Education Books

Consider starting with "Insulate and Weatherize: Expert Advice from Start to Finish" by Bruce Harley instead which is a more practical "Go Do It" book with lots of photographs.

A thorough review of everything you can do to save money and make your home energy efficient. Helpful photos, illustrations and charts. Good resource for understanding and maintaining major systems of a house such as heating and cooling, electric and appliances.

The first third of the book is general information about energy, how it is made, how to count it, how to work the numbers. It should be a required class textbook for High School seniors. This background information is very well written and easy to understand. But, that is not why folks should buy this book.

The real meat starts at about page 93 with some very important electrical power safety tips, followed by an appliance-by-appliance list of items that use energy in a typical North American home. It is alphabetical and organized like an index.

Each item listed includes information about the amount of energy it uses and tips on how to save money using it. The "what to do" information is very specific and easy to put into practice. It starts with Air Cleaners and goes right through to Well Pumps.

Some items get just a sentence or two and others get a whole chapter. The biggest energy users get the most page space. Hot water, heating and air conditioning get their own chapters, as they should.

Like most grouchy old engineers, I read the book looking for details to disagree with. That approach was rewarded with frustration. In fact, there is so much good stuff in this book that I put it on the shelf next to my desk where it will be a handy reference.

I am forever getting questions from folks wanting to know how much they save when they shut off the item in question. The book has a handy chart, as appendix C, which does a good job answering that question.

More importantly, it provides focus for action by letting you identify the big energy users in your home. I get too many questions from people worried about the cost of running a computer when they should be focused on their heating, cooling and kitchen energy use.

The book is targeted at folks who own a house, but renters should read it too. If you pay the energy bill at your home this book will pay back the cover price many times over.

Good read, I got a lot out of this book. The author really knows his stuff.

This is the best book I've read on the subject of improving household energy efficiency. Many of the books I've read in the past go through the basic things that homeowners can do to improve efficience, but this book explains the hows AND the whys.

The book surprised me when I first started reading it. I expected another "easy reader" on the subject. I was pleasantly surprised to find detailed explanations on why things should be done, situations where a particular improvement may not be the best, and how to approach the many different systems in a house - air heating and cooling, envelope, insulation, water heating, ventilation, etc. It was also refreshing to find different ways of examining the same system - for example, amount of fuel used for different heating systems, amount of heat generated for a particular type of fuel, and all the relationships between them.

As you start reading, you will find a lot of sidebars and short stories to highlight the discussion in the chapter. One thing I found slightly annoying is the number of Math Boxes that interrupt the flow of the book early on. These are sidebars that present sample calculations for the various topics, e.g. efficiency, fuel used for different heating systems, etc. I'd prefer the Math Boxes to be contained in an appendix with references in the main body of the book, but that's just me. Other readers may not find this annoying, and it's certainly not enough for me to reduce my rating of the book.

I highly recommend this book if you are serious about exploring ways to improve your house's efficiency. It's not an "easy reader", but it's well worth the time to read through it.

I bought this book a couple of months ago because I needed a pep-talk and figured this was a fluffy rah-rah type book that would give me one.

Well, the author IS very warm and authoritative, and the book DID give me the pep-talk I needed, but it was also full of very useful information -- not fluff at all!! I found the chapters on organization, record keeping, homeschooling with baby, the good and bad aspects of homeschooling, building lesson plans and turning lesson plans into units, to be VERY helpful.

Well worth the money for any new homeschooler.

PS: In case the author ever updates her outstanding book: The one thing she left out of her chapter about the "bad" aspects of homeschooling (things like, messy house, sometimes your kids won't want to homeschool, etc...) is that, as a new homeschooling parent, YOU might feel a little isolated. It takes time to build comfortable and strong relationships with others, and sometimes homeschooling groups are not open to having new members, especially if they are large. You will have to work harder to maintain friendships with friends from your pre-homeschooling days.

I planned my family's homeschooling journey for an entire year, but I focused my efforts almost entirely on CURRICULUM. It never occurred to me that I SHOULD have also been scouting out homeschooling groups and support groups, etc...

