is the book that will sit on your piano and when teachers ask for the basic songs that we grew up with, here they all are.
It is a melody line and chord symbols, but that's enough!
No high tech, just music , and the kids like the songs and they are in easy keys.
I highly recommend this book! Great for the price.
There is an accompaniment book as well.

Janusz Korczak was a radical educator and early advocate of the rights of children. He was a Polish Jew (Korczak was a gentile pseudonym for Henryk Goldschmidt) and pediatrician whose work was well-known in Europe before WWII. Though little translated in English, his exceptionally original and poetic style and ideas puts him in the same league as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. In prewar Warsaw he organized two outstanding institutions: orphanages which were run as self-governing children's republics. But Korczak is legendary not for his life of intense work and ideas, but for his death. When The Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated, he prepared his 200 children to defy death in a unique way. Eye-witness accounts testify to the shattering spectacle of 200 cheerful, orderly children marching in foursomes through the hell of the Ghetto singing. They entered the trains singing, and they died at Treblinka. Every teacher and Korczak himself died with them. Korczak was twice of! fered by the Nazis to survive, once at the trains, once in Treblinka itself -- to be sent to Germany and educate German youth. But he refused. The Ghetto Diary is the only English translation of Korczak's own account of the last year in the Ghetto. It is invaluable. Those of us interested in children, in education and in Remembrance, should put this book into Samizdat, copying it and sharing it. It is the duty of the publisher to keep such a document available. This edition has a superb introduction by a former student of Korczak's. It is written as a novella, but perhaps comes as close to capturing the state of Korczak's mind in those days as anything could. It is quite surrealistic -- as is Korczak's own work. It combines in tribute to Korczak, Korczak's own unique synthesis of imagination, dream and the harshest, most unsparingly observed reality.

Owing to the fact that Korczak cared for children, it is not surprising that much of his diary is devoted to this subject. He mentions such challenges as child-care tips, discipline, and attempting to heal sick children. He also noted the pains of ageing that he experienced.

Korczak makes many interesting comments on various subjects. He often discusses what kind of God he believes in. He also writes: "The world knows nothing of many great Poles." (p. 86). Also: "Nietzsche was also of Polish origin--Nitzki, you know." (p. 28). Korczak mentions Jewish virtues such as talent and hard work (p. 179), but also comments: "The Jews are conceited and that is why they are despised. I believe this will change, perhaps soon." (p. 182).

Unlike other diarists, Korczak devotes little direct attention to German Nazi actions in the Warsaw Ghetto. The consequences, however, are obvious: "The body of a dead boy lies in the sidewalk. Nearby, three boys are playing horses and drivers. At one point, they notice the body, move a few steps to the side, and go on playing." (p. 121). Korczak, an obvious intellectual, invites others to discussions in his flat about such topics as Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, freedom, destiny and free will, etc. (p. 155). These Jewish behaviors shed light on comparable Polish ones. Holocaust materials have commonly featured the Poles engaged in normal activities (riding a carousel, attending Easter Mass, etc.) while the ghetto was burning--all insinuating the cold indifference of Poles to Jewish suffering. They were no such thing. We see that both Poles and Jews simply attempted to live lives as close to normal as possible in the face of all the horrors surrounding them.

Korczak was offered to be saved by his Polish friends (p. 39), who had already made forged identification papers for him. He refused, and went to the gas chambers of Treblinka with the children in his care.

I am a great admirer of Janusz Korczak not because of his wonderful books, but because he was firm to his beliefs until the end. He had principles and he was not ready to give up, and he paid with his life for it.

Korczak was the director of a big orphanage in Warsaw and he was very well know throughout the world for his writings in education. As the Holocaust started and life got very hard on the ghetto, Korczak worked even harder to keep on with cultural activities and day-to-day life. He was offered to escape to US, as most famous Jewish, but he believed that his children were his life and that he would rather die with them than live in a world that exterminates children cold-bloodedly. BUT, as William Blake puts it: "He who respects the Infant's faith triumph's over Hell & Death."

This book is very interesting; it provides many of the memories that Korczak wrote in the difficult days of the Second World War. It shows how desperating reality was, and how Korczak gave his soul into his fight to keep his children safe and healthy; a sad historical document with pictures of this noble man and the orphanage that made him so proud.

I have his whole collection; unfortunately for English speakers, I have found around 15 books in Hebrew while in English I found just 5. I warmly recommend this book, together with two other books that are found at Amazon: 'King Matt the First' and 'When I am little again' (see my reviews about them).

Outstanding Book! Well written! Very insightful history of an amazing person and a fine institution.

God, Country, Notre Dame is a book that once again proves what an amazing man Father Hesburgh is. This book is inspiring. If you've never read or heard about Father Hesburgh, this is a must. He has got to be one of the top 10 most influntial people of the 21st century.

