Educators Books

Few indeed are those with the courage to challenge prevailing opinions and beliefs. Fewer still are such challenges which pass the test of time. Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira's masterful work, Revolution and Counter-Revolution is one such work.

In Revolution and Counter-Revolution, Prof. de Oliveira first outlines the historical roots of the modern moral crisis, which he names the "Revolution." Then, by explaining with pristine clarity how the unrestrained passions of pride and sensuality, leading to the craving for total equality and absolute liberty, have driven us to our present situation, he answers the perpetual question, "How did things get so bad?"

Of particular interest is his explanation of the three depths of the Revolution, as existing in the tendencies, ideas and finally facts. There he shows how seemingly meaningless or "tendential" changes in the lives of men can lead to profound changes in his ideas and eventually push society as a whole further along the paths towards the Revolution's final goal, which is the utter annihilation of all the remnants of Christian Civilization.

In the second part of the book, titled The Counter-Revolution, he demonstrates how we can stand up to the Revolution and, with the help of Mary most holy and under the guidance of Holy Mother Church, effect substantial changes to arrest its progress.

Definitely not a book for the narrow-minded, but a must read for those open-minded souls, fed up with the pervading immorality of our days and willing to stand up and make a difference.

This book was first written in 1959 but its content has not become irrelevant precisely because it discusses historic trends that span centuries. Oliveira explains the nature of the Revolutionary Impulse and how it has been manifest in Three Revolutions - Renaissance, French Revolution, Communism.

However, these historic movements are incidental to the underlying philosophy that seeks to abolish order, hierarchy, and authority in the name of seeking absolute equality and unrestrained freedom. Especially helpful is Oliveira's insight into the motives and methods of the Revolutionaries and their potential future tactics and activities.

But that is only half the book. The second half discusses how the Counter-Revolution is to confront, halt, and turn back this Revolutionary Impulse. Oliveira provides extremely helpful advice and caveats for those wishing to join in the fight to preserve order, hierarchy, and authority against the schemes of utopian dreamers.

The book helps motivate the reader by giving him a true sense of the pervasive universal struggle that at times seems imperceptible but occasionally erupts in upheavals and unrest (e.g. the above noted three revolutions).

But most of all, the book is a how-to guide for the Counter-Revolutionary. It helps one "know thy enemy" and then lays out a plan for how to challenge and overcome that enemy. A must read for those that strive to uphold order and to defend all that is good and decent.

Revolution and Counter-Revolution is a profound and brilliantly argued study of the revolutionary process that began with the decadence of Medieval Christendom in the fourteenth century. This process, driven by the disorderly human tendencies, especially pride and sensuality, leads to the gradual establishment of a state of things (I purposely did not say of things) completely opposed to Christian civilization -- that is, secular, wholly egalitarian, libertarian, and anarchic society. The author considers this process Revolution. Not simply "negative," this study also describes and analyzes the aims of the Counter-Revolution and the effective methods for obstructing and finally destroying the revolutionary process. It establishes the grounds for certainty -- not just hope -- in the victory of the Catholic Church, which is the very soul of the Counter-Revolution.

I found Revolution and Counter-Revolution by Prof. Plinio Correa de Oliveira to be the most helpful, insightful, and penetrating historical and philosophical analysis of the contemporary crises shaking Western civilization available on the market.

In clear language, the author cuts through the fog of postmodern confusion offering the reader great insight into the driving forces behind the eternal struggle between good and evil, truth and falsehood, beauty and ugliness, order and disorder. Unlike other works, this book does not get bogged down in irrelevant detail. It reaches the essence of things. After I read this work, I understood why the Protestant, French and Communist revolutions shared common goals: pride and radical egalitarianism. This book will not disappoint you.

Until I read this book, the symptoms of today's moral decadence seemed disconnnected. The author traces the roots of the current crisis of Christian and Western Civilization back to Humanism. He leads the reader through history, proving how, with the Renassiance, society gradually replaced God with man. De Oliveira describes the entire process of the shattering of Christian Civilzation -- Protestantism, French Revolution, Communism, Hippie Revolution -- and the pieces of the destruction puzzle fit into place. The Counter-Revolution, according to Plinio, opposes the driving force of the Revolution -- the disordered passions of pride and sensualty. I was amazed to see how important the practice of the virtues are, particularly purity and humility, to the establishment and preservation of a truly Christian order. No wonder high ranking members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church have written letters praising this book.

