Don Books

Mabel, by Betty Harper Fussell (Limelight Editions, 1982),is a very well-researched and cleverly written book. Ms. Fussell madea unique connection with Mabel Normand via her grandnephew, Stephen. He himself was deeply intrigued by his great-aunt Mabel and nursed an obsession to know as much about her as he could - he even looks hauntingly like Mabel. Beyond the blood ties, it was this remarkable resemblance that encouraged the confidence of Mabel's nurse/companion Julia, who had cared for her during her protracted struggle with tuberculosis. Julia was 94 and in fragil health when she met Stephen; however, she never forgot any details about her beloved Mabel.

Some well-guarded secrets were revealed to Stephen after he got to know Julia well. Ms. Fussell skillfully pulls together many elements of Mabel's life and relationships. She gives us a fully formed picture of the complex, but bittersweet, "Diving Girl." Mabel was a muse, and she was amusing. Charlie Chaplin worked a lot with Mabel while under contract at Sennett's Keystone Studio. He was even (begrudgingly) directed by her in several short films, yet said unequivocably that "everyone adored Mabel."

Betty Fussell tells us in riveting prose why Mabel Normand was so adored. We get to know more about Hollywood's first "I-don't-care" girl than we ever knew before. Equally impressive is the detailed filmography and the nice collection of photos. This book is an absolute must for silent screen lovers. Thanks to Fussell, Mabel comes back to life in these pages.
- Copyright, 1996-97, Diane MacIntyre, "The Silents Majority"

Just the other day I clipped a short piece that described a scientific study demonstrating that this "math anxiety" itself gets in the way of doing the math. The chicken that comes before this egg is not low ability but high anxiety. Finding ways to lessen that math anxiety can improve math achievement.

As a parent and as a math teacher this is important news. Many parents have worried about how they could help their children with math that is often very different from when they were kids. These studies tell us that we'd do better to try to find ways to turn a math "phobic" home into a "Math Power" place. Patricia Kenschaft's book is a wonderful blueprint for such a home 'remodeling' project.

The significant subtitle of this book is:

"How to Help Your Child Love Math, Even If You Don't."

There, as Shakespeare said, lies the rub. After all, most parents bring those same childhood math anxieties right up into their adult lives, right to the dinner (or homework) table. What Kenschaft does is to show you a wide variety of ways, starting even in pre-school, that you and your child can explore math in wholly new forms. You don't have to memorize the rules for fraction division all over again; you just need to find new ways of looking at math.

This book does the best job I have seen of describing the failings of the "old school" approach to math. It has an entire section entitled "Why so many children are damaged" including chapters entitled "How drill and kill cripples U.S. Math education" and "What every parent should know about testing and grading." (My only critique of the book is that this section is placed near the end of the book - you might read it first if you think that going back to the good ole days is the sort of change we need).

The book emphasizes the math of children up to about age 10 or 11, wrapping up with a chapter called "The Fifth Grade Crisis." I had never seen this term used before. But as a 6th grade teacher I believe she has captured an important soft spot in our math education system. Although the ups and downs of kids' math in school all sum up over many years, some important cognitive shifts take place as they open the door into adolescence. Fifth and sixth grades are often the place where they "decide" they are "no good" at math... decide they "can't do it". Kenschaft shows how much of that decision is just a reaction to some truly damaging practices in schools.

Kenschaft also encourages you to take a new view of your role in the school - beyond bakesales! She provides practical advice for you to become a school-math activist without being antagonistic. A chapter entitled "Getting along with your child's teachers" is full of good, practical advice. She concludes with a whole section about change entitled "Tweaking the Machine". Finally there are useful appendices and a great bibliography.

This book is especially powerful because it weaves the very personal with the broadly `political'. Its combination of practical advice with broad policy discussions is unique. If you are a parent wondering how to approach the troubling questions surrounding your child's school math program, at both levels, this book will give you lots to think about.

