Educational Books

Rich has given us the gift of his wonderful thinking on deep issues of faith and practice. Each day I look forward to reading those thoughts so that I can carry them with me and apply them to my daily events. If you value the ability to think, question and reason then you must read this book.

The thing I have discovered abvout Rich Mayfield's writings is that they are a gentle, but astute and pointed criticism written from within the heirarchy of the church. Nor is this criticism from someone who is estranged from the institution and has become bitter. Like Martin Luther five centuries before, Mayfield quite obviously loves the Church and simply wants it to be as it was intended. He writes as a prophet who speaks the truth, but it is done with obvious love.

Even so, I have to give this work only 4.5 stars rather than a full five. As a daily reader of Mayfield's book of days, Confessions of a Christian Agnostic (christianagnostic dot com), I find Reconstructing Christianity is much less relevant to my life and much less provocative for my own thinking. There is a distinct difference between the original teachings of Jesus, which come from the four Gospels, and the church which his disciples founded, based largely on the writings of Paul of Tarsus. The one is a radical way of life that brings peace and strength to those who practice it. The other is an institution which bears heavy responsibility for many of the evils we experience in the world of today. Even so, Reconstructing Christianity is an excellent resource for those committed to the institution which calls itself the holy, universal Church.

If you plan to purchase one book that encompasses Christian truths in today's social context, this is the one. The writer's form of short, pithy thoughts is read each day, an exercise in spiritual growth. The book transfers the emphasis from "correctness" of belief and opens lives to the unrestricted love of God. Every clergyperson needs to have this in their library for personal reading and sermon thoughts.

Reconstructing Christianity does just that....reconstructs a way to think about Jesus without having to be saved from fire and brimstone. Pastor Mayfield adds a touch of humor to his essays which are filled with progressive Christian thought. I loved the simple format of daily meditations and highly reccomend it to anyone looking to enrich their lives.

To the extent that this gem of a book demonstrates how the way we handle money is a metaphor for much else that ails us, it helped me face and deal with an array of things that were dysfunctional in my life - not just my indebtedness. Written in a style that's both personal and universal, Margaret St. John's book has a formula that works.

....and read this book! Written with the understanding and compassion which comes only from experience and hard work, Margaret St. John will help those willing to gain insight into the reasons they suffer with debt. The reader will empathize with people who reacted to early childhood circumstances by becoming adult debtors, and underacheivers. I learned the reasons we undermine our foundations with needless debt, and how best to allocate what we earn. The method used is practical and has helped many who thought there was no hope. This book helps even those of us who have no debt, but who, by mismanagement have wasted money we may need in time. Buying this book is a wise investment.

This book takes a hard hitting approach to debt. While reading the book, I quickly discovered it wasn't about the money. Wow! What a revelation. This book has helped me to "peel away the layers of the onion" and discover the reasoning behind my debting. It even inspired me to go to my first Debtor's Anonymous meeting. Today, I'm much closer to becoming debt free. The future is much brighter now that I don't debt one day at a time. Thanks, Margaret!

This gem is a do-it-yourself guide to the solvency we all desire. The practical exercises are fun to do, and they hold the key to opening those doors of awareness as to why we do the things we do.... More than just a "how to manage your money" treatise, this book delves much more deeply into the beliefs that keep us indebted monetarily and otherwise. Excellently written, with plenty of anecdotes and personal experiences, I found it insightful and empowering. This book comes from the heart - Ms St. John has suffered through and found solutions to problems more common than most would care to admit. Thanks so much for sharing.

I'm a third-grade teacher and bought this book for my class library. There's a mixture of real art pieces and drawings done by an illustrator whose style goes well with the paintings. It's a fun way for the kids to learn about something new. I highly recommend it to teachers of grades 3-5. It's a fast favorite, and now my class is filled with Renoir fans.