I laughed so hard I was crying. It really made my day. I hope Fred will continue to write as I know there are many more stories to be told. He has a real knack for seeing the humor in what we experienced on a daily basis. He also sees why we became teachers, it was the kids...

I am spreading the word to my teacher friends that this is a must read.

My wife and I are both teachers and this book is a slice taken from our lives. I guess the same kids go to all the schools all over the world, because if we didn't meet these students and teachers ourselves, we heard about them in the teachers lounge or over dinner. Anderson finds the levity in these situations that we may have missed while under fire. Open this book on any page for humorous insights into the life of a high school teacher.

I found Fred's stories to bring back so many memories of high school. Although I'm not a teacher, I related to his zany descriptions of life during these years. This book is a "must read" for everyone! Keep the stories coming Fred!

Fred Anderson's stories not only sent me back to the goofy events of my own adolescence, he brought me face to face with what our precious teachers confront every day. Anderson's writing combines a wide aperture with a very fast shutter speed, capturing what life in a big high school often becomes: narrow glimpses of human sagas. I hope he writes more. I couldn't get enough of these wonderful little stories.

I laghed. I cried. I peed my pants. Seriously, A great book of short stories that take me back to the ways of high school.

I read this book after picking it up at an ISNA convention and was simply blown away by the amount of force the ideas he puts forth held, my favorite reflections were upon nationalism and the conflicts between a faith maintaining a political goal of attaining a nation-state and fulfilling its commandments of moral ethics and beliefs, the argument of the dangers of zionist ideals permeating other faiths, not just judaism, was, in my opinion, profound and provided a unique perspective of how any religion can fall vulnerable to the lure of nationalism.

An excellent true story of an African-American mother who endures her American life to rear a most unusually strong, and righteous son. It was hard to put this down even though I knew how it ends. It's a moral tale and a good read.

Scattered Pictures, a compilation of Imam Zaid Shakir's articles, is a welcome contribution to the emerging discourse on the American Muslim experience. While the essays selected for this volume are tailored toward an audience that shares Imam Zaid's religion, they can also benefit readers from other perspectives who hope to listen in on the internal Muslim conversation. Imam Zaid Shakir is one of the leading voices in contemporary American Islam.

Imam Zaid Shakir is one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time. His writings prove to be a source of clarity in a time of confusion for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is quite rare to find an individual who is well versed in both the Islamic and the Western traditions. In Scattered Pictures he has compiled some of his most thought provoking essays from the past few years. He has dealt with both traditional issues such as the true meaning of Jihad to the more contemporary issues such as the challenges faced by American Muslims after September 11th. This book will give you a glimpse into Islam, which is rarely seen in today's world. I highly recommend this book.

In his book Scattered Pictures: Reflections of An American Muslim, Imam Zaid Shakir confronts a myriad of provocative issues facing the contemporary muslim. His elegant style in writing his essays convey the insight and clarity sought by muslims confused on how to define Jihad, or how to define Human Rights within the Islamic tradition. In short, this is a great book that provides the inspiration for religious minded individuals in America and abroad.

I highly reccomend this book, it shares very interesting stories about others experiences with life, very upbeat and inspiring.

This just a great book, and I liked the way it was delieved so fast.

I was so inspired by the pages of Sisterhood of Faith. Each page tells of women making a difference for the cause of Christ. Sometimes we look at our lives and struggle with our day to day issues. When I begin my morning reading a page from this book it helps me put my life into perspective. The women of this book took their ordinary lives and focused their efforts towards the cause of Christ. If you are a housewife that needs encouragement, a woman in ministry who is struggling with her call or someone who wants to start her day being uplifted, this is the book for you! You have got to have it!

At first glance, I thought this was just another devotional book written by the women on the cover. It surprised me that it is not a devo but a collection of inspirational short stories, written by the author, about women who have made -- some who are making -- a difference in the world. Then I discovered the alphabetical order of names, making it an easy reference to locate a woman and read about her. The enormous variety of women was a surprise; one funded a seminary, "Biddy" Chambers published her husband's sermons, one was a martyr for Christ, some were preachers, monarchs, reformers, stay-at-home moms who founded companies, others today are singers, songwriters, and evangelists, and one is our First Lady. What a surprise to discover the scores of websites and resources listed in the back. I'm pleasantly surprised with the easy-to-read format and challenging "My Response" question at the end of each short story.

As a professional speaker and writer on child behavior, I recognize many of my colleagues. This book is well-written and enlightening. It's definitely a delight and a keeper!