After three months, I have found several groups that I enjoy very much, but I still wish I had been cultivating relationships with other homeschooling families LAST year.

I bought this book when I found that I was faced with the choice of either sending my Montessori schooled 5 year old to public school or taking on the overwhelming task of homeschooling him next year. I found the title amusing, and just what I was looking for. As I read the book, I found that it gave realistic advice (not just statistics on why homeschooling is "good"). It also made me consider the ways in which I wanted to interact with my son in general, and as a result, I have started to have a better relationship with him already while afterschooling, not just in 6 months when I plan to really begin my homeschooling adventure. And the chapters on how to start, and how to convince family members that homeschooling is ok made me laugh.

I've read several intro to homeschooling books, and this is by far the best one. The tone is very down-to-earth and reassuring unlike some other authors who can make homeschooling seem very intimidating. Mrs. Bittner also discusses situations that are common but not often talked about in how-to-HS books such as what to do if your spouse is dubious about the idea of HS and also how to HS only one child without causing jealousy in the traditionally schooled siblings. I also really appreciate how the book treats religion/spirituality as important but doesn't promote any particular faith (unlike other books I've read that are either completely atheistic or written from one particular viewpoint). If you're going to read just one intro to HS book, this is it!

I love Terrie's tone in this book and her helpful information. I am planning on homeschooling (and have been since my first was in utero) so I already knew a lot of the information presented here (from John Holt), yet I was beginning to doubt myself as my daughter became older. Would I REALLY have the guts to keep her home and not enroll in kindergarten? Terrie reminded me of all the reasons that I want to homeschool: 1) the education will be better--lighting a fire rather than pouring information into a bucket, 2) it will strengthen our family, 3) we will be freed from the schedule and politics of the school system.

I have read many resources and none were quite as honest as this one. Not that Terrie is divulging all these deep dark homeschool secrets, but she is honest about the challenges you face in choosing to homeschool.

I especially enjoyed her resource lists. No one book will tell you all that you need to know--she has helped me assemble a library of information that our particular family needs.

The book's tone is great and it is an enjoyable read. I've been taking it into the bathtub to review certain chapters since I keep finding new gems each time I read it.

I have been reading in preparation for homeschooling for two years. I discovered this book about a month before I started. It is just the best! Terrie Bittner gives such detailed information on all that we homeschoolers need to know and do. She offers us great suggestions for record keeping, organizing our materials and teaching our children. This is absolutely the most helpful of all the books I have read.

This book is FILLED with wonderful information about our brains. It is required reading for my graduate class,and I know it will be one I pull off the shelf to use again and again. Fascinating stuff that can be useful for teachers.

This book was required reading for a seminar. It is very easy to read, but it also contains a lot of good information. I was particularly taken with the Practitioner's Corner at the end of each chapter with suggestions for using the information provided within the chapter inside the classroom.

Excellent resource for lay person. Written in a very understandable, practical style with good illustrations and examples. Great aide for educators who want to better understand how their students learn. Also teaches you something about yourself!

Dr. Sousa has an unbelievable way in teaching us about the brain ;the learning brain! His book is very user friendly with instant applications available after each chapter. This is his 3rd Ed. so you know he keeps on top of the everchanging findings in brain research and learning. I highly recommend that this book be in every house. Don't wait for teachers and college professors to introduce the way your brain learns...get going yourself! Teach others how the brain learns best!
Barbara McKenna, MEd.
Private Educational Consultant, VA

good book, i pass ATSW in one try after i study this book, provide almost everything you need for the ATSW.

It is amazing what this tiny little book is selling for, but it is chock full of great information to help the aspiring teacher develop an excellent portfolio and land that job. Lots of helpful tips and examples of many different examples of artifacts to make your portfolio stand out among the rest.

I needed this book for an on-line class. It was cheaper at Amazon than it was in the school's bookstore. I'm really glad I checked for it here. It came within a few days. I'll be checking for all of my textbooks through Amazon.com.

If you have to create a portfolio for your education program as a teacher, I recommend this. It has a lot of good information in it and is very helpful.