My kids (who hate having their hair cut) love this book and have been asking for it every night. I love the fact that now they'll grow up knowing who Renoir was, recognizing his paintings, and knowing the surprising and amusing story behind them. This is such a gem of a story and it's so wonderful that someone thought to write a children's book about it. Great story, beautiful illustrations.

Great Book! Lots of fun to read. My children and I both enjoyed the story, how little Jean was part of his father's artwork and creative process. Good for all ages, from 4 to 41. I liked learning more about Renoir.

This is the perfect book to spark a child's interest
in art. I read it to my sons (ages 5 and 7) and they
had fun picking out their favorite Renoir paintings.
Then they wanted to go to the museum so they could
look for Renoir paintings. (This made me happy!) My
older son identified with Jean (Renoir's son), who
wanted to be more like the other kids, but more
importantly, he admired Renoir who followed his
passion and didn't care what anyone thought of him.
What an inspiring message for kids!

As a parent, I could sense Dr. Pohlman's sincere desire to help children and their families. If more professionals would use the "Revealing Minds" approach, more children would get meaningful assessments with effective learning plans, while being treated with dignity and respect. Thank you, Dr. Pohlman!

Revealing Minds offers educators a new way of looking at assessment which has been sorely needed in the field for too long. There are so many struggling students who are misunderstood and would benefit from the insights offered by Dr. Pohlman. It is very well-written and accessible - parents also would learn a great deal from this user-friendly book.

This is the most insightful assessment book I have ever read. It should be required reading for all education students as well as anyone who works with children. I only wish it were even longer!

This is one of the best books about assessment that I have ever read. This is a must read for all clinicians and teachers working with children with learning difficulties today. A totally fresh perspective on assessment.

A gripping synopsis of the part that the Roman Army played in history, starting from its initial dominance after it defeated the Greek armies at Pydna in 168 BC, to Vespasian's triumphal parade after Titus' victory over the Jews at Jerusalem. A definate 5-star, must-have book.

One of the finest overviews of the Roman army from the late Republic {197BC-70AD} to the early Empire. The author clearly knows his subject. Fine detailed research to inform teacher and student alike. The excellent color plates made the text come to life, as Mr. Connolly describes how Rome's might was based on discipline, tenacity, adaptability, and organization.

Most points are touched on: from the daily life of the legionaries & auxiliary troops, Rome's innovative engineering, equipment, parades, tactics, weapons, siege equipment, training, rewards, punishments, the officers, & even some information on the Praetorian guard.

The main focus of the book describes the Roman army during three critical periods: the Macedonian campaign{this made her the western worlds undisputed & sole superpower}, Caeser's conquest of Gaul{Rome's fastest conquest} & the early years of the Empire. The book is divided into three sections: The Army Of The Republic pages 8-23, the army at the time of Caeser Pages 24-35, & the army of the empire pages 36-72. With a 2 page Latin glossary & 2 page index the book is 77 pages long.

This is one of the finest illustrated books about the Roman Army that I have ever read! Its attention to even the most minor historical details is impressive. A must for every student of Roman military history it definitely deserves to be in print again!

This book gives the most thorough and concise description of the Roman Legions from the early republic up through the height of empire. The amount of detail is astonishing, beautifully enhanced and simplified by the gorgeous illustrations.

We have a 4 yr old Sammy too, and he loves this book. We looked for similar dinosaur related titles by the same author, but all we find are the "Harry and the Dinosaurs" series, it seems that the author changed the name of the little boy and also republished the original "Sammy and the Dinosaurs" as "Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs". We tried to read the name of "Harry" as "Sammy" and his sister "Sam" as the original "Meg", but since our 4 yr old can also read, he has pointed out that they spelled Sammy wrong, I guess we'll have to tell him sooner or later, but for now it is quite amusing to hear us stumble through these stories. I wish he'd have left it alone.

This story is really enjoyable. Young readers would love the story though it may appeal more to boys than girls because of the dinosaurs theme. The illustrations are very well done. I definitely recommend this book for young kids.

