Education Books

I recently purchased and read this book as I continue to avidly research autism and it's treatment. I came across this book and purchased it based on it's reviews, and there is clearly a reason that this book has very high reviews. Dr. Koegel has written one of the best books that I have read covering this topic. The book itself is very well written and documented, and it gives hands-on treatment approaches to problematic behavior. Most books talk about the various areas of difficulties that a child w/ autism has, but for anyone that spends anytime around a child w/ it, we don't need a book to tell us what defines problematic behavior because we could write one ourselves. What someone needs is this book that discusses why the behaviors occur and how to replace the inappropriate behavior w/ something the child can learn from and consequently, yield appropriate behavior. After all, if we don't have a cure yet, we should at the very least, have a way to beat it and overcome it!

Thus, my appreciation really does go out to Dr. Koegel and her research/exprerience w/ dealing w/ children w/ autism. My only regret is that she works out of UCLA and is far away because she would be an incredible asset to a child w/ autism in Texas. She does however have available for purchase through her website, a set of various training manuals that cover areas of problematic behavior that give a more in-depth approach to how to teach and work w/ a child so that they can learn how to eliminate the behavior and replace it w/ an appropriate one. That is, after all, the point -- help the child learn by teaching them how to effectively deal w/ their autism so that they can overcome it! This book is the answer, I thank Dr. Koegel for sharing and allowing us to have hope in, at times, a very difficult world.

So full of hope and realism. If you are going through a tough time coping with the diagnosis, this book will get you back on track and focused on how to best help your child from an ABA/educational perspective. You won't find all the controversial treatments in here, but straight forward therapist and parent perspectives on how to help your child. I immediately started using techniques discussed in the book and was impressed by how quickly my daughter responded. At 3.5 she still has a way to go, but I have such an improved outlook for her future thanks to this book.

There are books on autism that I recommend that parents and heathcare professionals read. This is one book that I recommend that they don't just read but buy and keep it for future references.

There is such a wealth of info on autism here. If you can only afford to buy one book on autism. Let this be the one.

The authors take a highly optimistic view of treating autism. However, they make no bones about the fact that the treatment process is long, tedious and can even be painful. The first chapter deals with diagnosis and dealing with the initial shock.

From the second chapter onwards, the authors get down to earth with managing the autistic child. They go down to every detail on how to encourage communication. Start from the very simple and basic. Turn sounds into words. Reward, reinforce ...

Next, it's down to breaking the self-stimulating or injury cycle. Introduce replacement behaviour. The authors go into the dos and don'ts for breaking repetitive actions. Why punishment doesn't work for them. There is also a very practical FAQ section that deals with the common concerns and problems faced by parents and care providers.

The following chapters deal with imparting social skills, providing education and family support. There is so much useful info that it's impossible to finish, let alone digest in one reading. Buy this book and keep referring to it as you manage autistic children and see them grow up.

My son was diagnosed with ASD at 2. I read many books and this was my favorite. It was clear, easy to read and most of all it gives you techniques on how to help your child overcome. It gave me hope when I was facing his diagnosis.

Although I have not purchased this book, I have read a copy that I borrowed from a library.

While the author of this book doesn't guarantee that autistic kids will improve suddenly as soon as their cargivers start giving them the help they need, she talks about how much they can progress eventually if their caregivers give them all the help they need. I really like books that tell us about how much autistic people can progress eventually if they are given every chance to progress as much as they can, and that also give examples of those who have made great progress already, as a result of being given every chance to progress as much as they can. In fact, I really like all books that offer solutions to major problems and/or better alternatives to the status quo!

Alan did a great job with this book. Not only did it help me to understand the mistakes I have made with graduate school but it also helped me to take a good look at my life. I needed help and after I read the book it was like I had a better outlook on life.The book was very easy to read. What I liked most about the book was was how the author told his story and the stories of others. It was interesting, informative, sad, and sometimes even amusing. Great Book.......Would like to see more of Alans books come out.