Why do so many popular nursery rhymes involve counting? Kenschaft points out that favourites like "one-two, buckle my shoe" and "1-2-3-4-5, I caught a fish alive" teach kids to count to ten. I never met a kid who didn't like nursery rhymes; Kenschaft offers reams of useful advice on how to kindle that spark and keep it alive.

As an aside, a really good companion volume to this one would be Sarah Flannery's "In Code - a (young woman's) mathematical journey".

Math is usually taught in such a way that it actually discourages kids from liking it, feeling competent in it or wanting to pursue it.

While the primamry focus of the book is Math, its principles apply to all branches of education and learning. Learn that there are pitfalls to standardized testing and minimal competency standards.

The book includes practical advice for parents on how to encourage their children to hone their math skills and encourage their analytical skills since their teachers may not be equipped to meet children at their level in order to fully communicate and cover a subject in depth.

Seems that many teachers are not prepared to teach math in successful ways. We must put the focus and resources into preparing teachers in order to acheive the kind of results we want from their students.

Updated comment: Still a great book, but a bit dated with respect to email and other electronic methods.

Adapted from Annotated Bibliography of Learning A Living; A Guide to Planning Your Career and Finding A Job for People with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and Dyslexia

Back on Jan 10, 1995, I bought your book, The New Rules of the Job Search Game. Upon my first reading, either I was not in the right mindset to understand the powerful secrets of the Focus Method or I did not possess the maturity to accept the reality of what it takes to obtain a high paying, white-collar job in the 1990's. The other day, I re-read your book. Thank you both for writing this book! This time around, I understand the process and what it takes to get a high-paying job. No longer will I be enslaved by employment advertising, employment agencies and random luck. Your excellent explanation of the Focus Method is what every job seeker needs to successfully obtain the job of their choice with confidence.

Pierre Johnson

The book is thorough in covering numerous aspects of the job search process. Some topics covered include, but are not limited to: The New Job Market, Motivating Yourself in the Search Process, Researching Industries/Companies, Telephone Skills, Resumes and Cover Letters, Getting in Front of Decesion Makers, Getting Hired, etc.

Sadly, this book is vastly underpublized.

Yes, you will find some repetition in this book- it builds it's way with more and more insight with each letter. The reason WHY Seung Sahn tends to repeat some of the same teachings over and over is because they are the most crucial in understanding your true self. And if people who have heard it before are still at your feet, it's not your fault for telling them "I already told you this." Broken records are good, that way it not only "sinks it's way in', but it has a way of beginning to cut through your "normal" processes of thinking. Then you can say "Aha!" But not to worry, the repetition is not severe. Where he does repeat himself, he almost always adds some new "twist", a tiny bit more insight, a little glimpse-into the truth to which it points.

He speaks often of "before thinking mind", "only like this", "same or different", "only don't know"-read this book and you will feel a few steps closer to seeing everything "just like this". Then, no more opposites, outside becomes inside and BOOM!-clear like space. But all of this said, this book will not do much for you if you are not practicing, other than formulate more ideas in your "on top of your neck" mind, and not the mind which should be stored in your tantien-through practice. So Zen Master Seung Sahn is a prolific teacher of the Dharma, the 78th Zen Patriarch in lineage to the Buddha himself, and a Zen master who needs no credentials once you hear him teach! So enjoy this book, you deserve to find out...

As far as Zen books go, it's good teaching with very little obscure dharma language. His talent was talking about Zen in a way non-scholarly Americans could understand and apply to their own lives. It's a lively collection of letters from a wide spectrum of students: from the sincere to the smart-aleck to the earnest and to the clueless. The teacher meets them all on their level, sometimes with very long letters including stories and koans.

Due to his concentrated, concise teaching style, the reader may find the letters repetitive. (When asked why he says the same thing over and over again, he has replied, "Did you hear it?") Some of the student letters may wear out their welcome, but they belong with the responses. Bear with it: there is good teaching throughout.