Educators Books

I loved reading this book and the adventure that I shared. I really felt like I was there with the author. What also made this book particularly interesting is that the author was older when he joined the Peace Corps, so he had a more mature way of looking at life and people. Though the man is not a perfect man and I think sometimes just a bit naive, he really was a nice man sharing his very human experience and perceptions. This book really is worth the time, and I was sad to see it come to an end. I highly recommend it.

I was in Don Lawder's Peace Corps group and got to know him only superficially during our 3-months of training. Reading this book 21 years later, I now realize what a complex person he was. This is a great book if you are considering Peace Corps service. No two people have the same experience, so don't expect your two years to be just like his, but this will help you appreciate that you will be sent there to interact with people, not necessarily change them. Like Don, you will be changed much more than they.

Lawder writes beautifully of his life as an older Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. Rather than present himself as the savior of these impoverished people, he shows how he is, in a sense, saved. Adopted by a Malian family, he makes a life for himself with them, becoming a de facto grandfather. He portrays the Malians as an intelligent, warm, hard-working people living under difficult circumstances, and it's interesting to "meet" them through this absorbing book.

Micheal O Laughlin gives us a close friend's observations about Henri Nouwen's life and the essence of his work as it relates to the powerful way in which he lived. While being candid about who Henri was and the struggles which filled his life, he also captures the pure delight of those who know and love Henri Nouwen, relating the genuineness of spirit with which this man of God approached everything. It is easy to see how many people grew to love Nouwen and equally easy to see how his approach to the Christian faith - the faith of his beloved Jesus - became a bridge for many which ignored denominational lines. His Catholicism was less concerned about the law of the church, though faithful to it, and more concerned about the love of people who came to him searching for their on meaning in Christian faith. I highly recommend this book and that it immediately be followed by reading Nouwen's many personal works.

This biography of Henri Nouwen, who died in 1996, personalizes the Dutch priest, who was one of the most popular spiritual writers of his time. We learn early in the story that he was an outgoing, charismatic man who wrote about prayer and spirituality as well as issues such as solitude and the divide between rich and poor, always expressing his ideas in terms of personal experience. We see Nouwen growing up in Holland and moving to the U.S., where he entered a doctoral program in psychology, which he finished, despite growing discomfort with certain theories but more with questions about his suitability for this arena. We witness his special devotion to the liturgy, which first surfaced when he was eight and constructed a miniature chapel in the family attic where he delivered sermons to family and friends and carefully reenacted the Eucharist. Finally we see him find a true home living among those with mental difficulties at l'Arche Toronto

Henri Nouwen is portrayed as a richly spiritual, extremely human individual whose life teaches us a great deal about living the gospel in modern times.

Michael O'Laughlin enjoyed a close professional assocation and personal relationship for two decades with popular Dutch priest and spiritual writer Henri J. M. Nouwen. His biography reveals an insider's perspective and emerges as a true "labor of love." Strong suits of this treatment include chapters on Henri and the Eucharist, the centrality of Jesus in Henri's spirituality and Henri and prayer. The biographical data in the opening chapter and the section that follows that assesses Henri's psychology in light of Myers-Briggs categories are enlightening and balanced. Overall, this work strikes me as one of the most outstanding secondary sources available that treats the Nouwen legacy. As one who knew Henri over the course of three decades, I can honestly say that I learned more about him from this book than any other biography, including Michael Ford's excellent recent treatment. Helpful footnotes complement the text. It's affordable, highly readable, and enthusiastically recommended. -- Reverend Gerald S. Twomey, Ph.D.
Editor, CREATIVE MINISTER: THE LEGACY OF HENRI J.M. NOUWEN (forthcoming, 2006).

This is a MUST READ for anyone who is genuinely interested in the thinking and impact of educational philosophy. The important choices we make as a society as we educate our children have immeasurable effect on our future. Caroline Pratt was ahead of her time. She calls for an education of children that leads to critical, original and independent thinking - rather than training kids to be passive receivers of meaningless information. We need the progressive movement to re-start and move into the mainstream now more than ever.