This is a great reference book to have on your shelf. It is honest, straightforward, and very easy to read. In fact, it took me about two hours to read. However, don't let the brevity of the book decieve you. this book is packed with advise from every thing to enhancing your application to the final defense of your thesis or disertation. Since I've been to graduate school, I can say that the author talked about every issue you will need to know about to be successful in graduate school. I would even recommend this book to students who have not finished their graduate education. It should be required reading for anyone wanting to get into graduate school.

Being a college students, Mr. Paredes book was very helpful to me. I have plans to futher my education but wasn't sure where to start. Now, I have the help of this book. I have already shown this book to my sister-n-law who is filing out college applications, she loved it too!

This books feels like an abridged version of Getting What You Came For. It's very short so you can finish it pretty quickly. This book didn't provide me with the depth that I was really looking for. Also, I found the writing to be quiet poor. The author's tone was rather encouraging. He repeated several times that you do not need to be extraordinary smart to receive a PhD. He also provided lots of precautionary personal tales. After a few chapters, though, you will start wondering how many friends the author has and why they all seem to be making such terrible mistakes that eventually result in their leaving their graduate program.

I enjoyed reading this book and finding out that I have it in me to SUCCEED in graduate school. I thought grad school was only for the cream of the crop, not average people like me. I wish I would have known what grad school was like sooner because I would have tried to get in a long time ago. The most interesting aspect of this book was how the author weaved his story and the stories of others with facts about graduate school to tell a tale that was interesting, informative, sad, and sometimes even amusing. I thought the author gave commen sense advice to what seems to me most aspects of graduate school (although since I've never attended, I don't really know). Another very interesting part of this book that I haven't seen in other books, and I've been reading a lot lately, was the section entitled "History of Graduate School" This section gives you when, where, why, and how graduate school got started in general and how it got started in the United States. I could go on with other positive statements about this book, but I guess I'll cut it short and just say that, all in all, this was a very informative book and one that deserves high marks.

I was either 8 or 9 when I read this book. I read the back of the book and thought it would be OK ,but when I got home I went upstairs to read and I couldn't put it down. That is why I gave this book a 5.

After the amazing fourth Replica book, I was sure the next one would be great too. However, when I noticed it didn't really have to do with the Replica plot, I was nervous about how good it would be. It turned out to be pretty good. Amy Candler has never really bothered with the popular clique. They're all snobs, and Amy didn't want to get into that. However, when mysterious accidents and disappearances start to occur, Amy knows she must figure out why. All signs point to the popular kids...could there be something much more dangerous to them than their personality?

Like I said earlier, the beginning of this book wasn't that interesting. The plot didn't seem that good, and it actually seemed like Amy wasn't the star of the book. I guess I just don't have a thing for secondary characters. Anyway, as I got a little father into the book, I realized that it was really good. Things got much more suspenseful, and I was completely shocked by the ending. I really should have given five stars, if the beginning was a little better. This isn't a must-read for Replica fans, although it's interesting to check out.

This book is more complete than the others are. So far each of the previous books relied on knowledge of the book before it in the series. This one can stand a lone. Amy is the focal point in the investigation of the disappearance of several students. How ever the mystery surrounds a girl that recently returns to school and resumes her position of head of a Secret Clique. Even if you can guess what is happening, following Amy throughout the process is well worth the read. What would you do if you were Amy? It is a mind-bending experience that will keep you under the bleachers.

The fifth book of Amy series is finally mature. In this story,students in twelve-year-old Amy's school,Parkside middle school,were disappearing one by one without reasons.Amy tries hard to get into a school popular clique,which is a strange behavior to everyone-she never belonged to any clique,or wanted to,at the very least,not this kind of clique. This one,with a leader name Melissa Mitchel,who had just recovered from a car accident after months in the hospital to receive treatments and operations,had become extremely creepy and exclusive-something more than "cool".
The thing that makes this book diffenrent from all the others before is that for the first time,the danger had not come directly to Amy herself,and she had to use her extraordinary power to protect her schoolmates and friends against people other than the organization that chased after her forever like an old hunting dog. I think Amy was extremely glad to get rid of those organization people for a while(Me too! It's tiring to think about the organization all the time.).
Eric in this book was more active,and had shown his bright side,and he no long gave people an impression that he was sort of stupid and made people wonder why he could be the boyfriend of such a smart girl. And Tash,as Amy's best friend,was acting pretty good too,though she was so mad at Amy's behavior,she still didn't lose faith in her friend.
It is one of my favorite books in the Amy series. Suppose it won't let you down!
Hope this review is helpful to you!

