Educators Books

This book ia a great addition for your antique price guide and references. Wonderful color pictures and easy to read prices. Highly recommended!

This book has hundreds of very impressive photos of specific items, noting their defects, markings, and value. However, unless you happened to run across the exact same item, the information is next to useless. While it is interesting to see an unusual art deco lamp, I'd be more interested in meatier topics, such as (1) how prevalent is art deco?; how hard to find?; (2) what should you be looking for in an art deco piece?; (3) what are the trends? Is this passe? Up-and-coming? Likewise depression glass, Shaker furniture, Americana, and old toys. Instead of a pretty coffee table book, I'd appreciate the value of the author's experienced guidance much more

This is a comprehensive, well illustrated guide. Like all guides of this sort, it can't cover everything. If you have a particular interest in a specific field then this book will not work for you (e.g. if you collect Silver E.P. from the 30's this book covers off on one manufacturer well). If you want a general price guide, can draw inferences from items of a similar age, quality, style and market this book helps.

In both style and content it is similar to Miller's: Antiques Price Guide 2005 by Elizabeth Norfolk. I think Norfolk's book has a definate edge; although it is a little more expensive.

Neither book is a "how to appraise" guide - they don't claim to be. Neither are they completely comprehensive - they couldn't be. They are illustrative guides of current market prices. If you are buying for this purpose you wont be dissapointed with either.

The editors of this book could have easily trimmed the 381 pages of text (not counting the appendices) to 125 pages of useful information. The content of the book is excellent. The author describes hundreds of scenarios of feeling "unsafe" physically or emotionally in school and then suggests way to remedy these problems. Unfortunately, the reader must trudge through references to countless research studies that would only interest a graduate student, as these studies have no bearing on the content of the text, and only serve to "prove" the authors point. The reader doesn't need this proof, so hundreds of pages are essentially worthless to the casual reader.

As a graduate student, I appreciate the research and time the author took compiling the information. As a teacher, I know the value of creating educationally sound environments so that students can learn. But as an avid reader of all genres of text, this was a waste of my time. I have read far more helpful and creative books that valued my time as a reader and did not meander through repetitive ideas and insinuations. For the same info you'll receive in this book, but with much more reader satisfaction, read texts by Ruby Payne, Michael Gurian, Stephen Covey, or John Maxwell.

This book changed the way I think about things.

To start out with, I have had a heck of a time in High School, being teased relentlessly... so when I saw this at the bookstore where I worked at the time, I put it aside to buy later.... then I bought it, read it, and went crazy... every single thing that bothered me in High School was addressed in here.

This book has a great title, this book has great content, and this book is an essential in any library, personal or otherwise. If you love your kids and see this book lying around, it is a safe bet that youw will pick it up and benefit greatly from it!!!!

Honestly, there are few books out there that say what this one says... and the way it is said. Jane is a gem, she is a national treasure for writing this book!

This book is an interesting read from the very beginning. Each chapter's beginning grabs your attention and I found myself turning pages to get to the rest of the story. The suggestions are logical and can be implemented to the benefit of teachers, students and parents. It's about time for this really important book.

"Cyber bullying is defined as involving "...the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phones and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal websites, and on-line personal polling websites, to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others.."


As society evolves, so do the topics with which schools and educators must cope. Technology is adding to the growing and changing issues. One of the latest, most difficult to address is the problem of cyber bullying. With the rash of school related violence bullying is a hot topic in most schools throughout the United States. As the availability of computers to all students has increased, so have the incidences of cyber bullying. It is a way of communication that can cause immeasurable harm when misused as a way of threatening, demeaning or through the use of words or images. Personal or school email are used for one on one attacks, group public humiliation is attained through sites such as My Space. Parents and schools must be alert to this expanding form of bullying and its effects on our children.

Each different avenue and form of cyber bullying is addressed in this book as well as the possible underlying causes and response suggestions. It does not lump all incidents together but examines the potential motivation behind the attacks and looks at ways of identification and prevention. One of the books strengths is that it is very specific with concrete ideas that can be practiced and implemented. The sources of the information behind the program are well documented and plentiful.

The authors of this book advocate that "the focus be on assessment with a therapeutic response to cyber bullying . A proactive rather than reactive approach.." This textbook for educators and parents is written in a concise format that uses defined tables of information and bulleted lists to clearly present extensive information. Bold section titles with brief introductory overviews enable the reader to carefully work through what could potentially be an overwhelming amount of information. It includes check lists, reporting forms and assessment tools that are ready for use by school counselors and administrators. This can be used as a resource guide or an actual textbook for workshops or seminars. It also lists many, many sources of additional information for anyone who would like to explore the topic further.

Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the Schools: A Resource Guide for Counselors, Educators and Parents will be a valuable addition to any school computer program, resource library or workshop curricula.

Well researched and extremely valuable resource for parents, counselors and schools alike. Simple language, good worksheet study guides and excellent plan for safety for the young internet users. User friendly, could be a good classroom project at all ages. Includes Warning signs of cyber bullying.

Bullying continues to plague many children during their school years and as times change, so do the bullying tactics. Computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), cell phones, chat rooms, and instant messaging (IM) have brought about an entirely new way for children to get hurt. Barbara Trolley, Connie Hanel, and Linda Shields have teamed up to help those school administrators and parents to battle this growing problem. Their newly published book, "Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the School: A Resource Guide for Counselors, Educators and Parents" tackles the fundamentals of this serious issue as well as recommends a detailed plan of action involving the individual, the school, and the community.

`Kids will be kids' is not a response that Trolley, Hanel, and Shields consider appropriate for the subject of bullying. Since cyber bullying can be accomplished with no witnesses, it is essential that children are taught to recognize the signs as well as receive assurance that it's alright to report the problem. Further, typical punishments such as detention, suspension, or expulsion should not be immediately considered for the bully. Instead, therapeutic measures should be taken to get to the deeper issues and get the instigator the help they need to address their internal problems.

Trolley, Hanel, and Shields successfully communicate their proactive plan of action, detailed down to even month-by-month activities in a given school year. Their message is easy to understand and just as easy to implement in real-life situations. Chock-full of outside resources, "Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the School" offers counselors and parents addition avenues to further their education on the subject.

Bullying may never be completely obliterated from our schools but that doesn't mean we can't teach our children what acceptable and unacceptable social behavior is. Reduced numbers of bullying incidents results in less cases of lower self-esteem and a greater feeling of community - and better-adjusted adults in the long run.

--Vicki Landes, author of "Europe for the Senses - A Photographic Journal"

I did not find this book very insightful. I think this book would be an eye opener for the many Americans that have not had any personal experience with people from third world countries. But as an immigrant from Argentina living in the US, the opinions and feelings expressed by the kurdish people regarding american policies abroad, ring very familiar to me as I have heard them many many times in my country of origin. It may surprise some americans that the US comes across to non americans as a bully. And in that regard the book is a good read to hear non americans talk about the USA image. But the collections of opinions is as raw as shallow, repetitive to no end. The book could be 2/3 shorter and we would not notice.

This is an excellent book: intelligent, incisive and entertaining. I learnt a lot about Iraqi Kurdistan (a part of Iraq we usually don't hear so much about), but also about American culture and values. In fact, it is the interplay between American values and how they are received in Kurdistan that makes this book so interesting. Plus, many of the classroom stories are just hilarious...

A fresh and remarkably insightful look at what's going on in the Kurdish section of Iraq through the eyes and writing of a fresh and insightful young man for whom we can credit courage, respect and talent. His characters are real and interesting, as is he and the manner in which he shares with us his experiences with them. We should be reading more in the future from Ian Klaus.

Most people who have heard about Janusz Korczak (Henryk Goldszmit) know him from decriptions of him during his years in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II and how he refused offers of shelter in safer areas because he refused to abandon the orphans in his care. His march, leading the orphan children in serene dignity to the cattle trains waiting to take them to the Nazi death camp of Treblinka, certainly makes for an unforgettable and compelling image. Indeed, but what about Korcaak's life? There is so much more to "Mister Doctor," as his beloved pupils called him, and this book tells the story of his life, philosophy, and dreams.

Betty Jean Lifton has done admirable job of covering Korczak's entire life, from his family background and sad childhood to his journeys while studying medicine to his establishment of the Orphan's Home to his religious beliefs, writings, and stint as radio personality ("The Old Doctor") to his final years in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he continued to manage an orphanage to give the child victims a life of dignity in their terrible last years.

Though there are 33 pages of notes in the end, these in no way detract from the readability of this book. For the most part, they serve as reference points for anyone wishing to research an aspect of Korczak's life further. They also bear testimony to the tremendous amount of hard work Ms. Lifton put into her book; it is obvious that this work was truly a labor of love.

