Educators Books

This work represents a concise, excellent overview of the basic principles of Islam, current challenges both within Islam and between Islam and other social and religious traditions and systems. The author, a Roman Catholic priest and specialist on interreligious dialogue, seeks to demystify the nature of interreligious dialogue so that an authentic encounter between the followers of the Abrahamic traditions might lead to greater understanding and mutual respect without doing covering over the rough edges of this necessary pilgrimage for the sake of the human community.

Bob Calimeri taught biology and mathematics for 33 years in the Auburn school distrct. He coached football, track and cross-country for 22 years. His cross-country teams won two New York State championships.

He has taught part-time at Auburn Correctional Facility and is an adjunct profeeor at Cayuga Community College. He currently teaches part-time at Tyburn Academy, a small private school in Auburn.

He earned a two year degree from Auburn Community College and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from SUNY, Albany.

He and his wife, Barbara, have been married for 40 years. They have two grown children, Susan and Christopher.

The book was written as 44 vignettes and anecdotes gleaned from the author's many humorous moments and experiences.
1. The pursuit of teaching credentials - those carefree college days in which the main goal was to receive money from home in order to be able to go out on week-ends and relieve the stress from the academic grind.
2. Personal experiences that are not directly related to education, but which helped to shape an insight into human behavior and the absurdity of it all.
3. High school days - those days as a student-athlete which helped to demonstrate that the more things change, the more they remain the same.
4. Teaching days -- the humorous moments provided by the students, the true protagonists in the daily theatrical performances called American education.
5. Coaching days -- the fun and foibles of coaching.
--- from book's back cover

This books is a delightful, personal account of the author's experiences in early childhood education. More than that - it is written in a lovely informal, warm style and contains a wealth of wonderful information, advice and views on young children and how to educate and value them. Highly recommended for parents and teachers.

Anthony Tiatorio's, Freedom and Equality is a must read for anyone. Written by an obviously astute teacher/scholar of secondary school ethics, history, and the teaching of both, the work speaks directly to the issue of what ethics is and how employment of his definition will revolutionize the approach to its teaching and improve results in the classroom. Its more global benefit lies in addressing the need and value for more and better cooperation in and between our local and national social institutions.

Tiatorio, walking the reader through a documented course of "false ethics" - ethics that justify and maintain the status quo - assumed true in Western Civilization - effectively argues, contrary to the history of "assumed ethics," that:

"Evolutionary ethics is a science which holds that, in addition to pure self interest, human beings have ingrained through the process of natural selection, certain cooperative social behaviors intended to maximize their fitness as a specie. This innate ethical sense therefore includes both self-regarding and other-regarding urges. Understanding it and how it influences our decision making is the goal of evolutionary ethics education strategy."


Many, including myself, have accepted and upheld the notion of having innate knowing of what is the right thing to do in ethical situations. Yet far too few understand that such a posture is severely handicapped by the limits of our frame of reference. Consequently, we too readily find ourselves and our thinking trapped inside the box of our limited experiences and feel it is natural and truthful to argue with others and maintain fiercely the posture we "know to be true," causing us not to be able to hear and understand the opposing views of others, who are themselves battling against us with their own limited understandings and experiences - voila - their personal frame of reference! Thus we see how easily discussion, seeking solutions to ethical concerns, rapidly sinks to the level of "anything goes to win the argument". And lost - gone - is any effort to find "truth" or resolution to the problem. Hence, understanding one's frame of reference is the key to escaping the Cartesian trap of dualistic thinking. Knowledge without understanding is dangerous; understanding on a level with knowledge yields wisdom. Expanding one's frame of reference frees the mind of "defensiveness" and concentration upon Ego only at the expense of the Self by further alienating the Self from the Ego by reliance upon the attitude of "winning," as opposed to "understanding."

Understanding the position of others leads to increased toleration and more often than not - a positive change in opposing points of view - i.e., a capacity to compromise increases the chances for expanding one's frame of reference to include a larger number of "truth seekers " within one's "ethical group."
Tiatorio's chief concern, I believe, is to move classroom teaching dynamics in ethics education from debate to persuasion, from winning to understanding, from fear of losing to the joy of learning, and from ego strengthening to Self growth.

Why should everyone read it? What better way to embark on a trip of personal enlightenment? The greatest teachers in history - Buddha, Christ, Moses, Solomon, Confucius, Lao Tsu, Mohammed - you name one - all think alike and their greatest attribute is a frame of reference which establishes for them an "ethical group" that encompasses all of humanity.

Richard Palanza

The author presents a very personal memoir of his life starting as a youth in pre-World War II Germany, gives the picture of an innocent caught up in that horrific conflict with eventual transformation into a famous scientist-clinician in the USA. It is well written and a very engaging history of those times.

The compilation of all the Art Educators and Artists in this book shows what great thought, work, and research was done in the writing of this book by the authors.
All the views of Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender issues brought forth in this book are very personal and thought provoking, to make this a very interesting and informative book.
There is so few reading materials available to the public on this subject matter, and as a result many people today are not very well informed concening issues raised in this book.
In my opinion, I feel reading this book will shed new light on the artists views who speak out.

I bought this book for my class and it was awesome. It had concise, helpful information on many educational theorists. For the most part it was easy reading and it really helped in my presentations. If you need concise information on educational theorist this is the book for you. If you need deep, highly detailed background on the lives of the theorist, this would probably be of help, but not the all and be all.

"The book gives a vivid picture of life in the first Graham company." David Vaughan, The Dancing Times, January 1999

I have to admit Timothy Authur Lines is quite adept and writes as if his thought is clear as crystal. I found it delightful to read this book, even though it was for a Master's in which I had far too much material to cover in too short a time.

I do have to note for the prospective buyer this is written in a very educated style. It is not a novel you breeze through in an hour or a day. But I don't think you'll mind. For me, it was well worth the trip.

MacGillivray, Ian K., PhD. "Gay-Straight Alliances: A Handbook for Students, Educators, and Parents", The Haworth Press, 2007.



Looking at the Issues



Amos Lassen and Literary Pride



Now that people are coming-out at a younger age, it is important that they have a safe environment in which to do so. A "GSA" or gay-straight alliance gives students a safe place to discuss issues, meet others, and gain support from a caring group of people. This handbook tells us how to begin these groups and have them become an important part of school life. This, in turn, will build positive relationships as well as provide and promote knowledge and tolerance. Sometimes we have to be told what it takes to start such an alliance as well as how to find the teachers to work with it and likewise helps principals and superintendents to understand the proper laws that apply to them. The book also will help parents discover how important groups like this are and how much they influence the life of a child.

The timing for this book is perfect and Macgillivray draws on the proper research, both empirical and legal as well as personal experience in order to give us a handbook which is so badly needed. It is full of information and ideas as well as resources and advice. Here is a book that belongs in every school today.

We must have safety for GLBT students as well as help them to improve understanding of the issues that face them daily. Just as we need advocates for the rights of all students, we need a place where they can feel at home with others like them and care for them. An alliance of this sort has much to offer the diversity of the population which we have today. Here is a valuable tool which can make schools safe regardless of the kind of school and its district and location.

The youth of today is quick to take on roles of leadership in transforming both the culture and climate of their schools and have an active voice in decisions--unlike when I was a student. They can help to eradicate the biases that pervade among and against our GLBT youth.