This is the fifth installment in the Replica seires by Marilyn Kaye about a girl named Amy who finds out she is a ... This book proves the cliques [are bad], even though every school has them. I didnt really enjoy this book as much as the previous ones but it was still good and it still needs to be read to understand the series. Recommended.

This is an excellent resource for those who already volunteer or want to and don't know exactly where to start. Even if you don't volunteer with any of these 202 examples, you'll certainly be inspired to find your niche to help others. The contact information about each group is very helpful. John's last chapter, 20-point Front-End Alignment" was an added bonus of inspiration.

I'm a retired manager from one of the major automakers. The business community has changed greatly over the past 35 years and has become more socially conscious. A Global Force of one provides practical and feasible ideas to implement projects with meaningful results.The bigger the company the harder it is to implement company wide programs this books shows how individual plants and offices can make a difference. Easy to read and well organized it can be read and re-read almost anywhere. I recommend this book to all management trainee's and middle managers.

I teach a social problems course at a large urban community college where practicality is of the essence in designing a course syllabus. This text introduces students to practical, exciting ideas for combatting the social problems of our communities and is a touchstone for a generation of young people entering society with a desire to do something worthwhile with their lives. I highly recommend this book for teachers, parents, and those interested in persoanl growth.

I would like to thank the author for writing a book to inspire people and create a more caring world.

I think my most telling response to this book is that while it is supposed to get you excited about getting involved...I read it, put it on the shelf, and don't feel any more empowered than I did before I read it (which says just as much about me as it does about the book). While I agree with the intent of most of the highlighted programs, I don't feel ready to start a community program so I would just move on to the next page. Nothing really jumped out and made me say "Wow, that sounds amazing. YES! I want to support that program!".

Some similar books that I enjoyed more are: (1) How to Make the World A Better Place and (2) The Better World Handbook which discussed how you can integrate your values and actions on a daily basis and make a difference in many areas of your life (e.g. money, shopping, community, food, politics) instead of just through volunteering or helping to set up a new community, business, or school program (like most of Global Force of One did). If you want to read a book to inspire you and combat your cynicism I would also recommend Soul of A Citizen. After reading it I immediately went and volunteered in my community.

These books are more accessible to the amount of effort you are willing to put in and did a better job of meeting me where I am and encouraging me to taking positive personal steps to improve the world and live a more fulfilling life.

Good luck improving the world and living a life worth living!

John Boal's BE A GLOBAL FORCE OF ONE is one of the best resources I have ever found for community service learning projects. As a teacher of CSL, it's important to know what other projects are going on and how to modify them to fit your own school, agency, or club's needs. This should be used as a regular textbook in any formal CSL program on either the middle or high school level--it is in my program!

This book introduces jazz to a young audience. It explores the sounds, rhythms, and emotions of the genre through colorful pictures and rhythmic words similar to the beat of "scat" singing.
Lots of the words are there just for the sound of them. By focusing on the sound words, students could develop spelling strategies that help them move from phonemes, the sounds they make, to graphemes, the written representations of those sounds.

This book is excellent. The illustrations and musical text allow for early readers to really enjoy and learn from this book. Perfect for preschool and kdg age. I used this book as the basis of a jazz unit, it worked wonderfully.

"Charlie Parker Played Be Bop" was my son's favorite book when he was two and nine years later we still have fun reading it. I now purchase a copy for new parents to read to thier babies. As a speech language pathologist, I want to share to magic of words and the music they can make! This book is an absolute MUST read for all children.