My 4 year old son Sammy and I checked this out at the local library (we're suckers for Sammy books) and immediately fell in love. Definitely one of the cutest books I've ever read. The Sammy in the story cleans out the attic with Gran, and they find some old dinosaurs. Everyone thinks they're junk but Sammy! His sister even gets a bowl of cereal on her head because she say so. Sammy cleans them up and goes to the library to learn their names so he can call them when he needs to, and they whisper "Thank you." Knowing their names becomes especially helpful when Sammy leaves them behind after going on a train ride (MY Sammy's true love). We love this story so much, now we're looking to buy it and read the other Sammy books as well.

A young boy discovers some toy dinosaurs; cares for them, learns more about them, and they "come alive" for him. Simple story line, great dinosaur illustrations in color, with accompanying names. Recommended for K through the 2nd grade.

This book was valuable as an aspiring educational leader. The 21 responsibilities were extremely valuable in understanding the role that an educational leader must take on. The down side was the statistical calculation which without having had stats in some time made understanding the rationale behind some of the data more challenging. I would still recommend though!

I had asked to borrow this book from friends and was turned down. So I finally picked up my own copy and I was not disappointed. It is a good book, practical, short and concise for us busy administrators. I recommend it.

In this book, Robert Marzano, the most effective force in educational reform today, continues his efforts to promote excellence in schools. Here, he and his colleagues turn their attention to defining school leadership behaviors and actions that raise student achievement. They blend practical advice and research to come up with specific steps that school leaders can take to see that students improve academically.

Marzano et al found that there are 21 leadership responsibilities that have a statistically significant relationship with student achievement. All are important, but the three most correlated with achievement are (1) Situational Awareness (of the specific school situation and good use of this information), (2) Flexibility (to adapt to the specific situation and to handle dissent), and (3) (tied) Discipline (to protect teachers from undue distractions), Outreach (as advocate and spokesperson for the school), and Monitoring/Evaluation (creating a system that provides feedback on effectiveness).

They classified previous efforts at school change into two types. First-Order Change is incremental, a step-by-step pattern. Second-Order Change is sudden reversal of pattern or direction, anything but incremental. Both change processes can be effective, and both require different behaviors by school leaders. The three most effective behaviors for First-Order Change are (1) Monitoring/Evaluating, (2) Culture (building a positive culture that influences teachers), and (3) Ideals/Beliefs (leader's well-articulated ideals and beliefs). The three most important behaviors for Second-Order Change are (1) Knowledge of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, (2) Optimizer (optimism as a critical characteristic), and (3) Intellectual Stimulation (of Staff).

The third component Marzano et al looked at was the importance of the leader's ability to select the right work or issues for the school staff to tackle to improve achievement, whether through the use of models of site-specific or of comprehensive school reform. Both models are effective if tailored to the needs and context of a given school.

But hold on. Don't be discouraged from reading this book because you fear that this is just another text full of education theory and cliches. Or don't succumb to thoughts of "been there, done that" and been burned too many times before. Marzano and company offer a thorough, five-step plan that works for experienced or novice leaders. They recognize that no one person can do all they suggest, and they show how to share leadership with other educators and community members. This book is the most clearly defined, research-based plan for improving student achievement you can find today; and everyone, educator or not, who is interested in better student academic growth should read it.

If there were educational awards equivalent to the Congressional Medal of Honor given for service beyond the call of duty for the promotion of student academic excellence, Robert Marzano should receive the first.

Robert Marzano and his colleagues translate the knowledge base on effective school leadership into a clear and precise format applicable to 21st century schools. It is a great gift to both successfuil veterans and aspiring leaders. Students and the nation are better off for this work. Education professors and school board members will use Marzano's meta-analysis to understand and articulate the qualities we need in today's leaders.