The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start

Shirley Brosius has written a beautiful and important book that I would highly receommend for every woman (and even man!). SISTERHOOD OF FAITH provides a stunning array of strong Christian women (365 in all) who have powerfully influenced the world for the better. From Abigail Adams to Catherine Marshall and more, Brosius insightfully captures the essence of their different committment and courage, and she reveals their power through her words. Each woman's story also includes a helpful Biblical verse and a question for thought. My wife and I very much appreciated their stories and the way in which they inspired our own. In a society that is often rocked by demeaning culture, Brosius's book shines as an example of love, courage and risk. It is, indeed, a beautiful and inspiring work.

I always innately knew that my culture and people weren't the most democratic one. I wasn't shocked of the inequality and corruption that is clearly mentioned in Mr. Tashi Tsering la's autobiography. Some Tibetans will hate this book because it exposes our society as it is, especially the offsprings of the Aritocratic families and may be some monks. My believe is that Tashi Tsering has provided more for the people of Tibet than the officials working in the Tibetan Government-In-Exile based in Dharamsala.

Tashi Tsering represents the lay people in Tibet. This book is a must-read for the younger Tibetans to get perspective of the Tibet before the Chinese Invasion. I am by no means supporting the Chinese Invasion of Tibet which has literally almost exterminated our people and our country but Tibet before the Chinese Invasion wasn't a perfect country as it is often said to be. Please read this book if you want to stay away from many fabricated supercilious stories of Tibet.

Tashi Tsering was born a Tibetan peasant but realized early in life that he wanted an education and was able to attain this in India and America. As a young Tibetan patriot and idealist he went to China in the l960s believing that Communism could actually be a help to his country. Instead he spent many years of suffering and deprivation in Chinese jails and internal exile. Ultimately he was set free to open schools in Tibet. Fascinating to read, this book's broader lesson is about the interplay of power between the communists, the Tibetan peasants, and the Tibetan aristochracy (who want all power for themselves) and the Buddhist church hierarchy.

Finally a book that treats Tibet as a nation and a people in history and not just a land of changeless Buddhism and nomads! The book was dropped quietly from the publisher/distributor Snow Lion after initial fan-fare when it was discovered that this Tibetan author, though fervently pro-Tibet, was equally fervent against the rule of the Dge-lugspa (the Dalai Lama's sect), and he describes in detail what he had to suffer as a member of the Dalai Lama's personal dance troup. Kudos to Tashi Tsering for telling his incredible story!

I finished reading this book in 3 consecutive nights. Fascinating account of a 10-year-old boy becoming a member of the Dalai Lama's personal dance troupe as a tax obligation; how the boy grew up, worked for the exiled noble Tibetan leadership, and eventually became a Red Guard--this is the first time I've learned that there are many Tibetan red guards during the Cultural Revolution, the reasons why these Tibetans try to better their old serf-noble society, and why they joined the misguided Cultural Revolution. At the end I can't help but feel utmost respect for Mr. Tsering. Even though he's made mistakes, he freely admits to them. The amount of trauma he has gone through in his life is beyond what many people can take, yet he perseveres. Now I fully support his goal: establishing schools in Tibet for the Tibetan children. Bravo, Mr. Tsering. I hope someday this life story will be made into a movie. It will be much more intelligent than 7 Years In Tibet. Instead! of a fluff story about the "dumb natives", here is one intelligent, complex Tibetan.

There's not "one" story about Tibet, of course. Like any other human drama, especially one which has proven so emotional for those involved, there are a thousand stories from a thousand people.

But Tashi Tsering's story is an important one. He brings voice to a perspective that has been silenced for far too long in the West. I would recommend this book strongly to anyone who feels they already "know" all there is to know about Tibet; odds are, you're wrong.

Instead of using my own words... let me quote a few paragraphs from the book:

"He responded unequivocally that his decision [to return to Tibet from the University of Washington in 1963] had nothing to do with money. Instead he saw himself as a representative of the common people who wanted to help create a new, modern Tibet. The atmosphere became somewhat tense, since the other Tibetans, who were aristocrats, hated the communists and China and were committed to freeing Tibet forom Chinese control."

...

[Many years later, after 1985, on one of Melvyn Goldstein's trips to China]

"On one of my trips, Tashi surprised me by asking if I could help him publish a book about his life. He thought foreigners needed to know about common Tibetans - that is, Tibetans who were not aristocrats or monastic prelates or incarnate lamas. He felt his story could play a useful role in assisting both Westerners and young Tibetans born in exile to understand the real - non-Shangrila - Tibet."