Translations of works into English by and about the great Polish doctor, educator, and social worker Janusz Korczak are very hard to come by. Educators, social workers, policy makers, and parents - in short, anyone who cares for and about children - owe it to themselves and the children in their care to be familiar with his methods and philosophies of raising and educating children. It is a great pity that most of his original writings have not yet been translated into English; this book goes a long way to that end. Betty Jean Lifton has done the English-speaking world a great service in making the life of this true hero accessible. This is not just a book to be read, but one to be considered, reconsidered, and savored.

Interesting material about a national Polish hero, although too much detail made the book somewhat tedious.

The book was almost too well researched, giving every minor detail of Korczak's life as well as those of his companions. It was, however, worth learning about a national hero from Poland.

This book tells the story of a young woman with an impossible dream, and how she set about accomplishing it. Tenberken was born with vision problems that led to complete blindness by the time she was a teenager. Once while she was in middle school, she and her class visited a special museum exhibit about Tibet. From that point on, she was fascinated with Tibet, and when she started university, she decided to major in Asian languages with the goal of going to Tibet. Pursuing a major in Asian languages is quite difficult for any Westerner, but even more so for a blind Westerner, since Braille materials and computer software for language study in these languages are limited, if they exist at all. Indeed, Tenberken ended up creating her own Braille system for writing Tibetan script (which proved so useful in her studies that she was even able to use her class notes to tutor sighted students in her classes). Upon graduation from university, she set off for Tibet by herself to found a school for blind children and teach them how to read and write using her Tibetan Braille alphabet with the goal of allowing them to be integrated into regular schools once they became literate. The very thought of just picking up and moving to a country that happens to be occupied by a communist government and establishing an independent school for unschooled children, especially when you yourself do not have teaching experience, sounds positively ludicrous. Fortunately for the blind children of Tibet, Tenberken doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the phrase "you can't do that"- -perhaps a result of her upbringing, since her parents obviously supported her endeavors, or perhaps a simple character trait that drives her.

In a few places in the book, Tenberken's style is a bit stilted, or she seems to gloss over details that beg to be explained. She carefully avoids any mention whatsoever of the political situation in Tibet, since any hint of criticism would no doubt result in the immediate closure of her school and the undoing of all of her efforts. In any case, she taught her students Tibetan language from the start, rather than only sticking to Chinese. The book is quite interesting for its story of how one determined person can have a tremendous impact on the lives of many, many others.

Sabriye Tenberken is a young woman from Germany who happens to be blind. She has written one of the most amazing and uplifting books I have read in years. MY PATH LEADS TO TIBET is an account, in her own words (translated from the original German), of how Sabriye fulfilled her dream of helping the blind children of Tibet achieve independence and attain a sense of dignity. She has done this by establishing a school for blind children in Lhasa against incredible odds -- all alone and before she reached her 30th birthday.

There could be no better introduction than her own words: "Strange as it may seem, whenever I'm about to take a leap into the unknown, I always have the same dream. I'm standing at the top of a sand dune, looking down at the sea. The sky is clear and blue, the sea flat and dark. The sun is bright, the beach is filled with people. Then all of a sudden, on the horizon a huge towering wall of water is moving slowly toward us in total silence. Everyone is running in my direction. The wall of water, growing ever more menacing by the second, blots out most of the sky. Instead of running away, I walk toward it. And the wall of water crashes over me. To my surprise, however, instead of being crushed by its mass, I am in my dream left feeling tremendously light, filled with new energy. And I know that from now on nothing will be impossible." (pp.11-12)

Sabriye was diagnosed with a serious eye disease in childhood and became completely blind at age 12. She uses a white cane when she walks and travels around the world without assistance. In a place where she has never been before, she relies on strangers to help her and trusts that they will. She is rarely disappointed. The faith she has in herself and in the best of human nature is extraordinary --- and extraordinarily rare to read about at a time when, more often than not, we are being bombarded with words of worldwide deceit and destruction.

The book is written in a flowing, straightforward and easy-reading manner in first person, much like a journal. Yet Sabriye never forgets that we who are reading her book have never had the experience of being blind. She takes us into her world and shares with us her experiences in such a way that we gradually begin to realize what an extraordinary teacher she will be, when and if she is able to get her school started.

On a previous trip to Nepal with her mother, Sabriye spent a brief time in Tibet and learned that blind people are viewed as having been cursed at birth and are treated very much like lepers, or worse. She developed a burning desire to teach Tibet's blind children that they can have full lives, that they do not need to be ashamed or handicapped and that they can live as Sabriye herself lives --- to the fullest.

