Educators Books

What a treat to find this hardbound collection of the work of Mary Catherine Bateson. Her prose is eloquent. Her ideas are rich and diverse. Her thinking is open, creative and, at the same time, intensely logical. There are selections from some of her best read books, but she also presents some of her hard-to-find material which merits inclusion. Her very interesting life provides the backdrop, but it's how she processes and weaves her observations and experiences into her work that makes these pieces so very illuminating to me. A must for collectors of the writing of the best thinkers of our time.

Mary Catherine Bateson is among the most important voices alive today. Daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, anything Catherine writes is wise, warm, artful and authentic. Willing to Learn is her newest book. It is a rich collection of essays compiled for the first time and available nowhere else. Ranging from a poignant description of her father's death, which moved me to grateful tears because of what it teaches about dying with grace and dignity, to insights about parenting, politics, aesthetics and world peace, this book is an eclectic feast. You can pick it up and read any chapter, and can read the chapters in any order. Each stands alone and each contributes to our capacity to be nourished and inspired throughout our lives, young and old, if we are "willing to learn."

In this elegantly written biography, Maynard explores Woodrow Wilson's time at Princeton (as a student, faculty member, and university president), detailing the triumphs and defeats that did so much to shape the future president's personality and perspective. To anyone interested in Woodrow Wilson...or Princeton...or the history of higher education in America for that matter, Maynard's book is indispensable.

Dr. Maynard (on the faculty as Lecturer of Johns Hopkins as well as Princeton at the time his book was released) has written one of the more truthful, composite portraits of Woodrow Wilson. It is refreshing to see the depth of research, with references to older historians and Princeton alumni, who verify Wilson as the uncompromising and egotistical college president. The damage that Wilson did to Princeton continues to this day. And not only is it revealed that Wilson and his father were "a good hater" (to quote them both) but his first wife Ellen also had a terrible temper; and there is plenty of evidence.

I was disappointed that the author did not go into Mary Peck's affair with Wilson more thoroughly; he also completely ignored the affair Wilson had with a Princeton professor's wife. Maynard's treatment of Wilson's doctor, Cary Grayson, was too kind; Grayson was a major player with Wilson's second wife, Edith, in the cover-up of Woodrow's almost total incapacity as president, due to his last stroke. Although, because of his art education at Princeton and the University of Delaware, he devoted many interesting pages to the proposed architectural design of the Quads.

Nevertheless, the book is a page-turner. It almost reads like a novel...because in this case, the truth about Wilson seems almost stranger than fiction. This book brings more evidence to light about the truth of Wilson as a racist, a liar, a man who could not compromise, a man with tunnel vision, a man who didn't know how to raise money for the college, and a man who constantly bickered with the trustees over the Quads and almost everything else he wanted to introduce to the campus. He would not compromise on any issue, whether academic or political. And he couldn't keep friends; as his own father was quoted as saying, "I never had a friend who was faithful to me." Like father, like son.

We see a picture of Wilson living with a tortured ego in a psychological "twilight zone" who could not be a friend with anyone who disagreed with him about anything. He had an exaggerated sense of self-importance and a craving for domination in everything.

The author, as a former student of Princeton himself (B.A. in Art History), covers the preceptorial system Wilson brought to Princeton, which is still advertised on their website, as Wilson's "brainchild," although I do not believe it facilitates excellence in education; it pressures students to "BS" their way through the course material. And the Eating Clubs Wilson opposed, are still there, albeit, they are now co-ed and less in number. Wilson wouldn't agree, but fraternities would have had a better socializing effect on students than these Clubs.

I wondered if the author would still have a job at Princeton after such a tour de force. So I was not surprised that he ended the book with what amounts to a three paragraph apology for Wilson, in which he attempts to vindicate Wilson's twisted educational vision for Princeton, by stating "Princeton University itself has finally come around to the blueprint that Wilson put forward one hundred years ago..." The author closed his book saying that "history would prove him (Wilson) right," confirms the author's vested interest as a former student and now on the Princeton faculty. A good read, but with that vested interest, one has to wonder if all the drama and fireworks presented for the previous 340 pages, is a chimera covering his own loyalty to Princeton...just putting a good face on Wilson's rocky road from Princeton to the presidency.

My children have used this seris for spelling since first grade. The reading passages are challenging and informative. Many passages address topics they would otherwise never encounter. When I help them with their work I always learn something too.

My child's Beestar online vocabulary program listed this book as a reference. We purchased it following the recommendation. What a fantastic result it brings. My child's reading level is at top of his class now... I believe this book has the ability to change a child's perspective on learning words. Not only is Wordly Wise well-designed and challenging, but it's also fun. It's an effective vocabulary learning system that I would recommend to anyone with school-age kids. My neighbor has a 15 years old daughter who used this book. She still remembers the words she learned from Wordly Wise when she was 8 years old. It's a treasure.

I love this book. I bought it to help my granddaughter understand that words have definitions and many have more than one meaning. This book does an exceptional job.