_Keeping A Head in School_ is designed to help students with a wide range of learning disorders "gain a realistic insight into their personal strengths and weaknesses."

The book is targeted at adolescents and pre-adolescents. It can also be used effectively by younger and older students, however. Dr. Levine makes information accessible to young people by presenting it in small chunks with frequent headings. His style is conversational, and he uses familiar metaphors to explain physiological concepts. Attention, for example, is described in terms of channel selection and filtration.

Levine heartens his readers -- not only by demonstrating a clear understanding of their difficulties but also by providing hope for the success that everyone needs. While he recognizes that people succeed in different areas -- academics, athletics, and art, to name just a few -- he acknowledges that during the school-age years, lack of success in the academic area can have far-reaching
consequences.

After explaining how the brain functions normally to help a person focus attention, use language, and employ memory, Levine discusses various problems that might arise in these areas. He then relates performance in reading, spelling, writing, and math to those disorders. Levine even addresses social skills, recognizing that school has a very strong social component.

Levine celebrates the many strengths that people with learning disorders might have. He encourages them to appreciate and bolster their strengths even as they are attempting to understand and bypass their weaknesses. He empowers students to advocate on their own behalf, and he reassures them that they are likely to be more successful in life after school -- when they are free to work in their preferred area rather than in one assigned to them by someone else.

_Keeping A Head in School_ is most effective if readers with learning disorders have the opportunity to discuss concepts presented with parents, teachers, and/or other adults.

The book can also provide valuable insight for those who interact with people who have learning disorders: siblings, friends, parents, teachers, and others. Understanding the problems will help people to be more compassionate and encouraging.

We all have learning disorders, as Mel Levine's Keeping A Head in School points out. The difference in Dr. Levine's approach is that students can learn to identify and remediate their own problems, giving them greater power over their own lives.

In this book Dr. Levine models the strategies he advocates that students learn: Lots of diagrams, webs, illustrations, as well as case studies, fill the pages, helping all readers to better grasp his techniques.

Written with humor and "reader-friendly" language, the handbook explains the complexity of learning disorders in terms all readers can understand. Parents, teachers, counselors, as well as students, will better understand learning and how to maximize their potential after reading this book. The reader will recognize his/her own learning disorders and how to overcome them--whether or not diagnosed as a problem learner. A must read for anyone dealing with this condition.

This is an excellent resource book, which envelopes the various ways which every child/ student learns. How you can target learning issues and enable your child/ student to gain greater access to overcome such learning/ academic obstacles. Every parent/ educator should consider this book which will be a great asset. Dr. Mel Levine is a compassionate, resourceful individual. Combining resources and also sharing from personal case studies.
What I have read and learned will be applied for my two daughters and also students.

As the parent of two learning disabled students, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all the kids out there who are in need of a wonderful guide not only for school, but every day problem solving. My son refers to this book often, for reinforcement, for reassurance, and for guidance. There are many books written about learning disabilities, but this one stands out as a wonderful guide for your child to use.

I would easily put this book among the best that I have ever read. The images that Roorbach uses keep coming back to me even though it has been well over a year since I read it. The honesty of his writing is amazing, and there were many, many times that I had to pause because the emotional descriptions were so true. Read this book-- by the end you will feel like an old friend at Roorbach's wedding, and you will be glad not to have missed it.

This memoir records the struggles of a young writer trying to find his literary voice by portraying his distraction, frustrations, and devotions to his art through his adventures with his future wife as they encounter a variety of people and animals--turkeys, turtles, hummingbirds, and bluefishes--in many beautiful natural environments. Their adventures are always fascinating andamusing, and, at times, exciting.

This memoir records the struggles of a young writer trying to find his literary voice by portraying his distraction, frustrations, and devotions to his art through his adventures with his future wife as they encounter a variety of people and animals--turkeys, turtles, hummingbirds, and bluefishes--in many beautiful natural environments. Their adventures are always fascinating andamusing, and, at times, exciting.

This book is a paper plane, it will take you away. From the first page, Bill Roorbach takes us on a wonderful journey during a time of his life, when he first meets his wife Juliet in Martha's Vineyard. It becomes a wonderful, weird, chaotic time for both. This book will make you honestly laugh out loud, and shake your head in disbelief, at the experiences and adventures that these two people take on. It is filled with nature in all it's glory, and sometimes not so glorious. This is a man that writes the way we think. The conversations that he has with himself are so lively, and funny that you will want to shake his hand heartily and say "Yes, Yes, I know just what you mean" Read it, it's worth every word.