Please buy this book so that my employer, City & Country School, can make some money and I can get a raise!

I was impressed with the depth of love and dedication Caroline Pratt expressed as she retold her lifes story. It was an easy heartfelt read.

Helpful to parents who want their children to access the positive aspects of the Internet. Many useful resources are provided to enhance learning.

"Although titled as a guide to the internet, this book actually answers even more basic questions about computers in general. Still, the bulk of the book has to do with the internet and how home or traditional school educators can utilize it. It explains internet vocabulary, options, etiquette, and dangers, then goes on to explain different forms of learning that can take place. Computer novices should find is very useful, and those on-line are still likely to learn more. Recommended site addresses are included...this is a helpful book for figuring out how to make your computer more educationally productive."

This book arose from conversations with teachers and homeschoolers around the country who were in the second phase of the Internet's evolution. They were "wired," to use the popular term that denotes someone who has Internet access. But they didn't know what to do once they were wired. How could they put the Internet to use to teach children? This book tells how! Steve Jones is uniquely qualified to present the practical and abundance of useful information provided in this book. He is Professor & head of the Department of Communications at the University of Illinois-Chicago

The book is perferct and gives full information about Conant's participation in Manhattan Project, wich was my initial reason for possessing it. I recommend it with no hesitations whatsoever.

Great biography about James Conant because it covers a lot. It's great for what it's presenting to the reader. However, I have one complaint about it. The book (obviously) focuses on nuclear weaponry and the Cold War. Not only was he a scientist involved in the atomic bomb, but he was an IMPORTANT American educator from Harvard, too.
He contributed much to American education and the book doesn't give enough coverage about his influence in education. This is not the book to read even if you want to get information on his issues with education. His autobiography "My Several Lives" is excellent because in that book he gives a balance to all of his contributions to American (and world) society.

Hey, I read this book. Unsure if anyone else did. It was great. I don't think the author's wife, mother, or so-called best friend Mark have read this book. I learned a lot. It is very heavy, buy the paperback version. It is sure good that James Conant did not blow up the world - otherwise the author, Jim Hershberg, would not have been able to travel to over 100 countries in his life and win the World Trip award. Buy this book. Buy 10 copies, give to your friends.

Since Joseph Campell was such a prolific writer of journals, letters, essays and books, this book was able to capture, in such detail, not only his life events but also the evolution of his studies and thoughts about myth, art, religion and the world. I originally checked this book out at the library but I am buying it as a reference guide because it touches on so many fascinating points about religion and the most prominent spiritual leaders in the last century.

The fire in Joseph Campbell's mind burned through the dross of a mundane existence and forged a character who was ultimately "transparent to transcendence" (his own remarkable phrase).

The book is dense at times because of the Larsens' careful documentation and because Campbell's very life was so dense with accomplishment and discovery. I found the Larsens' scholarship to be impeccable and the coverage of a remarkable life thorough. Because they were friends of the Campbells, an air of authenticiy is added to their work. My only disappointment was their lack of reporting of his deeper response to his illness and impending death. I feel more information in this delicate area would have been appropriate because of the biographical nature of the work and because of Campbell's own personal spiritual belief system.

I highly recommend this volume to anyone who wishes to learn more about one of the most formidable intellectuals of the 20th century. Because the book is so well-written, entertaining, and well-documented, it will enliven the days of your reading...and well beyond!

After viewing his lectures on video and watching the interviews with Bill Moyers I became increasing curious about Joseph Campbell, the man, not just the scholar and how one could devote his life to his work.

This authorized biography does not disappoint. It is a wealth of information from personal journals, letters, interviews with friends and family, most generously provided by his widow, Jean Erdman Campbell.

Yes, it is a lengthy tome since it is chronicaling the life and works of one of this centuries most prolific writers and original thinkers, well worth the time it's taken to read it.