I wasn't sure how my little one would respond to this book even though I love it. If I ask, "Do you want to read about Charlie Parker?," she lights up and starts literally starts to bop. The baby digs it. Just more evidence that the jazz is a universal language. I like the introduction to poetry, rhythm and randomness ("Never leave your cat alone"). I bought two other copies and gave them to my friends for their babies.

I am an elementary school music teacher with students ranging from pre-K to 5th grade. I read this book to all of my pre-K and kindergarten through second grade classes and sometimes the mood strikes me to read it to older students. There is something in here for most every age. Everyone loves it.

So why does Raschka draw chicken feet in such odd places, e.g., on overshoes, alphabet letters, pancake flippers?

Well, rumor has it that one day Charlie Parker was driving back to his boarding house and, as luck would have it, he hit and killed a chicken that had run out into the street from someone's front yard. Such chickens are called "yardbirds". The alleged events include Parker doing the unthinkable, namely, backing up his car, picking up the dead chicken (aka "roadkill"), taking it to his landlady (hey, it was fresh!), her cooking it, and him eating it. When friends heard this story, Parker was known forever after as "Yardbird", which was eventually shortened to just "Bird".

If you didn't catch the part about the chicken feet on your own, don't feel badly. Insiders like Rachka and myself know it and now you do too. Rachka has done a terrific job in providing a lot of feeling about some very notable personalities. Plus he does it with humor, some of which is very subtle.

My students probably have as much fun going through Parker's history as with the book itself. But all of that is just the preliminaries: I then have to read it several more times with the students reading and acting out the story. We have a rockin' good time.

Very informative and thorough guide to ALL aspects of a hysterectomy - reasons for needing one, choosing the type of surgery, what will happen during surgery, recovery time-table, & post-surgical issues. Written by a gynecologist who consulted colleagues, themselves experts in sub-specialties, when she needed to. The book is crammed with information and written in a conversational tone that is sprinkled with humorous tidbits.

I am in a high risk cancer group, and had a prophylactic hysterectomy resulting in surgical menopause. Unfortunately I found this book at the library AFTER my surgery. I read the entire book anyway, because I wanted to be fully educated on what I had gone through and what was ahead of me.

I had an excellent surgeon at a teaching hospital, but this book would have been a great resource 6 weeks ago! Kudos to the author, and I hope it gets revised as new HRT treatments and studies are released.

I think this is the best book (easy to read no-nonsense, authoritative) on hysterectomy. This doctor had good, sane advice. I underlined lots of it.

After you read this, for the "sister to sister" book about what REALLY goes down once you decide to have a hysterectomy, get the Hyster Sisters book or visit their website: www.hystersisters.com

The combo platter of these two books should help you like it's helped me.

I'm in the process of planning for a hysterectomy. I read this book BEFORE I interviewed surgeons. It was an extremely helpful resource for me to understand the various procedures to perform a hysterectomy, to learn about the decisions I need to make, and to fully understand the pros/cons and risks. As a result, my time in the doctors' offices has been much more valuable because I was better prepared. I highly recommend this book!

I thought this was an Awesome book on the subject. It is a Must for anyone needing or planning to have a Hysterectomy. Info for both before and after. Would also be a good idea for partners to read as well.

Being scheduled for a hysterectomy can be very scary. In my effort to become an informed patient, I scoured the available books for help. After buying several, I found this one. So very helpful. It included all the information I needed. Both physically and mentally. So well written and easy for the lay woman to understand. This is the only book you really need.

I'd been searching for this book to read to my 2 year-old son. I remember just loving it and was sure he would. He does. It's just delightful to hear his astonishment every time another hat appears on Bartholomew's head. It's a must read for children of all ages.

This book left a strong impression on me as a child. One of only a few books that I remembered vividly and was anxious to get for my own young boys (who of course, loved it).

The story is great because it keeps building and building. There is a little violence (threatening to cut off Bartholomew's head), but that only made it more exciting for me as a young boy to read it.