This book is so unlike any other vocabulary program that has the child look up the word and memorize it. The meaning of a word is given and this is followed up by numerous excercises which include multiple choice, circle the correct definitions and all the words are used in a story. There is more than enough practice using the weekly word list.

I used this as a vocabulary curriculum for my elementary-aged children and loved it. The definitions are accompanied by simple, black and white line drawings that enhanced understanding for my kids. The crossword puzzles and hidden message puzzles were especially fun for my children to work through. Highly recommended!

A must read for anyone interested in public education. Joe Batory gives the reader an insiders look about what really happens in the day-to-day life of a superintendent. Joe's love and concern for children comes alive in this book. As a member of the Upper Darby School Board who served with Joe, it is a pleasure to recommend this book. This outspoken educator took on all critics of public education to advance the cause of public education.

A must read for anyone interested in public education. Joe Batory gives the reader an insiders look about what really happens in the day-to-day life of a superintendent. Joe's love and concern for children comes alive in this book. As a member of the Upper Darby School Board who served with Joe, it is a pleasure to recommend this book. This outspoken educator took on all critics of public education to advance the cause of public education.

AS I've come to expect with Tom Romano's work, Zigzag is rich with voice, humor, beautiful language, and real life experiences. What a great memoir for teachers! It will encourage you to write your own and has chapters on growing up that can be used as mentor text and will appeal to our students.

I found this book, written in an engaging and informal style, hard to put down, and since it's only a bit over 200 pages, I finished it in just a couple days--with regret. Its subtitle, A Life of Reading and Writing, Teaching and Learning, sums it up nicely for me. Romano comfortably and casually follows the zigzag path of his life, from his earliest memories of growing up in Malvern, Ohio to his present position as a professor of English at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. While it's only 260 miles from Malvern to Oxford, the route Romano followed getting from one place to the other took many detours, including a noteworthy one to the University of New Hampshire, so he traveled many more miles over many years. The last time I remember a book inspiring me the way this one has was when, many years ago, a fellow teacher handed me a copy of Ken Macrorie's Uptaught. But Macrorie's viewpoint is that of a college teacher of writing; Romano has had the advantage of working in classrooms at all levels from early elementary through graduate level in college. Partly because I was looking for a book to re-energize my teaching and partly because I liked his earlier book, Clearing the Way, so much, I bought a copy of Zigzag as soon as I first received a notice from the publisher about it. I feel it was money well spent. My teaching has been re-energized and now I have a deeper, more personal understanding of all the challenges conscientious teachers of writing face in their struggles to connect with and inspire their students. Romano's journey was indeed a zigzag one, a road "less traveled," but one I found gutsy, and--when he makes that wonderful connection with students knowing he has really helped them learn and develop as readers and writers--an inspiring and exhilarating one.

Roger Pierangelo and George Giuliani's 100 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROCESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS is for K-12 special education teachers and any teacher interested in the process: it uses an easy question/answer format to examine concepts of special education strategies, program eligibility, safeguards, transitions from school to adult life, and evaluation procedures. The result is an essential pick for any library including special education topics in its collection.

Festus E. Obiakor's 100 MULTICULTURAL PROVERBS: INSPIRATIONAL AFFIRMATIONS FOR EDUCATORS gathers sayings from different countries, tribes and religions: proverbs which have had a historical impact on the building of communities and worlds. Teachers and administrators will find it a fine collection useful as a starting point for explorations from other cultures.

Self esteem is a composite of six vital ingredients that can empower of detract from the vitality of our lives. This comprehensive and empowering resource for educators describes these six in detail, and outlines a plan of action for building a child's self esteem in the schoolplace.

In This Book

* The effects of self-esteem on learning, motivation and achievement.
* How self-esteem is developed in the classrom.
* Stages of growth and development and implications for developing self-esteem within the curriculum.
* How to distinguish between low and high self-esteem behaviors.
* What students regard as signs of our caring and interest in them.
* Helping your students feel competent and capable.
* Practical ways to teach students to manage their school "career," make decisions, accept consequences, manage time, and discipline thamselves to set and meet goals.
* Helping students identify strengths, interests, and aptitudes.
* Defining your teaching values. (Would you like to have you as a teacher?)
* Easily administered class profile for each of the six vital ingredients of self-esteem.
* Listing of Resources and Suggested Readings, and Help Organizations.
--- excerpts from book's back cover

Abuse And Neglect by Barbara Lowenthal (professor in the Department of Special Education, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, Illinois) is a serious and straightforward look at the classroom teacher's role in identifying, preventing, and intervening in cases of child maltreatment. Chapters soberly and explicitly discuss different forms of child abuse and neglect, how to spot them, legal remedies, and optimal courses of action. Abuse And Neglect is an absolute must-read for teachers of all walks, from public and private school instructors to Sunday School and Community Center teachers. Abuse And Neglect is highly recommended for teacher education academic reference collections and school district teacher in service training reading lists.