Joseph Campbell, the eldest of three, had progressive parents who recognized their childrens natural talents and provided the best education to ameliorate their gifts. As I read, I was impressed how from a young age, Joseph Campbell viewed his world and continued to pursue answers to questions, and in turn, enlighten others through his lectures and writings.

His relationship with friends, colleagues, mentors and his wife is tightly woven into this biography, he was grateful for all the support he received from his "fans." I was constantly surprised with whom he met along his life's path, John Steinbeck, Carl G. Jung to name a few.

I am now embarking on reading Jung, influenced by Joseph Campbells admiration of his works and contributions to the study of the psyche. Hoping to open a new way of thinking myself.

As a new member of the profession, Tompkins book enlightened me as to the reason we have paralysis in higher education - its not that the paralysis is required, but its a feature of those of who are a part of it. As I read about Tompkins discoveries, something as simple as recognizing that a teacher needs to 'read the room' and tailor learning to the mood, convinced me that I am doing something right. But the disturbing part to discover is that while Tompkins has awakened herself to new approaches to teaching, her colleagues are still largely unaware. her presentation of her childhood - and the final connection to how this affects her teaching was dead-on.

I enjoy reading books by women about women as they perceive their journey through academe. This is an especially good piece of work. Tompkins is an English professor at Duke. The book is autobiographical and profoundly evocative. It is an intense interpretation of the innertwinings of her personal and professional life. Tompkins discusses her life--from elementary school, through her doctoral program at Yale, through her life as a nontenured and then tenured faculty member--and, in the process, discusses issues that are important to so many of us in the Academy. She writes wonderfully about teaching, learning, and working at a research university. This is a book that will make you laugh, cry, and shake your head because of the way that she is so thoroughly introspective and incisive. Here's just a sample: "Peacable kingdoms aren't born; they are made. And that is why it seems to me that the university, like other places of employment, needs to become aware of itself as a social organism. This would mean that the leadership would become self-conscious about the nature of human interaction on the campus, finding a way to involve everybody--undergraduates, secretaries, janitorial staff, administrators, professors at all ranks, part-time faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars. It would mean devoting time and effort to building good relationships. Right now, the culture of the research university militates agains the quality of life because such concerns are regarded as peripheral to the university's main business. They're perceived as unintellectual, more or less on the level of housekeeping.... But if research universities like the one I work at are going to become places where people like to come to work in the morning, where the employees have a stake and feel they belong, then they will have to model something besides the ideal of individual excellence--the Olympic polevaulter making it over the bar. By modeling the way that they do business, they'll need to model our dependence on one another, our need for mutual respect and support, acceptance, and encouragement. If the places that young people go to be educated don't embody the ideals of community, cooperation, and harmony, then what young people will learn will be the behavior these institutions do exemplify: competition, hierarchy, busyness, and isolation." Her observations about undergraduate education and teaching, as well as the description of her personal jouney as a teacher, are first-rate. The chapters entitled, "Ash Wednesday" and "The Cloister and the Heart," are among the best--if not the best--in the book. For example, in the "Cloister" chapter, she writes: "The university has come to resemble an assembly line, a mode of production that it professes to disdain. Each professor gets to turn one little screw--his specialty--and the student comes to him to get that screw turned. Then on to the next. The integrating function is left entirely to the student.... It would be more helpful to students if, as a starting point, universities conceived education less as training for a career than as the introduction to a life." This is a must-read for faculty and administrators. Enjoy! Frank Fear, Michigan State University