"Schools That Do Too Much" by Etta Kralovec gives insight to the "hows and whys" of where a portion of our education dollars are spent. Ms. Kralovec also takes us through a typical day in the life of a high school student. The time and money lost in our education system according to her is "eye-opening" to say the least. Although I do not agree with all of her findings as being money and time wasters; what she conveys will have you agreeing with her. Schools today are not delivering what is needed for our students. Read this direct and easy to follow book and then draw your own conclusions about today's public school expectations.

In her new book, Schools That Do Too Much, Dr. Etta Kralovec advocates rethinking the amount of time and financial backing given to "school sports, DARE and extra-curricular activities", but not without rationale. She documents the toll taken upon academics from the seemingly endless stream of fundraising for one project or another. She notes that with each new societal challenge; AIDS, drugs, poverty, disrupted family units, we have expected our schools to assume responsibility for instruction on the issue, and to act as surrogate parents. Although there is undoubtedly a need for a larger community support network to support our youth, is that the role of the school? With each new program or curricula added to an already hectic week, some other piece of the day must give way. Inevitably, it is a core academic piece that is lost. With the recent increase in federally mandated standards, and a drive towards "learning results", it is especially difficult to accomplish. Kralovec acknowledges the value in special programs and extra-curricular activities, many of which grew out of progressive reform movements of the past aimed at making our communities more cohesive and nurturing places. However, in the face of nsufficient time and funding devoted to academic pursuits, she argues thatit is time to fundamentally revisit the purpose of school. We must alter the curriculum, the budget, and our own expectations to achieve success.

That the average student's day is chaotic and fragmented is more than just the "view" of Dr. Kralovec. As reported in her book, studies show that during the average high school day, a comparatively small percentage of the day is devoted to actual learning. Large chunks of precious time are squandered on moving between classes, settling into the new class, taking roll call, and the numerous and frequent interruptions from announcements,
bells, and other distractions. Furthermore, the time spent `in class' is not always spent `on learning'. Even the very nature of that time is examined. Research shows that the current model asks students to engage at hours when they are least able to do so, and then divides their day into ways which make it particularly difficult to focus. Perhaps from a sense of familiarity, perhaps from lack of a clear alternative, we continue to cling to this unproductive model. Kralovec offers an alternative.

Following an illustration of how to read and understand a school budget (so that parents and interested community members can see where the money is spent), Kralovec goes on to present concrete and well developed, if radical, solutions. These include doing away with homework as it is now (see her prior book The End of Homework), altering the length and structure of the school day, eliminating the bells and loudspeakers which fragment thought, respecting the time allotted to learning, and making the classroom `sacred space'. She challenges schools and parents to revisit their long-held assumptions about what a school is, in an attempt to see what a school might be. I challenge you to read
her book, loan it to a teacher, pass it around your local school board, and start the dialogue.

Heather Martin-Zboray

Kralovec raises two interesting and important questions in this book: What should schools actually be responsible for, and how should the various "additional" (in Kralovec's view) activities and concepts be handled? She advocates removing athletics and drama from the domain of the school, placing them instead in the hands of community groups and businesses, and argues that doing so will allow schools to focus more effectively on the business of learning.

Kralovec's stance is a brave and innovative one, but she barely acknowledges the fact that any such radical change would be possible only after a LOT of hard work by school and community leaders. She does recognize the fact that many people would be angry about proposing these changes. Overall, I don't feel the book does enough to make this kind of change possible -- that is, there isn't enough concrete information about how to bring about real school reform.

Kralovec uses a kind of composite sketch to describe the problems in American secondary schools; some schools are better learning environments than the author describes, and some are even less productive. She also seems to rely on a very few studies to support her ideas, and frequently speaks in generalities. The book as a whole could have been edited better for things like parallel structure, consistent verbiage, and Those Mistakes that Spell-Check Can't Help With.

I think these are important ideas, and it's clear that Kralovec really believes in her thesis. _Schools That Do Too Much_ is worth reading, but the writing itself leaves a bit to be desired. I would (actually, I did) get it from the library rather than purchasing.