Tibet, now a part of the People's Republic of China, is famous for its exotic isolation. Yet she set off with only a few pieces of luggage, her white cane and a promise of a small amount of financial backing from sources in her native Germany. She had to apply for permission to the Chinese government and faced bureaucratic obstacles that must have seemed as insurmountable as the mountains themselves. She doesn't give up. She makes friends. She buys a horse that knows its way through the mountain passes.

Not only does Sabriye have to get permission to build a school, she must also go out among the people --- some of who are nomadic tribes --- and find the blind children who will become her pupils. Because their parents are ashamed of them, these children are often hidden away. Thus she travels on horseback and tells us of her travels, the hardships, the joys and the people she meets along the way. Even though you know she will achieve what she has set out to do, the fact that she was able to do it is so remarkable that you will read with your heart in your throat much of the time.

The publisher has included a selection of color photographs that, for us sighted folks, add much to the book.

Reading MY PATH LEADS TO TIBET is an unforgettable experience. Sabriye Tenberken has done us all a kindness by taking us with her on her incredible mission.

--- Reviewed by Ava Dianne Day

Sabriye Tenbergen is a young blind woman who has accomplished a great deal. Almost single-handedly, she developed a Braille script for Tibetan, then went to Tibet, where she traveled on horseback, looking for blind children to teach. Before then, blind children were hidden away or abandoned as cursed, with no future, but Sabriye was determined to give them one. So she founded a school where she taught blind children to read, as well as other life skills such as cane travel. She herself got around by cane by using landmarks in the city.

This account is just one more example of how the best humanitarian work is often founded by determined individuals with a dream. Conversely, Sabriye was opposed at almost every turn by incompetent and apathetic bureaucrats in organizations both in her native Germany and in Tibet.

She clearly loves the land and people, but is not "blind" to the reality either. The country is frightfully cold in winter as well as being prone to floods. And she noted many of the superstitions that harm the wellbeing of the people. But she noted the strengths as well, e.g. Tibetans designed houses to cope well with the cold, while the Chinese made concrete boxes that are hopeless. [Reminds me of the opposite in sub-tropical to tropical Queensland. The early settlers designed open-structured "Queenslanders" that caught the breezes very well, but later architects in New South Wales and Victoria designed houses that became convection ovens in Queensland]

Sabriye has a way of writing that seems very visual, so sometimes it's easy to forget she's blind.

Professor Rosenthal has done a superb job of evoking the persona of the man who built Columbia, using his 44-year tenure as university president. The author has even succeeded in evoking the reader's sympathies for Butler, a powerful leader who, viewed in today's lights, was an autocratic megalomaniac who missed many opportunities to build an even greater educational institution on Morningside Heights.

This biography will be of great interest to anyone who spent time at Columbia (or its sister institutions) during the 20th century -- the years during which Butler's influence was at its zenith. It provides, perhaps for the first time, a background for some of the University's admirable traditions, balanced, wisely, by a few rather embarassing episodes in its history.

Well written, but of interest mostly to those who went to Columbia while he was president.

Nicholas Miraculous: the Amazing Career of the Redoubtable Dr. Nicholas Michael Rosenthal's biography of Nicholas Murray Butler was fascinating reading for me because of Butler's position as my father's boss and major influence on the social, political and academic world in which he lived during the 1930's and early 1940's (my formative years). It was a world of clubby collegiality for those on the inside, formal social affairs, conservative politics, anti-Semitism, and class and cultural snobbery. Attitudes towards Franco's Spain, Mussolini's Fascism and Hitler's Nazis ranged from admiration to toleration - at least up to the time of the invasion of Poland in 1939. The issue of Negroes on the faculty or in the student body was so far from Butler's concern or concept of the way things should be that it is not even mentioned in his biography. Faculty members were free to exercise academic freedom so long as they did not publicly challenge any of the basic principles of the world of Butler and his colleagues. Those who did, were dismissed or passed over for promotion.
My father often complained about the internal politics he had to deal with at Columbia and I had assumed that this was a problem endemic to all academic institutions, but after reading this book I get the impression that it was worse at Columbia than other places because of the personality and policies of Butler himself who was not a very good administrator.

Prof. Kiely is a deeply learned man whose faith has been a guiding source in his life. Even for the non-believer, his memoir is instructive and moving to read given his sensitivity and good humor.