I "read" this book for the first time on audio cassette and quickly ran out and bought it" Years later, I still think of it and am still amazed at what a tremendous person Father Hesburgh is. If I did not know its true, I would not believe that a person could accomplish so much in a lifetime. Knowing that this country and faith produces such great men, makes me proud to be Catholic and an American. This book would make a great, great gift!

Although he is almost forgotten today, Kingman Brewster who was the president of Yale from 1963-1977 was in fact an important figure in recent American history. One reason for this was the fact that he ran Yale in such a way that the university almost completely escaped the tumult that wracked other campuses during the Vietnam War. Another reason is that he revamped the admissons policy at yale so that poorly achieving students at prep academies such as Andover could not get in Yale over high achieving public school graduates.

It was in this area of expanding the elite educational experience at Yale to all Americans, not just members of the WASP elite that Brewster did his most signal public service. Brewster was truly an agent of change. This was most interesting in light of the fact that Brewster was born to a comfortable upper class family, which is precisely the sort of background one would think would spawn conservative thinking. Brewster's activism began back when he was a big man on campus as a Yale undergraduate.

Interestingly enough, Brewster was also one of the founders of the America First Committee that many Americans today regard as being a right wing outfit. Actually, as the author of this book points out, America First was originally a left-wing group and many of its most prominent members were left wing activists. After America's entry into World War II, America First dissolved and Brewster wholeheartedly took up America's cause against the Axis Powers.

It may surprise many Americans today that the Republican party used to have a strong left wing and Brewster was both a stalwart liberal and Republican. It was for this reason that Brewster was never offered a position in the Kennedy Administration.

As university president, Brewster initiated a wide body of reform on campus. Unlike most campus administrators of his time, Brewster did not resort to repression of dissent during the Vietnam War. In fact, Brewster publically sympathized with the radicals on many issues. After resigning from the presidency of Yale in 1977, he became the U.S. ambassador to Britain. After leaving the diplomatic service, he retired from public life and passed away as the 1980's were drawing to a close.

Kingman Brewster was an important American who held an important position as Yale University president. Geoffrey Kabaservice has done a public service in writing this book about a forgotten man in American history.

Many of us who came of age in the 1980s and '90s forget that America used to be a much more liberal place, and that there was a time in recent history when Republicans aligned themselves with issues like civil rights, meritocracy, affirmative action, and the problems of the inner city. We forget -- or never realized -- that in the '60s and '70s there existed a significant faction within the Republican party known as "the liberal establishment." These were men who, on the one hand, undeniably represented the Establishment: "old wealth" Yalies and Harvardites who had attended the best prep schools and summered on Martha's Vineyard; advisors to presidents, board members of the biggest corporations, leaders at the helm of the nation's academic, philanthropic, and religious institutions. On the other hand, they were extremely progressive, regarded as "traitors to their class" for pushing forward policies that were considered radical at the time. THE GUARDIANS recalls an era when Republicans were not all in thrall to populism and the agenda of the religious right, when they were just as likely to be seekers of peace in foreign affairs as rabid hawks. There's a quote from Elliot Richardson in this book that's an eye-opener: "Most people don't really get the fact that the Nixon administration was to the left of the Clinton administration. Even the Eisenhower administration was to the left of the Clinton administration."
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in modern American history.

This is a very interesting, but quite long, book which focuses upon Kingman Brewster and other members of the so-called "liberal establishment" that shaped national policy during the 1945 through 1970's period. In addition to Brewster, long-time Yale president, the author discusses the Bundy brothers, Cyrus Vance, Elliot Richardson, Bishop Paul Moore, John Lindsay, William Sloan Coffin, and even William F. Buckley. While most attention is devoted to Brewster's tenure as Yale's president, including the infamous Black Panther trial and May Day riot that did not occur, I found the discussions of the Vietnam war and McGeorge Bundy's period as head of the Ford Foundation extremely interesting. In some ways, the method of analysis is similar to "The Wise Men," who also, incidentally, make appearances in the book (especially Dean Acheson). Accordingly to Buckley and other critics, the "Establishment" consisted of old-line WASP families, of a liberal political orientation, usually well to do, with superior secondary private educations gathered at places such as Groton and St. Paul's, and then onto Yale or Harvard undergraduate, and then usually Harvard Law School or Harvard administration (such as McGeorge Bundy). This led to appointments in the State Department, Justice, some cabinet designations, and involvement in various presidential staffs, particularly JFK and LBJ. In short, a network of individuals, exerting tremendous influence on government policy, who knew each other over long periods of time and who could promote the careers of their fellows. This group also constituted the liberal-centrist wing of the Republican Party (yes, Virginia, there once was a progressive wing of the GOP), that was gradually displaced from leadership as the party headed toward the radical right. The author's research is truly monumental, consisting of archives and, particularly, dozens of Oral History interviews gathered by various collections. One does wonder, though,whether the so-called "establishment" ever exerted as much influence and power as the author suggests--what is clear is that no similar group exercises much influence in the era of Reagan and the Bushes.