Jane Tompkins had an epiphany about teaching late in her academic career: teaching involves relationships, and teachers should think about how students are making sense of the material. At elite colleges, this insight is depressingly rare, and when Tompkins first articulated it in an article called "Me and My Shadow," it made significant waves in the academy. "A Life in School" represents Tompkins review of her own schooling and her early teaching in light of this new understanding. Part of this book may surprise people who haven't yet figured out that schools should not be structured primarily by competition and shame; it's unusual to see such a prominent scholar arguing that classrooms should treat students humanely. But what were discoveries for Tompkins in the 90s have been standard practice for many teachers since the 1960s (and for some in the 1930s). I'd recommend Nancie Atwell's "In the Middle" or Vivian Gussey Paley's "The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter" to those interested in teaching narratives that push beneath the surface. Although "Women's Ways of Knowing" focuses on girls' education, it also articulates in universally helpful ways many of the principles Tompkins is trying to develop. Jane Tompkins' publicity for good teaching has been immensely helpful, but there's a whole library of books published by Heinemann that can teach you more about building effective, caring classrooms.

This is a well written* and compelling book. It sets out quite clearly the strengths and weaknesses of both Dr. Montessori and her method.

It is an important read for anyone considering closer ties to the Montessori movement (in its various forms).

And like any good art, it raises as many questions as it answers...

...some of which could make Montessorians quite uncomfortable!


*there are some annoying typos

Right away there was the happy possibility that I would have a positive response to Maria Montessori: A Biography since the book was written by -none other than - Rita Kramer. She is also the author of the investigative account Ed School Follies: the Miseducation of America's Teachers. She has also been a contributor to some solid periodicals, such as The Wilson Quarterly, American Heritage, and the American Spectator. And she is certainly a reader of that great French-born American teacher, the venerable Jacques Barzun (99 years old!). Ms. Kramer seems to have accepted an offer to write this particular biography based on her expertise in early education, her reputation for solid research, and an objective journalistic approach to her work, but presumably not as a Montessorian. What the reader gets is a factual, historically accurate, rolling account of a person worth the biography. Granted, I'm sold on Montessori anyway, regardless of the struggling doctor's genius or shortcomings, so this story for me is more for a good read on how it all came together. And a good read it is, by any standard.

This book covers Maria Montessori's life very thoroughly. It covers her life well, but it would have been nice to include something of an afterword on what happened to the Montessori movement after her death, it's re-emergence in the US, a little of what Mario Montessori did with AMI, etc. Rita Kramer gave me a good understanding of how Montessori was able to rub some people the wrong way, which had an effect on the success of the movement here in the US. I don't really begrudge her trying to keep tight control over the movement, and I can see it from her point of view, after all, as Kramer points out, the movement had her name attached to it, for good and ill. If it had been presented as a neutral method, or if she had taken an academic post, and therefore didn't have to be so invested in the didactic apparatus, her ideas may have spread farther. I was also interested in what happened to the method in the US after WWI, since Kramer points out that, for example, the Rhode Island school system adopted Montessori for its public schools in something like 1910. When did they go back? Kramer did do a good job of explaining why the method caught on in some countries and not others. The real tragedy was in Vienna, which had a thriving Montessori community in the 20's and early 30's, but which was wiped out in WWII. This book gave me an appreciation for Maria Montessori I didn't have before, and reinforced my opinion that, politics aside, with the grown-ups talking and arguing about committees, names and priorities, what's important is where the rubber meets the road, that is, in the classroom. In the classroom, when you're down with the kids watching what they do, you can see the fundamental truth in Montessori's approach.

I read this book for the first time when I was in my last semester of graduate work at Kansas State University. I was about to graduate with an M.A. in English that I had no idea how I was going to use. Tallmadge's autobiographical tale of his struggles with nature, self, career, and others encapsulates perfectly the agonizing dilemma that strikes any teacher with the slightest amount of idealism still in their blood. He wants to be true to himself, to, as Joseph Campbell put it, "follow [his] bliss." But he keeps getting derailed: first by the army, and then by a succession of teaching jobs that seem intent on crushing the budding idealism out of his teaching methodology.
While the book is at times a bit overly idealistic and starry-eyed, you can't help but admire the enthusiasm and passion with which Tallmadge tries to instill his passion for nature in his students. He's the kind of teacher that any lover of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, or modern writers like Terry Tempest Williams, Leslie Marmon Silko, or the like would immediately take to. He wants his students to understand their connection, not only with the land, but with each other, as a community of learners as well as a community of human beings. And then, at the end, when everything seems to fall apart, he finds solace in the simplest of items: a jack pine cone. I'd say more about that, but I don't want to ruin the moment of revelation that comes at the end.
Sufficed to say that "Meeting the Tree of Life" will leave you with a greater appreciation as well as understanding of the complex relationships that exist within nature as well as within the human soul. Like this review the book can be a little overly flowery at times, but the understanding that comes with reading this book makes those moments of saccharine sweetness almost pleasant. Give this book a try and I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