For a small audience, "Still Learning" has some very redeeming qualities. But I would imagine that, for the general reader, the book would be disappointing. The central problem is that Kiely seems to lack an intuitive understanding of what "creative nonfiction" is, or at least should be. This book is much more a straight autobiography of the author's middle age. The problem with this is that I don't see why any general reader would be particularly interested in Kiely's life. I personally found much of the book interesting--but only because I know Kiely personally. As a student of Kiely's at Harvard, I found him to be a wonderful teacher, and an even more wonderful man; indeed, he was one of the few Harvard professors who possessed an innate kindness and humility. Thus, for those of us for whom Robert Kiely represents the best qualities of Harvard, and the best qualities of a teacher, the book allows us a glimpse into the life of this very special man. But if one hasn't had the pleasure of being his student, I simply don't understand why anyone would be interested in such a detailed description of his life. Basically the book is a memoir of how great it is to be a privileged Harvard professor. Fine. I wish I could have that life too. But only those who have an interest in Kiely himself, or Harvard generally, will find this book interesting. In his subtitle, Kiely refers to his book as "Spiritual Sketches." For spiritual sketches, I would much sooner recommend something more along the lines of "Learning to Fall," by ALS victim Philip Simmons, who, like Kiely, was an English professor (and, like Kiely, was an Amherst alumnus), but who, unlike Kiely, writes with a profound sense of what creative nonfiction is meant to do.

A compelling account of a handful of events (at middle-age and beyond) coming into the life of an English professor, husband, son, father of four, mentor to hundreds of students and friend of hundreds more. Lessons learned: the power of faith and prayer, patience, the never-ending need for new friendships, the devotional wisdom of Christian meditation, and the blessings that come with putting down roots deeply into the soil of one family, one church and one university over the course of one life.

This book was the not the greatest if you have athletes in your classes. The games were general, some of them would be no fun to use. They certainly are not lead-up games, they are simply games teaching no fundementals of sports.

Guy Bailey provides the physical education teacher as well as the classroom teacher with a complete and comprehensive guide that presents sports lead-up games for over 150 game activities. They are user friendly and the book is very organized and easy to use. My students have really enjoyed these lead-up games. I highly recommend this book. It can also be a great tool for substitutes.

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This book would be perfect for a PE teacher who is having a bad day and didn't plan the gym class for the next session of third graders. Just grab this book and you will have 150 ready made ideas at your finger tips!

I was interested in a specific sport lead up games and found many new ideas that easily adapted to my needs. Also discovered some interesting ideas to spice up a Soccer Camp.

It's a reference book and so it sits on the shelf a lot but when you need a great idea for activities for kids, you will reach for this one.

I would recommend for PE teachers and youth sports coaches who want to add excitement and fun into practice sessions.
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Becoming a teacher takes years of exhausting, painful trial and error. Deserving a four star rating, Jay Parini's book The Art of Teaching looks back over his years in the academic field. This beautifully written book is full of essays on everything from the first day of class, to the day of commencement. Parini looks at every issue a teacher might face in the classroom from the teacher's persona, to the teacher's relationships with the students and colleagues. He writes about trying to balance a teaching life and a life of research and writing.
Parini uses the word "teacher," although he really should say "professor" because the book is about his life at the college level. His life in the early years of teaching and all the struggles he ensued learning the ropes and climbing the ladder to tenure.
Although this book is written for the teacher at the college level, anyone in the teaching field will come away with some useful insight. This book has great quotes like "There is always a fresh start, with new students, new colleagues, new courses even old colleagues somehow look new in September." In my experience in the teaching field this is so very true.
Reading this book made me think of teachers from my past. We as teachers draw from our past experiences. This helps us to become better teachers. That is what Parini did. He put some of those experiences down on paper so we could all learn. Although, this book is about teaching at the college level I did come away with some very good insight on teaching from the heart. I would recommend this book to anyone in the teaching field.

that one must grow or else pay more to remain the same, paraphrased from Norman Mailer's _Deerpark_ comes into mind as I wandered/wondered through Mr. Parini's work.
I particulary enjoyed the chapter on Robert Frost and the reflections on Socratic instruction, however, when he "waxes the nostalgic" the pages turn less rapidly and a sense of literay fatigue sets in the reader.
Mr. Parini seems to have a distain or at least a reluctance to acknowledge the imminent power of the electronic media as it relates to enhancing classroom instruction. Note page 132 where an instructor is damned with faint praise for his utilization of the current technology. Another telling instance of this perception is on page 150 where he writes that he will communicate with his son who will be a college freshman primarily by telephone, to use a contemporary colloquialism, "Duh" how about
email.
The reference that there is little value in the over the air media is simply not true, he mentions the Simpsons and South Park which contradics his argument immediately.
Most of the book is worthy as it promotes inspection into the evolution of an English teacher, I only wish he would have recognised that the "medium is the message" and that the instructor, as he points out is more the conductor and less the composer.