If you had asked me a few years ago about Henrietta B. Seiberling of Akron, Ohio, I would have drawn a complete blank. I hadn't heard of the famous Seiberling rubber tycoons. I hadn't heard of Congressman John Seiberling. I hadn't been to Akron and seen the street name Seiberling. And I certainly didn't know about Henrietta. Yet she lived in the Gate Lodge at the foot of the huge Seiberling estate--the largest in Ohio. She lived there and raised her three kids alone. She persuaded Dr. Bob of A.A. to turn to prayer for help. She responded immediately when help arrived in the form of the "rum hound from New York" who said he was with the "Oxford Group." And she went to great effort to introduce the still-drinking and drunk Dr. Bob to Bill Wilson at her home. Six hours later, the two founders had hit it off. She put Bill Wilson up at the Portage Country Club, and then Bill went to live with Dr. Bob and his wife in the summer of 1935. From that point forward, Henrietta taught, counseled, loved and helped the early AAs and their Christian Fellowship. And this new book by Dick tells details I had never heard before; and they are a rich part of the early A.A. legacy of healing and victory. It's a fine piece of reading. Try it.

This little book (which is now the 4th edition)is one of the later additions by author Dick B. to the family of Akron A.A. founders about whom he has written. And it almost seemed as if Henrietta Seiberling had slipped through the cracks since you rarely if ever hear her name mentioned or hear anything about her A.A. role in fellowship meetings. Yet she played such an important part in getting our society under way. She had befriended Dr. Bob and his wife Anne. She had her own problems and knew what the Smiths were going through because of Dr. Bob's drinking situation. When the Oxford Group came to Akron in 1933 to attest to Russell Firestone's conversion and release from alcoholism, Henrietta jumped at the chance to hear the story. She persuaded Dr. Bob's wife Anne and two other ladies to go to the big meeting at the Mayflower Hotel. Hearing the deliverance that was available through Christ, she urged Anne and soon Dr. Bob to attend an Oxford Group meeting regularly. And soon Henrietta, Bob, Anne, and Oxford Groupers T. Henry Williams decided to form a "rump" meeting and hold it at the Williams home. It was unlike the Oxford Group meetings in several ways and certainly because it was a little group of OG people, alcoholics, and families who were meeting primarily to overcome their problems, and soon Dr. Bob's drinking problem. It was Henrietta's revelation from God that impelled her to caution Bob that God had told her by revelation that Bob must not take one drink. But Dr. Bob continued to drink--because he wanted to. Then Henrietta convened a special meeting to deal with Dr. Bob specifically. At the conclusion when Bob had admitted to his alcoholism, she asked him if he would like to join the group in prayer. And, on their knees, they prayed with Dr. Bob for his deliverance. Yet he continued to drink--because he wanted to. And then the miracle happened. Out of the blue, Henrietta received a call from Bill Wilson, an alcoholic and Oxford Grouper, who announced that he needed to talk to a drunk. Understanding the "pass it on" principle of witnessing, Henrietta exclaimed that Bill was "Manna from heaven." He was, to her, the real answer to the group's prayers. And she quickly brought Bob and Bill together at her Gate Lodge home. The men talked for six hours, hit it off well, and decided to start helping drunks. And this, of course, was not an Oxford Group agenda item; so they called the Akron meetings a "clandestine lodge" of the Oxford Group. Henrietta continued to particpate in leading the weekly meetings during the summer of 1935 and long thereafter. She counseled Bob and Bill in Bible matters. And she helped distribute biblical literature that Dr. Bob was reading and recommended. And it was the little band of three (Bob, Anne, and Henrietta)who, along with T. Henry and his wife, developed the program that worked. And they kept at it until Wilson and Smith counted 40 people who were maintaining complete sobriety and that they had developed a cure which could be passed along to others. I love the book, and I love Henrietta's special role as a non-alcoholic woman of compassion and love who helped to found our great society.

Henrietta Seiberling has been vilified in recent AA-related biographies as a sort of cancer to AA's history. One writer (Francis Hartigan) suggests that Seiberling was jealous of Bill Wilson because Bill "succeeded where she had failed." Others have relegated her legacy to being nothing more than a door greeter, the woman who "happened" to bring together Bill and Dr. Bob Smith. It seems that anyone who spoke out against certain facets of Bill W.'s style has been thrown under the revisionist bus. [Any doubts? Reference Clarence Snyder, Father Ralph Pfau, Jerome Ellison, and Hank Parkhurst.]