Tallmadge uses the events of his own life to illustrate mankind's connection to the environment and the necessity of wilderness. Writing in the spirit of his admired predecessors, Thoreau, John Muir, Edward Abbey, and Aldo Leopold; Tallmadge attempts to find his own unique voice in the enlightenment of his experience. At times he may get a little too "intimate with the rock", but he leaves the reader an optimistic feeling of the joy of discovery and knowledge.

On-Line Review by Leo Goldman, Natural Resources Defense Council.:

In one way, this book is in the tradition of the author's admired nature writers -- such folk as Emerson, Thoreau, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold. But the framework is an autobiography, beginning with brief mention of his childhood in suburbs, which he describes almost as if they were crowded cities, and from which he began to escape at age 15 to backpacking and climbing. A college student during the Vietnam War, he later sought in wilderness "authenticity" and " a model for just and sustainable human societies" -- which he did not see in the world he and his friends had grown up in.

He begins the detailed story with a difficult High Sierra climb -- between his military service (having volunteered for a program of Russian studies and intelligence work in order to avoid Vietnam itself) and graduate school. As he seeks for understanding of his motivations and feelings, he speaks first of challenge, thrill, danger, and athletic pleasure, but eventually realizes that he has become a naturalist, appreciating nature in all its complexity, not just the physical challenges and dramatic views. We follow his wilderness explorations, first in the mountains of the southwest during his first three years as a professor in Utah, then his disappointment in leaving the mountains for his next job, in Minnesota. There, however, he develops an appreciation of the wilderness of the flat country, mostly in canoe trips.

Certainly an offbeat English professor, he had his students read nature writing, then accompany him on difficult treks to mountains and lakes, and return to write about their experiences. This approach was not appreciated by his colleagues, who apparently preferred traditional methods of teaching literature and writing. He ends this volume with the shock of being denied tenure -- but finds new awareness in the metaphor of a pine cone that releases its new life only in fire.

I first saw Guy Doud's video Molder of Dreams a few years ago, and I was in awe of the passion he has for his career and for the students he reaches. I read this book after seeing the video and was gripped even more intensely by reading a more detailed account of some of the experiences his video touches on. Doud refers to himself as a 'feeler' in his field therefore trying to reach beyond just the 'three R's' of schooling. Doud is an excellent write and is an expert at touching heartstrings through his words. I was at the point of tears and laughing out loud at different places throughout this book. This is one of those books I've read several times--especially when I've gottne frustrated with the teaching courses I'm taking to become a teacher. I can't wait to read Doud's other works.

Guy Doud was 1986 teacher of the year. Hailing from Brainerd, Minnesota, he writes of his difficult experiences growing up and how his teachers and peers affected him.

Doud demonstrates that teachers are the molders or destroyers of dreams. All of us, then, are teachers and we are letters to others simply by our actions.

As teachers, we can write letters of hope and encouragement or failure and distress, on the hearts of those we meet.

Doud challenges the reader to ask whether they want to be remembered for a letter that is positive or negative.

This book was recommended to me after I was selected as high school teacher of the year for our school district. Being a Christian and an educator, I was so inspired by the feelings of this wonderful author and person. Doud shares his personal feelings about his students and his passion for teaching. It is easy to see how he eventually became national teacher of the year. I recommend this book to anyone who has a desire to make a difference in the field of education. It is truly inspiring.