This is a great book for kids ages 4-5 all the way through 8-10. It has a catchy story line about a boy of that age, his problem, how he plans to solve it, and finally the real solution. An upbeat read for kids these days. And, it's by Dr. Seuss.

I LOVE Dr. Suess. Really. We have lots of his books and I enjoy reading all of them to my kids with the exception of this one. It annoys me to no end. That's just it...it seems like there is no end. It's not rhymie or sing-songy like his others. It's just repetitive and boring and ..... oh just YUCK!

I bought this book because it brought back such good memories of my child's childhood and my own as well. I look forward to sharing it with my grandchildren someday. This is a great book to read!

This is a warm and touching read. It was a pleasure hearing the stories of parents of children with Down's. As a Speech Pathologist and Teacher of the Speech/Language Impaired, I would highly recommend this to both my collegues and clients.

"Down syndrome is the most common genetic condition, happening once in every 730 births. Down syndrome occurs among people of all races and all economic levels and affects more than 350,000 American families." The sixty-three women who share their stories of raising a child with Down syndrome in "Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives" breathe life into that statistic.

Kathryn Lynard Soper's son Thomas was born premature and with Down syndrome. In inviting women to share their stories in "Gifts" she wanted to "create the book I wished I could have read during the long dark winter following Thomas's birth." These stories are stories of hope and love and of children who change the lives of the families they entered. There is pain, too: the pain of difficult medical procedures, lost hopes, and adjusting to a life different from the one envisioned. However, none of these women would change their lives. They love their children and have learned much from them. As Sopor states, all of these mothers have "come to understand that life - including life with an extra chromosome - is a gift. A good gift."

"Gifts" is incredibly pro-life. Many of these women were given the option to terminate their pregnancy. For some, there was no question that they were going to carry their child through to birth. Others struggled long and hard with the decision. All chose life. As mother Catherine Finn states, "I want the world to understand that every child, whether they have a disability or not, deserves equal opportunities to grow and develop. I want to emphasize that children with Down syndrome are more similar than different when compared with other children."

"Gifts" is an amazing book with parenting lessons even for those whose children don't have disabilities. The stories will open your eyes and touch your heart. It is an invaluable resource for those facing a diagnosis of Down syndrome in their own child.

When I found out my daughter had Ds (at her birth), I was initially devestated. My fears drove me to devour anything written about Ds, and my sister ordered several books from Amazon while I was still recovering in the hospital. Most of the books detailed the medical and developmental issues many children with Ds face, and I found them disheartening. I finally had to put them aside and just focus on loving my daughter and getting to know her. I wish I had read THIS book at that time, as I would have found much comfort in it. My daughter is now 4-years-old and she truly is a rare gift. I would highly recommend this book for new (and not so new!) parents, grandparents, etc. TEN STARS!!!

I am a new(ish) mother of a beautiful little 11 month old baby girl who has down syndrome. I have never been able to finish a book on ds as I always found them upsetting and depressing but this book was quite simply THE most beautiful & moving book on the subject I have ever read. As the other reviewers said, I could only read a few stories at a time with a big box of tissues beside me as I inevitably ended up crying, but they were tears of empathy and joy and I felt so lucky & proud to have my little princess sleeping in the next room that a few times I almost went in to cuddle her while she was asleep just from reading about the other very special little children. This is an amazing book, I wish I had had it in those first few terrible, bleak, dark months of trying to adjust to her diagnosis. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

I used this book to begin the school year. I had my students listen to the story to guess each part of the pyramid of success. After the story we built our own pyramid on a bulitan board and discussed all of the elements needed to be successfull. Now I refer to the bulitan board to remind the children of what they are to be doing. This has been a great tool to teach character to my students while keeping control of my class. Inch and Miles are my new class mascots!

What a wonderful book! The illustrations are colorful and filled with interesting characters. Each block in the "pyramid of success" describes a value in an animated and fun format. A great inspirational book that teaches everyone to to be their best! A terrifically well written that should be shared with everyone you love.

