Educators Books

We used this in my class, and it was better than most spelling curriculums. It was interesting, and I believe that the author and editor did a good job of trying to make lang. arts and vocabulary something that kids would enjoy. I'm in 5th grade, and we're using the 6th grade one since the book for grade 5 is too easy. I hope this review helped! ;)

The editor of this beautiful book, Ms Sandra Joseph, has put together various of Janusz Korczak's texts, from a number of books, such as 'How to Love a Child' and 'The Child's Right to Respect'. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942) was a Polish-Jewish doctor, playwright and pedagogue, who was deeply involved with the education of orphans in Warsaw, Poland. He became famous for his radical views on the right of the child to be respected and treated in a humane way. As an 'advocate of the child' he claimed, long before the 'official' rights of the child were established by the UN, fundamental rights for children and youngsters. His life, and that of the orphans, ended when in 1942 the Nazis put them on transport to Treblinka. Since the 70s his ideas and views are studied around the world. For a number of reasons, this book is very welcome. In the first place it contributes to the reception of Korczak in the English-speaking world. In the past years only few works on Korczak were published in English; the Lifton biography 'The King of Children' being best known. In the second place, this book presents in a nutshell both Korczak's life and general ideas and a generous selection from his texts. Now we have at last a source that can be used when one wants to refer to Korczak in English. In the third place this little book is published in association with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the United Kingdom, to which the author donates part of her royalties; so Korczak's ideas are clearly linked to a very topical and pressing problem, that of the cruelty to and maltreatment of children. Ms Joseph ends her introduction by saying the following: 'Korczak deserves to be recognized and honoured today, not because he was a martyr, not because he was a great writer and doctor, not because he cared for the most neglected and poorest of children, not because he made a unique contribution to the world of education -but because he was a man of great humility, who lived and died solely because of his deep belief in and love for children. Korczak truly was 'The Champion of the Child'' (p. xxii-xxiii). I do hope that this little book will find its way, especially in the English speaking countries. Those already familiar with Korczak will find new inspiration; those new to him will find a source of wonder and challenge.

Joop Berding author of a book and some articles about Janusz Korczak; member of the board of the Dutch Janusz Korczak Association; co-editor of the Janusz Korczak International Newsletter.

I enjoyed reading this book in light of the fact that Miss Snyder taught my children in the elementary school. I was a little disappointed that the schools were fictitious and wonder if some of the stories were as well. She was truly a powerhouse and I do believe that her comments to the students were real. What she did with the elementary students would never cease to amaze. The book was an easy read and quite enjoyable.

I know for many people it is hard to read stories of children how are suffering at the hands of their caregivers, but this book is so much more. It gives you the tools to see the signs and know what to do. This should be required reading for all educators to help them handle the question, "I know something is going on, but now what?" As mandated reporters it is critical we know how to react and act! I heard one of my cohort members say that she does not read the vignettes, but I find those really help drive the point home for each chapter. I have found that it helps me personalize the information.

Since I took a graduate seminar course in women's memoirs in American literature, I have read several books by Heilbrun. As I was not going to specialize in autobiography/memoirs or in feminist theory, I read her more as a writer than a scholar or theorist, focusing more on how she says things than on what. In this regard, I enjoyed every book I read because her language was something unique. It is clear and concise, without being simple, authoratitive without being pedantic, seemingly aloof yet strangely persuasive. If passion is another name for talent, she is very, very passionate, but that passion is moderated with a unique kind of resignation (or perhaps, wisdom).

This book is not my favorite, and compared to other titles such as Writing Women's Lives, it does indeed gets slow and heavy here and there. There are parts where even those in the same line of work as Heilbrun's would go, "Who cares?" or "Why bother?" Yet, largely, it is accessible and *fun*. Read as an intellectual memoir, it is a story about how Heilbrun was gratefully influenced by three men, how she resisted and embraced their influence, and how she finally grew out of it. There are many interesting anecdotes coming from her encounters with these men (Barzun, Fadiman, and Trilling) and her life as a graduate student in the 50s at one of the most highly regarded universities in the US. Students of today would gasp at the nightmarish inconvinience of having only two copies of their papers, and painfully taking turns in reading other student's papers due to the lack of copies.

Heilbrun devoted a chapter to Diana Trilling, which wasn't her plan when he planned on the book. She was fascinated and gained admiration for her in the process of research for the book, and readers would clearly see why in the chapter on her. In sum, according to Heilbrun, Diana Trilling is a woman whose insights on her life come largely from feminism ("the most successful revolution of our century," Trilling herself called it), yet who was not herself a feminist. She accepted a life of belittlements from others, while having penetrating understanding of those belittlements.