This reference guide is an excellent tool for developing your own portfolio at the end of a professional development project. It helps you organize the information in a way that will enhance final publication of your portfolio.

I used this book to help me compile my e-portfolio during my last class of grad school. It helped me decide what was important and what not. If you buy this book, it will help you as well.

I would definetely buy this book if I were to take the AP Psych exam again. Of course, I won't have to do that because this book prepared me so well for it. It really doesn't matter which edition you buy, they contain the same content and only vary in page numbers. There are two practice tests in the back that have answer explanations and various free response questions that include points you should make when writing for each topic. I would get this rather than Kaplan's or the Princeton Review's because they have been known to have the wrong answers in the answer key in the back, which is completely unacceptable. Enjoy this book, and the exam too, it is probably the best that the Collegeboard offers.

I would definited reccommend buying this book if you are looking to take the AP Psychology Test. It was a great review manual. I started reading this book probably a week before the test, and after taking the test I felt really confident that I did well, and I did; I got a 5! Granted throughout the course I read our issued textbook, but this review manual refreshened my memory and went over some new topics that were not covered in my textbook. Overall, this was a great book and I would HIGHLY reccommend it.

most pysch classes require it anyways, but if yours doesn't get this book. It really helped me study and prepare for the in class tests and ap exam [which i got 4 on thank you very much]
just get this book, you'll be happy you did :]

This book was excellent.

I read all the pages. I took one or two practice tests, I wish I had taken more because the questions were almost the SAME as the real exam. The tests are harder than the real one meaning you will be well prepared.

I scored a 4. If I had done more practice tests, I could have gotten a 5. This book is the best, it is fun to read and pretty easy to read aswell. Don't waste your money or time on others.

Good luck!

I chose this book over many others was because i read the reviews other people wrote about this book, and it was very helpful. So thank to all of you who put your thoughts down!!

Like what other people have already said, this book is really helpful. it provides a comprehensive review of all concepts, and it even has things that my textbook doesnt. I read this whole book at least three times and made flashcards and did most of the problems, and even though i havent taken the actual AP test which is tomorrow, but i got a 5 on my psych final which was an actual AP test from a few years ago. So if you use this book and study really hard, you will definitely get a 5 on the exam!

GOOD LUCK on the test!

How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs by Gabriel Heiser is a terrific book. It clarified for me the issues surrounding Medicaid and asset preservation in a straight forward and easy to understand way. It provided me insights into complexities that are necessary for anyone who might be venturing down this path to be aware of and understand. It put into perspective the options that are available and perhaps most important of all, provided me with the background I needed to have a productive meeting with an elder attorney and to ask them the appropriate questions.

In particular, the book was written in a way that could be understood by a layman. It was presented in a very organized fashion and clearly went through the Medicaid process, a necessary pre-requisite for the subsequent chapters. The appendix was particularly useful in that it provided ways to find a qualified elder lawyer and other related resources as well as information on state Medicaid offices. But perhaps most interesting and helpful of all were the case studies. They provided a multitude of practical strategies, comparing and contrasting them throughout the book.

After reading this book, the bits and pieces of information I was able to discern from other books and from several lawyers I previously met with came together to form a clear picture like pieces of a puzzle. Armed with information and the possibilities presented and with an understanding of the implications of our decisions, we are now ready to move forward with plans for our parents with the confidence that we are prepared now to go down this very difficult road.

Thanks Mr. Heiser for all of your help!

I work in an industry where we have a need for such timely, topical and extensive information in the special needs planning area. I found Gabriel Heiser's book to be well written, easy to read, and very comprehensive. I have used it as a resource many times when I am questioned by one of our financial planners or attorneys in our network throughout the country. I have recommended his book to many who are struggling with the complexity of the medicaid system and how best to provide for a disabled individual. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a complete understanding of the rules and regulations pertaining to the special needs or elder law planning arenas.

Geri N. McHam
The Estate Plan

The System makes it hard to get accurate information about Medicaid coverage of long-term care--even for a former reference librarian like me. I'm recommending this book to Amazon customers and to my local library.