I bought a batch of "Inch and Miles" and gave the book away as presents to my family and friends. "Inch and Miles" is our favorite book in our home library. We recommend this book to parents, educators, and coaches.

As a Principal of an elementary school I gave this book to each of my teachers this Fall and we read the book together round-robin style. What an experience! Their enthusiasm has carried through the whole school as our students have all had discussions of the various blocks, the value of hard work and being a person of integrity whatever your path. We so appreciate that Coach Wooden put his successful system into a kid-friendly venue to reach even our kindergarteners. A must-have book for adults as well as children to assist in returning to the basic roots of a successful society. Yes, enthusiasm is important, but staying the course, inch by inch, with confidence and poise, hard work and determination will ensure great accomplishments. So, "hootie-toot-toot" to a rival Bruin we will always be indebted to! Fight on!

At first I thought this book was too much for children to absorb. But after seeing the kids' reaction to it and the content of other books the children could be reading, I realized the title of this review.

Inch and Miles are now the central characters in our schoolwide character ed program! This beautiful book with powerful lessons from Coach Wooden has been the perfect addition to our program, and it is not the same old charater ed stuff you see everywhere! Each classroom in our school has a copy of the book, and we focus on one or two traits of the Pyramid each month. Students are selected as Students of the Month based on the trait for that month. Every student in the school keeps an on-going journal of writing related to each trait, and students perform special skits, songs, poems, etc related to the traits in the book at our weekly assemblies. Whether you use it individually or schoolwide, this book is a must have for teachers and parents!

Mr. Woodson: Drew, how did you like my book?
Drew: I liked it.
Mr. Woodson: Really?
Drew: I really liked it?
Mr. Woodson: Really?
Drew: I loved it?
Mr. Woodson: Really?
Drew: I really loved it?
Mr. Woodson: Really?
Drew: Yes, REALLY!!!

What an entertainly addictive read. We teachers hear so much everyday, and it's a joy to see someone share our reality.

Drew in Floresville

This book is a sort of "Sideway Stories from Wayside School" for teachers.
Keep a copy in the teacher's lounge for some needed comic relief.
It's a good 'read-a-loud' book for those stressful days.

I taught in DISD for 14 years. I left the district 3 years ago and currently teach in Anchorage, Alaska. I missed DISD so much and all that I went through there. When I found John's "Learn me Good" blog through the Dallas Morning News website I was so excited to see that I could follow DISD teachers all the way from Alaska. Well it got to the point that I couldn't wait to get my daily emails from his blog and laugh.

I finally decided to get the book LEARN ME GOOD and see what it was all about. Well, from beginning to the very end he had me cracking up. He brought me back to my days in the classroom in Dallas. I could relive some of the stuff I had to go through. If you plan on becoming a teacher at all in a urban setting, this is the book to read. Keep it also after you finish reading it so as you are dealing with the stresses of teaching you can open it up and see that someone else went and is going through some of the insanity of everyday teaching. This is a book for every teacher. I am still smiling from reading it-Great Job John!!! :)

After each email ended, I was faced with a conundrum: keep reading on or stop and save the rest for later, savoring each email like a piece of fine chocolate. I wanted to keep reading on, but didn't want this book to end!

I stumbled across this book as I searched for books with the same themes as mine (humor, education). The book preview was enough to convince me to buy the book--I liked the author's style of humor and the writing was good.

This book is hilarious! I especially like how the author uses references from previous chapters in subsequent ones, adding to the comedy by making the reader feel like a story insider.

I have so many favorite lines, but I think "Calls me Ishmaels" takes the cake! I hope this author writes more in the future!

John Pearson's quick wit and descriptive storytelling made for great reading in between grading papers. Some of his chapters/emails almost made the paste I was eating shoot out my nose. Although the semi-autobiographical Learn Me Good details John's first year as a elementary school teacher, I found that it resonated with me as a middle school teacher as well.

Good stuff...