Early in the book, Heilbrun notes that perhaps one of the most palpable influences she got from Lionel Trilling would be the notion that "tragedy is what most marks us if we are thinkers." This is what Trilling shares with Freud, and this is what Heilbrun shares with Trilling, despite her distrust of Freud, and to some extent, of Trilling as well. This comment comes after an anecdote about Trilling's inspiring lecture on Henry James, from which young Heilbrun took the idea that "the essence of literature was in the tensions of the thinking life." This part of the book is strangely moving, and makes me think hard about the interplay among "tension," "thinking life," "tragedy," and "literature." A small and not really an ambitious book, but contains much fun and insights.

Despite the title, this book covers a lot more than just the authoring of old Universal Studios screenplays. Curt Siodmak has strong opinions and can't help but mention them at any point in his story (even if he repeats himself a bit). Sort of a raw, stream of consciouss style with a bit more discipline than that. A really good read, covering WWII Europe, Hollywood, and the brothers Siodmak.

These vocabulary workbooks have their pros and well, just one con, but a big con in my book. I like the way the words and definitions are given with pictures to help the children to understand and retain the words. Each lesson introduces 10 words and then is followed by exercises that help them to use the words in every day life. Exercise 1: Words and their meanings; Exercise 2: Seeing Connections; Exercise 3: Applying Meanings. Then there is a one page story to be read that uses most or all of the vocabulary words. This is where my con lies. I actually like the concept of using the words in the story, but it's the stories sometimes that are questionable. We have had to skip two stories altogether because of teachings of evolution. If you are a creationist, you will be concerned about this as well. I now check each story prior to my daughter reading it to make sure it is appropriate for her to read. Following the story are questions to answered pertaining to what was read. Occasionally the answer can not be found in the story, it is left up to your own imaginings which can be frustrating to my daughter who is searching the story for the answer. The lesson is concluded with either a crossword puzzle or a hidden message, which is a fun way to test the knowledge of the newly learned words.

This book is a must-own for teachers of young children or of beginning writers of any age. I have successfully used the ideas with special-needs children grades k-6, and also in a balanced literacy/guided reading program. The ideas work especially well for including a variety of learning styles, as many of the mini-books lend themselves well to artistic expression, rhyme and repetition, choral reading, and hands-on assembly.Plus, the students are proud of these little handmade books, and start to think of themselves as writers!

The book is comprised of articles in five sections:

1. Qualitative research and Educational Biography,
2. Methodological Issues and Biographical Research,
3. Archival Research and Educational Biography,
4. Educational Biography as Dissertation Research,
5. Implication for the Field of Education.

Found this book very inspiring while working on a narrative biographical research of high school teachers, especially what Louise De Salvo wrote at the end in an article named "Advice to Aspiring Educational Biographers" (p. 269):
"...if it is your predilection, you unashamedly bring whatever you are concerned with in your life into the arena of your work, to enrich and deepen the understanding of somone else's life, to create an ongoing dialectic between your life and your work in which your work enables you to understand your life better and your life enables you to understand your subject's life better".

The book not only inspired me but also added to my understanding of biography as a tool in educational research.

I was twice a student of Jim Corder's during the time he was writing this book. While attending those classes, in 1987 and again in 1991, I was unaware of the ultimate project.

I came upon this book about six months ago. As I read it, I noticed several recurring themes in the book that he had also expressed during his freshman composition class during the autumn of 1987. He was the only professor I ever had who, when he assigned a composition, would write one of his own. I believe at least one of those compositions, which he read to us during class, is contained in this collection.

Corder seemed to have a wistful longing to address issues pertaining to the setting of his childhood, knowing full well that the players are gone and the place has changed. He was also smart enough to know that things may not have existed the way he remembered them. Those who have moved from the part of the world from which they came may find pieces of their psyche within this book. Only Corder knows what he meant.

Corder also paints fragmented pictures into inner torment that I could not have imagined as I sat in his classroom. I suppose writing this book served to sand over many painfully rough edges of his life. The personal nature of the book may put off some readers, especially those who don't know the author.

I had meant to drop Corder a line to wish him well and to tell him how much I enjoyed his writing. Alas, I waited too long. Jim Corder was buried today after succumbing to liver cancer. He was 68.