This is a wonderful story of one man's memories of the beginning of his true love life. Roorbach is a compelling writer in the essay style of Russell Baker, who offers his readers much in terms of language and story-telling ability. We, too, learn to love Juliet and touch the unique feelings that make this couple worthy of our attention. Perfect reading outside on a summer afternoon

Fantastic Book! Makes a revolutionary concept seem simple and obvious. As an education student, I plan to take from this book for the rest of my life.

This text was recommended reading and as a teacher myself, I find it confounding that it was not required reading during my teaching education. She certainly was ahead of her time, but Sylvia Ashton-Warner might still be distancing herself from those standard based minds determined to put children into the molds we have decided are necessary for their own good. How do we get children to see the power of language so that writing and reading have personal meaning that piques a lifelong journey into the love of learning--this book has some incredible seeds that a willing and curious mind might take, study, and find itself using to change the world, and at the very least the landscape of education as we see it today. Read this book if you want children to come alive to learning.

I am a teacher of 18 years who had to read this book in 1977 as part of my college teacher training and would like to share this book with all teachers. It is as relevant for me today with our scripted phonics and literature-rich reading programs as it was then. Sylia Ashton-Warner does more than portray a method and philosophy to teach reading to New Zealand's Maori children--she paints a vivid, dramatic picture of any classroom. The reader can see the combination of her daily, organized lesson plan superimposed with the actual unpredictable, spontaneous, and social nature of children. Sylvia writes in such a perceptive, humorous way that our sympathy goes out to the Maori children who are expected to learn reading, but are expertly led, not forced.
One of her main points was that the contemporary "Dick and Jane" method of teaching reading was too imposing, stagnant, and foreign to inspire success and a love of learning for her Maori students. She created a new system to do the job of bridging the old, illiterate civilization of the Maoris to contemporary New Zealand. Her method became famous. It is fairly simple and has been used since in a multitude of kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. Children were allowed to give Ms. Ashton-Warner, their teacher, a new word every day. The word was traced, written, practiced, shared, and reviewed the next day. If the word was important enough to the child, it was remembered and therefore called an "organic" word since it came from an important part of the individual child. Children had word cards and every day would locate their own personal word cards amidst the class' collection.
As Ms. Ashton-Warner used this method over time, she was able to categorize important words, and thereby came across universal truths regarding words that made reading easier for her students. The two widest categories she called "sex" and "fear" words, and if a word was easily learned then it fit into one of these categories. Although I personally don't like her use of the word "sex," she explains her conception of it as referring to the human needs of love, acceptance, and survival.
As students became proficient with this first introduction to words, they were "graduated" to more advanced classes in reading and writing, using their own personal word banks, until at last the traditional school books could be used successfully. In addition, Ms. Ashton-Warner wrote and illustrated her own version of basal readers for Maoris, using their own interests and lingo, as another part of transitioning them from their own culture to the literate and modern New Zealand. It is tragic that most of her original works are gone.
In actuality, the book "Teacher" is much more than a description of a pedagogical method. It is a work of art, describing the talent needed to teach. It is a work in psychology, showing one how to cope with the enormous diversity and constant problems of the real classroom. It is a work of teaching methodology, inspiring a teacher to value and inspire the inner thoughts and feelings of a child, and to take those raw materials and create real learning experiences for that child.
I actually read this book once a year. It has become a part of me that allows me to take each day as it comes, to see special inspired moments in a child's day as being a huge, poignant step in their education.

In generally straightforward prose, Sylvia Ashton-Warner describes the success of her "organic" teaching method for five-year-old Maoris, a native people of New Zealand. The idea is as brilliant as it is simple: young children will best remember words that are nearest their hearts.

For young Maoris at the time of Ashton-Warner's writing, these words were not always positive, as many of her students were from troubled backgrounds. Words such as "fear" and "kill" were as popular among them as "kiss" and "love." Ms. Ashton-Warner's infant reading texts were hand-crafted by her for each student's particular needs and interests. After developing an "organic" vocabulary, the Maoris were better able to tackle traditional English elementary texts.

I found a sixth edition of this book in my late father's library. It was required reading for my father's Masters in Education program at Hunter College in New York City during the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Teacher" was first published in 1963.

Contemporary readers, especially Americans, may find the style somewhat dated. Towards the end of the book, Ms. Ashton-Warner changes from a conversational format to a diary-like, almost stream-of-consciousness style which is rather confusing. She also uses New Zealand terms such as "pa" and "haka" whose meanings have to be determined with some difficulty from context.