As Heather Martin-Zboray states in her review, this is a book well worth reading. Its suggestions are simple but radical for most Americans: let community groups sponsor sports and drama, and let the schools teach a core curriculum!

Shifting to longer class periods (the 90-minute block); starting high school at 9am rather than 7:30am (when most scientific studies reveal that adolescents should be asleep); removing disruptive loud speakers; extending the school day so that teachers can tutor students one-on-one on a daily basis; etc. are the core of Kralovec's suggestions.

Other than overcoming community aversion to these suggestions because "things always were done OUR way," there are no real roadblocks to the suggestions here. The question is this: Does America have the willpower to try to effect effective change which truly promotes learning?

Allington and Cunningham provide excellent insight as to what all schools need to ensure quality instruction to students. This book is a must for all educators, especially administrators. I am a Special Education teacher and a graduate student. I refer to this text often.

With over fifty combined years of experience between them, educational researcher/ consultants Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham have many ideas to offer in their new book, Schools That Work: Where All Children Read and Write. The book is a natural follow-up to their first collaborative effort, Classrooms That Work: They Can All Read and Write. It is lengthy, but highly engaging, and offers practical, research based ideas for those who envision and want to work toward moving their school or school system toward being one where all children become literate. Because American society has changed, and is changing, at such a rapid pace, Allington and Cunningham contend that the current organizational structure of schools, while being well intentioned, is outdated. Existing structures do not effectively meet the needs of all children, especially those who are at the highest risk of school failure. Therefore, they believe that educational interventions that offer "more of the same" will not work to fix the inadequacies in today's schools. Because many schools are stuck, looking toward traditional solutions, huge amounts of federal and state money are being poured into educational programs such as developmental kindergarten, transitional K-1 classes, retention, and remedial, resource and bilingual programs that aren't effective in helping all at risk learners learn to read and write. Throughout the twelve chapters of the book, examples of effective large and small-scale school restructuring efforts in real schools are described. These descriptions are very helpful in illustrating the authors' key points. Models such as the Coalition of Essential Schools, Success For All, the Accelerated Schools Model, Reading Recovery, School Power and Schools for the 21st Century are included. Chapters of the book are organized around central themes of school organizational plans such as instruction, professional roles, allocation of time, parent involvement, assessment and curriculum materials. I will briefly summarize these chapters to give an overview of their content. In the chapter on curriculum, Cunningham and Allington offer many ideas for getting real reading material into the hands of children. Popular methods of literacy instruction are also described, but it is clear that the authors do not believe there is one best way to teach reading and writing. Instead, they advocate for quality instruction delivered in a multifaceted approach. This position is similar to that taken in Best Practices in Literacy Instruction, edited by Gambrel, Morrow, Neuman and Pressley, a resource text for teachers of literacy. Allington and Cunningham then go on to describe essential components of quality literacy instruction. One of the important points of the book is that "good schools are a collection of good classrooms" and that the job of everyone who works at a school is to support and enhance classroom instruction. An important point is made that while most instruction for at risk students slows down the pace of instruction, what is most effective is accelerating their learning through more and better instruction so that they are able to catch up with their peers. Concerning the issue of how instructional time is used; a chapter is devoted to describing effective classroom management practices that maximize the amount of time available for actual reading and writing. Innovative ways of creating more instructional time such as allowing teachers to work on flexible schedules opens up the possibility of students receiving extended amounts of instruction before and after school, in Saturday School and summer school. In the chapter on assessment, strategies for evaluating literacy programs and progress are given. Ideas for utilizing authentic assessments such as observational records, writing samples, narrative comments, interviews, self-evaluations, portfolios and anonymous student testing are presented.