"Henrietta B. Seiberling: Ohio's Lady with a Cause" is a gem. Presented at the dedication of the opening of the Stan Hywet Hall's Gate Lodge, Henrietta's residence, this syllabus blends the efforts of Seiberling the teacher, supporter, and believer with the Akron laboratory as led by Dr. Bob. Henrietta was one of several non-alcoholic friends of early AA who were so vital to the movement's infancy. She helped with the first program's spritual structure and understanding. She counseled the alcoholics and helped them look to the cure: God Almighty. And she was weary of AA's eventual transformation into what she termed a "rotary club" conglomerate. Henrietta knew what worked for the early AAs. She was more than simply a witness to the successes of the Akron "alcoholic squad."

This work covers the main ingredients of the Akron legacy of Alcoholics Anonymous and adds key information as to the real Seiberling role. [Dare I say it, Dick's found a real niche with the syllabus format.] It is amazing to see the true picture develop when all agendas are swept aside. If nothing else, the reader will come away with the understanding that Henrietta was by no means a failure with Dr. Bob. Without her aid, we may not be studying the Alcoholics Anonymous story today. That fact in itself warrants a look into this intriguing piece of history.

-Richard K.
Author, Researcher
Haverhill, MA
February 2005

Ralph McInerny is best known for his Father Dowling series of mysteries. In his memoir, I Alone Have Escaped to Tell You he goes beyond a mere story about his life. He talks about his life, yet offers advice to aspiring authors on getting started, persevering in the face of rejection and handling success. He explains how to write a mystery story.
His discussions on life and philosophy, a subject he teaches at Notre Dame, gives the readers reason to pause and think. And in some cases, a desire to look at some of the other books he mentions.
Despite being a relatively short book, and a quick read, the information presented makes you go back and reread some sections looking for a different perspective.
Well worth the time to read. I highly recommend it for writers, philosophers and people looking for a good story about an amazing life.

A delightful autobiography -- one can only wish it were longer. The author's life has been full of adventures that most of us can experience only second-hand. Of particular interest may be the chapter on Vatican II and its aftermath, or the chapter delineating the problems of modernist philosophers and the Scholastic antidote. For many readers, especially those of the author's multitudinous mysteries, the chapter titled "Author" will be the best. It refers to several of McInerny's early novels, which though sadly out of print are well worth the trouble of tracking down in libraries.

One would think that Notre Dame could employ a scholarship student to do the proofreading. Apparently only a spell-checker is used, as words occasionally appear under the guise of other words' spellings, but misspellings that coincide with no other word do not. This book deserved better. The upshot is that a few sentences have to be read several times over in order to be degarbled. But there are many more sentences worth rereading for their intrinsic interest -- I think you'll be glad to have read this book.

Ralph McInerny has only gained skill as a craftsman as he ages. This account is tightly written and carries the reader along through a remarkable life, but manages to be self-depracating in the process.

As a wordsmith, McInerny is unparelleled and having a dictionary in this journey might be wise. However, his style and grace makes the occasional unfamiliar term non-threatening.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves the academic life or the life of the spirit.

Stephanie Swee

This book made me never want to put it down. If you are over 50 you'll love every word of it. It will make you both laugh and cry. That's how true it is.

I Flunked Santa Claus was written by Joyce Holsclaw, an 80-year-old woman who was an early feminist, a single parent, and a demanding teacher. With humor and irony Joyce engagingly recounts over seventy years of her experiences, blending a zany sense of humor with insights into the social and political events of her times. A very fine and entertaining autobiography.

This book was absolutley amazing from one cover to the other. It's the real account of one womans life through the depression, world war II, and teaching in our problematic public high school system. I strongly recommend this novel for anyone who's seeking to understand this womans era and generation!

This book is written by the mother of the Late Christa McAullife.It was a wonderful book!Interesting and a inside look at the excitement they felt being chosen then the tradgedy they felt after the Loss of her.It basicly is a bio about Christa.

Unlike most books about Christa McAuliffe this one discuses Christa's life before the selection as teacher in space as well as after the selection process and it is written by the person who knew her like no one else, her mother. We learn of Christa's childhood and her spirt and joy that stayed with her during the course of her whole life. Nothing could take this away from her and with it she enriched and touched the lives of every student she had. Corrigan's book using letters and family history paints a touching portrait of Christa no one else could. Everyone should read this book and it will uplift you farther than you ever thought possible and give you a whole new out look on teachers and what the power they have to uplift. No matter what your backround is you will benefit from having read this book.

This book is honest and touching. Rarely do we receive the privelege of being allowed into the heart of a mother who has lost a son or daughter. So much is learned from Corrigan's novel.