All that said, the message of "Teacher" is as vibrant today as it was when this work was first published. It is as relevant to building cross-cultural bridges as it is to enhancing learning among students of all backgrounds. My father drew upon it in getting reluctant older students to write and read about things that they were truly interested in. "Teacher" provides an important caveat to today's world of standardized testing and rigid pedagogical criteria.

Hard for me to write a short review of this book since I've written a book about Ashton-Warner's contributions to teaching young children.

The point is, Ashton-Warner was a careful observer of the young Maori children she taught. She knew that what she had been trained to do in a college teacher-training program wasn't working, so she really looked to see what the children cared about, and invented ways to teach them based upon their deep interests and respecting their culture, different from her own. She, a left-handed artist, was different from the mainstream, and wanted to be appreciated...and she carried this and other knowledge from her personal life into her teaching. Ashton-Warner wasn't a woman of perfection, but she made a contribution that lasts...This book has changed the lives of many, many teachers -- I know because they have told me.

It is refreshing to read a book about family life that is not dysfunctional. Mimi Schwartz in her new book of essays "Thoughts From a Queen-Sized Bed," has given us a view of her life and experiences that could be anybody's "normal" family. Her thoughts on growing up, parents, love, marriage, children, celebrations, vacations, illness and death, all felt familiar and I kept finding myself nodding in agreement. In fact, in several of the essays, I thought Ms. Schwartz had been a fly on the wall of my house! I really enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about life in a humorous and touching way.

Mimi Schwartz's "Thoughts from a Queen-Sized Bed" was ordered for me as a gift. I found the book to be a most entertaining series of essays, covering a 15 years period. Particularly of interest to those of us who have been married for a number of years. I share many of Mimi's thoughts about marriage, the problems of merging a night person with a day person and it was good to see them in print. Mimi writes with honesty, humor and optimism. She has a mastectomy and husband Stu suffers a heart attack, but she is undaunted. She accepts married life with all its nuances and muses on them for our benefit. Knowing that she is loved by Stu doesn't prevent her from toying with the idea of an affair. Her husband Stu snores and she wraps her arms around him for comfort. Their marriage is like an old shoe, comfortable even if a bit shabby looking after so many years. Mimi takes us through her family history, raising children, and looking forward to grandchildren, through petty squabbles and making love after an argument. She writes from the heart. Thank you Gerry for sending me this gift. Rita Berman - author of The A - Z of Writing and Selling, 1981.

What makes for an enduring marriage? My reading of Mimi Schwartz is that a portion of wry detachment comes in handy. Unlike so many women of her (and my) generation who have abandoned a marriage or two on the way to professional success and personal fulfillment, Schwartz has stuck with her Stu, and he with her, and these essays often give off a bit of the tension that underlies such give and take. My standards for good memoir rest more on the quality of reflection than on the drama of the incidents,and Schwartz is a sharp observer of the everyday. But there is plenty of shadow here, most prominently her father's narrow escape from the Holocaust, a family historic event that left her not only cognizant of calamity but grateful for good fortune.Would I recommend this book for newly-weds? Maybe after the first big fight. The more battle-scarred among us will applaud the couples' continuing attraction to each other.

Mimi Schwartz's memoir, Thoughts from a Queen Sized Bed, had me alternately laughing out loud, and crying quietly by myself. Her book is a series of short essays about marriage, family, motherhood, illness, work, life, and more!

What is so poignant about this collection is that it is a raw, deeply honest and open memoir that reveals insights into the author's heart. But more than that, her revelations about her own life are, at times, so universal that anyone can find a thought that pertains to their own experience in the world. Her words about her life help us define our own selves more accutely.

There is a humorous chapter on a family reunion "Alan Should Have Rented a Car," that touches on everyone's experience of such an event: the joy and intensity of being with people with whom you have love, history, and future, and yet the inherent difficulty, and real frustration and saddness that such gatherings also deliver.

At times her honesty is so brutal that its makes one want to wince and look away from her pain. Her chapter on breast cancer and mastectomy, "Dreaming of Lace," was brutally honest. And yet her words make us understand the experience in a profound and yet very human way.

Other essays force us to search inside ourselves and face our own follies and foibles, as we follow along with hers. She deals with everything from friendship to betrayal, from getting lost on the way to Cape Cod (who hasn't had the argument about who forgot the map and should we ask for directions?) to finding ones way on the Galapagos Islands. She shares secrets with us about parenting her children, and watching her children become parents, and she forces us to examine our own views of death and dying as she commandingly - yet with a touch of doubt - shares her views with us.