Because schools can change only as fast as the instructional practices of teachers change, Allington and Cunningham devote a chapter to advice for supporting the professional development of teachers. The authors believe that systems need to allocate greater amounts of their resources toward professional development, as well as offer administrative and collegial support in order for teachers to remain life long learners who continually develop new areas of expertise. As our changing society affects schools, it affects families too. Most children now come from single parent families or families where both parents work. Because the authors believe that schools cannot be fully effective without parent support and involvement, ideas for improving parent outreach programs are described. Innovative ways to improve communication between schools and families, involve parents in school decision making processes, and create family literacy programs and interagency family support services that help break cycles of illiteracy and poverty are provided. A chapter is set aside for offering additional ideas for developing the literacy skills of special populations of children, such as those with learning disabilities and those who speak English as a second language. In another chapter, a tour is given through a hypothetical school that reflects some of the basic themes in the book. Readers are then prompted to take a tour through their own school and look for examples of effective practices they would like to see more of, as well as ineffective practices they would like to see decreased. The final chapter of the book offers some relief to the reader, who may at this point be overwhelmed with the scope and scale of school restructuring that needs to be done. Allington and Cunningham caution, though, that there are no quick fixes in education, and that successful reform efforts are done gradually with the long view in mind. Restructuring often begins with a small group of people, or even with one person at a school. Is that person you? Do you believe that all children can learn to read and write, and would you like to help them do so? If you think so, this book could be an invaluable resource that gets you thinking about large-scale changes by starting small. Read it and pass it along to someone in your school, as someone in my school passed it along to me. Who knows what might happen next?

Because their other book, "Classrooms That Work," is such a hit with my preservice students, I ordered this one. Receiving it just today, and after browsing through and discovering on the final page reference to the the critical words, "common sense initiatives," I have a feeling we may have another winner with this book, as well.

With over ten years as a primary, intermediate, and junior high teacher, I have read lots of education books. This may end up being the book that helps me the most in helping improve myself as an educator, and in helping the school improve itself. This book was jam-packed with great ideas of what truly makes a good school. "Schools That Work" is geared for both principals, teachers, and anyone else in the education field. After reading this it makes for a great reference book. The book is well organized into the different components that make a good school. Also, it has great book, magazine, and web resources throughout the entire book. In short, buy this book without hesitation--it is that good!

I bought this book from Half.com, then ended up taking the essay course taught by the author, Dr. Mary Gallagher, in NYC. Made all the difference. Her course directly reflected the method that she describes in her book. If essays are your weakness, using her method should make a positive difference.

If you are serious about passing the bar exam, you should stop reading this review immediately and BUY DR. GALLAGHER'S BOOK! Even if you are unable to take her excellent course (which I HIGHLY recommend), you MUST add this book to your list of bar preparation materials. By practicing Dr. Gallagher's simple, effective writing method, and using the sample essays she provides, you will be trained to write any bar exam essay quickly, efficiently, and successfully. Dr. Gallagher helped me to pass the New York Bar Exam on the first try! If you're tired of unsuccessful attempts to pass the bar, or if you're a first-timer who never wants to take that dreaded exam again, GET SCORING HIGH ON BAR EXAM ESSAYS NOW!

I'm happy to recommend this book - it's quite useful. The first half of the book is tips, the second half is 80 full-length essay exam with model answers. The tips section is built on Gallagher's essay writing "system" which is basically the IRAC system which every law student uses, modified into CRAC. Her "model paragraph" system is quite useful, and something that I wish I had learned about earlier in my law school career. The only downside is that the book was written in '96, and while substantively the information isn't out-of-date, it would be nice if it wasn't so old.

I was a three time repeat bar taker and looking for answers. I never could figure out what I was doing wrong in my essays in order to get better scores. I knew I had a firm grasp on the material but just couldn't get it together. With this book, the bar exam writing process finally made sense! I'm extremely happy I found Mary's system because it helped me to pass on my third try.

I highly recommend this book to those looking to improve their exam writing skills. The book also contains some general bar study tips that helped me enormously. In my opinion this book is the bar exam study bible.