This is a brilliant, beautiful memoir that will not only touch your heart, but aid you in knowing your own life a little deeper.

Thank you Mimi Schwartz, for such a gift!

A Review of Mimi Schwartz's Thoughts from a Queen-Sized Bed

Thoughts from a Queen-Sized Bed is a wonderful collection of personal essays about Schwartz's life as a single then a married woman, as a wife and mother, and as a women committed to her own profession. These snapshots of her life--portrayed with humor, sensitivity, and insight-make fascinating reading for women and men who, like the author, lived through the 50s and 60s and who can easily identify with her dilemmas. But it also provides other readers with an insightful peek into living, dating, and marrying in an earlier era.

In Thoughts from a Queen-Sized Bed, one encounters a range of human concerns, among them: the tensions of being a first generation American, and a Jew, in a culture of mostly established Gentiles; the desire to stay slim, attractive, and healthy in world where women weren't expected to be athletic; the stresses of juggling marriage, the demands of motherhood, and a successful career... [and] the temptations to stray from a long term marriage....
I found reading this book a great pleasure. Schwartz has mastered the form of the personal essay, and her craft is evident on every page. In "A Night for Haroset," for example, she recounts a family Passover Seder that is rich with overtones of the couple's recent illnesses, of Schwartz's fragile connection to Judaism, and of interfamilial tensions.

The family is alive and well in these essays, and I hated to have to stop reading. Had there been more, I would have gleefully continued making a glutton of myself.

This is an excellent read for adult educators that want a series of practical ideas and ways to enable transformation in adult education. To really get at the heart of transformation and its challenges. I suggest reading Paolo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed and get a sense of the ideas of Liberation Theology and the context for Friere's 'dialogical man' before reading this text. The poltical commentary was hardly touched on in this book and engaging in social transformation without taking a poltical position needs deeper consideration because of the risks involved for the educator.

I found Cranton's work to be helpful, readable and credible. I recommend it to people who want to help themselves and others with transformative learning. If you want current thinking and practical advice, this is the book to read.

This newly revised and updated second edition of Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning: A Guide For Educators by Patricia Cranton (Visiting Professor of Adult Education, The Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg, and Adjunct Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University) is a scholarly study of the transformative learning theory laid out for teachers of adult students in settings that range from night school to the college campus. Providing a complete mapping of transformative learning and supported with thorough discussion of how adult students are in fact transformative learners, Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning offers a ready grasp of theoretical developments involved such issues as the role of imagination, spirituality, and the importance of connecting critical information in the midst of various transformations. An important addition to professional and academic library "Education Studies" reference collections, Understanding And Promoting Transformative Learning is very strongly recommended reading, an outstanding presentation of the cognitive learning procedures involved in the processes of transformative learning.

Book Review
The book, Understanding and Promoting Transformative Learning by Patricia Cranton not only provides an in-depth account of transformative learning theory, but also offers the reader the opportunity to reflect on his or her own adult learning experiences. Cranton describes transformative learning as a three-step process, (a) subject-oriented, (b) consumer-oriented, (c) emancipatory. She compares these systems with Habermas and Mezirow who have also developed similar transformative learning theories. For example, Habermas defines transformative learning as, (a) technical, (b) practical, (c) emancipatory knowledge.
Cranton's book is organized into ten chapters separated into two parts. Part one defines the transformative learning process; part two describes how the educator can apply transformative learning in the educational process. The book is prefaced by concerns, needs, purpose, and reader audience. Each chapter is summarized and contains information of the preceding chapters. A detailed reference section concludes the book. The organization of the book was extremely helpful to me, as I was able to build concepts within contextual reading.
Researchers define adult education in different ways. Human characteristics are diverse, and it is not possible to generalize the adult learner. Therefore adult learning is classified within a larger system: positivism and constructivism. The former is subject-oriented; Habermas equates this learning to technical knowledge; Mezirow uses the term instrumental domain. Consumer-oriented learning is within the positivism and constructivism domains and hard to define. Habermas equates consumer-oriented learning to practical knowledge (interactive process of learning and individualized learning) and Mezirow to the communicative domain. Emancipatory learning belongs to the constructivist system as the learner becomes empowered often through a difficult process. Habermas and Mezirow call this level emancipatory as well. Mezirow adds a societal process to this learning domain.
The following chapters describe transformative learning within its theoretical context. Mezirow stands out in his goal to determine the true meaning of emancipatory learning developed through critical self-reflection. He depicts various meaning perspectives (how do adults see the world). As the adult learner gains experiences, he or she creates personal and social meanings and interpretations of information. Mezirow divides the meaning perspectives into epistemic (knowledge), sociolinguistic (social perspective) and the psychological meaning perspective. As educators are planning programs for the adult learner, it is important to keep Mezirow's theory in mind, as he stresses the learner's perspectives and the practitioner's experiences with the learner. Although I have often through my own experiences come to assess knowledge and social perspectives while planning, Mezirow's definition and Cranton's explanation clarify questions I have had in building concepts diverting a teaching environment into a meaningful learner-centered environment.
Cranton suggests various levels of self-reflection and critical thinking. She believes that transformative learning is not one process but a myriad of interwoven processes as diverse as transformative learning itself. The ultimate goal of transformative learning is to achieve learner individuation and empowerment ultimately resulting in critical self-reflection. My self-analysis questions how competent and effective I am and have been as a planner for the last ten years. Although I have attempted to follow different learning levels, I did not always understand that effective learning will lead to empowerment and emancipatory knowledge in the adult learner.
Cranton includes Jung's model of psychological types in her book to assist the educator in understanding the individuation process. Jung describes people as extravert or introvert. He also differentiates between an individual's rationale to judge either through values of thinking (logic) or feeling. Although Cranton states that transformative learning is better suited for the thinking function, the thinking types are not most likely to revise their meaning perspectives (Cranton 119).
The second part of the book goes beyond the process of transformative learning and reflects on the learner and the educator's role within the transformative learning process. Cranton believes the educator has three categories of power over the learner, (a) position, (b) personal, (c) political power. Empowerment is a pre-requisite of critical self-reflection and transformative learning. Empowerment should be the outcome of an educational experience. Cranton believes that for learner empowerment to occur the educator needs to relinquish position power while maintaining personal power. It is critical for the learner to have control over his own learning to reach empowerment or political power through .critical self-reflection. The educator needs to pose thoughtful and critical questions to raise the learner's consciousness and to stimulate higher level discourse. Because of varying learner types, each leaner exhibits an individualistic approach to empowerment.
In conclusion, as the educator plans a program, he or she needs to plan to include different learner's beliefs and assumptions. Learners require continued support as they mature and understand self-reflection. Learner assistance can come from the educator himself or from his or her social environment. The educator must stay a self-reflective learner to maintain the meaning of self-concept. I find this of utmost importance. A stagnant educator will become inflexible and not be able to understand the needs of the learner. According to Cranton professional development leading to personal growth and empowerment must be designed to include not only skills training, but also focus on personal growth and ultimately self-reflection as a life-long learner.
As the educator is planning a program, it is essential to consider various factors. The planner must discern the context of the learning process, consider the values, beliefs and assumptions of the learner, ensure the program will go beyond the skills level to include personal growth for all participants regardless of psychological profile types. The program will ultimately result in critical self-reflection and emancipation. Caffarella, in her twelve-step interactive model, includes many of these factors. This book was valuable as it allowed me to think about different types of learners and learning styles. It complemented Caffarella's text in that it filled in my own gaps to better understand her initial chapters of discerning the context and the assumptions and beliefs.. A program can only be successful if all learners benefit from the program implementation and take away what is important for that learner to achieve empowerment and andragogical values.

Cranton gives us great strategies for developing self-awareness as educators. We can become aware of our assumptions by trouble-shooting our own ideas with a suggested list from Cranton: write critical incidents (episodes in our own lives that created new perspectives), keeping journals, writing life histories, conducting criteria analysis, and engaging in a crisis-decision simulation. Cranton says discussions with colleagues and friends may be enough of an impetus for explicating assumptions. When we question the what, how and whys' we can become reflective practioners. The next step is integrating these assumptions into an informed theory of practice. Personal growth for the practioner and the adult learner is our goal. Cranton uses simple language to tell us what the needs of the adult learner are. Her book defines educators themselves as "transformative learners". Today's ideas of educators as facilitators is not just a trendy idea for Cranton. She gives us great ideas on how to revamp our teaching. We are exposed to the different types of adult learning. Cranton explains subject learning, consumer-oriented learning and emancipatory learning. As a fundamental goal of education, emancipatory learning defines the role of education in society. We see Cranton's name a lot in adult learning materials and she in considered an authority. You won't be disappointed with her matter-of-fact way of presenting information. She does not hoard information, she shares everything available to cover the topics at hand. In this "information age" Cranton is out there "fighting the war".