Attorney Heiser's book on protecting assets from nursing home costs is an invaluable and terrific read. For those of us unaware of the financial devastation a nursing home stay can do to a family it is a must read. It gives the reader a chance to ask important questions of attorneys and financial planners to get the most out of their advice and to get through the many different state and federal laws that vary from state to state. Don't see an attorney without reading this first.

This book provides valuable information on a complex subject. Although it may not answer your specific questions, the information given allows you to make informed decision when consulting an estate planner or attorney. Informative easy to read book on a complex subject.

I have nothing original to say, I only wanted to throw another five-star endorsement on the heap.
This book is so good that it made me want to be pickier about the books I read. The four or five books I read before and after it were so disappointing in comparison. I keep it in my library to share wit anyone interested in education. But it is a beautiful, quick read that I would recommend to anyone. An absolute classic.

In this age of standardized tests and reading programs, Herndon's clarion call sounds louder than ever. This is one of the best books written about teaching and education and should be required reading for every college teaching education course. It has certainly inspired me and I hope it inspires other teachers to speak and write truthfully about their experiences and stand up to a system that increasingly views our amazing kids as a set of numbers and data.

Does education mean living up to other people's standards? How to write a "proper" term-paper, a "proper" lab report, how make a presentation that will meet your boss's expectations? If so, our school system is doing an okay job, and would be even more efficient if the government started using vouchers.

But Herndon would disagree. He understands that true education = creativity, and that true education only occurs when teachers act like humans instead of "Providers Of Things To Do" or "Entertainers" (pg. 44). That true education only occurs when student participation is voluntary, when they are not pressured or required to do anything, and when teachers are genuinely interested in what's being talked about (meaning they would think about in their free time) so that the creativeness the teacher has for the subject can then be freely spread to the students; just as interests spread between friends. Not that the System doesn't have its place! Just recognize that what usually occurs in schools today is training; preparation for the corporate economy. And not education.

His advice?

"resist every day all the apparatus of the school which was created in order to enable you to manage and evaluate a group, since it is just that management which destroyed the kids you have in your class." - (pg. 156)
"... but you can only live that kind of life in there if you are willing to realize that the dicta of the school are crazy but that at the same time the kid's life is connected to the school in complicated ways and you'd better offer him the chance to take any part of it he wants or has to." - (pg. 75)

Words for any teacher to live by.

James Herndon, in my opinion, has written the two best books about education that I have ever read. The Way It Spozed To Be and How to Survive in Your Native Land were used in many universities and colleges across the country in the 70s. As a now retired teacher, I look at what education has become in this country, how far we have wandered from the Herdon Days of alternative schools and teachers who were not afraid to do the right thing, and I weep.-- Sam Yulish, author of Where Have All the Hippies Gone? and The Hesitant Psychic.

Herndon at his best. In this charming -- if sometimes bawdy -- little book, Herdon brings his students alive. It's the details that are telling -- and school becomes more than school. It's a microcosm. Kids admonish each other to quit pestering the lizards as dozens of hands keep reaching into their home... A monster kite threatens the lunchtime gaggle of 7th grade girls... A dog is obsessed with an old tennis ball... Laugh, cry, think. Read this book.

I am a graduate student in the field of behavior analysis. I used this book as it is intended to be used from start to finish. I successfully designed an educational teaching program that taught students a lesson in geography. I was very excited about the results. The students learned the material very quickly and became extremely fluent. Even though I used the book to guide me through designing an educational program, I could certainly see how this book could be used in an organizational setting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning a technology of teaching that is extremely effective.

This book is a good example of a text that actually helps the reader get something done- namely, create and refine an instructional program for any setting or audience. Dr Bruce takes you from a blank page to a well designed, efficient training course in a step-by-step manner. What impressed me most was the skill with which Dr Bruce not only presents the critical ID concepts, but also shows in great detail how they can be applied.

Instructional Design Made Easy provides an insightful look into instructional design. After careful consideration of the material in this book, I considered using the concepts in an educational setting. A better use of this book would be in a business related setting, in which I have had some experience. The Efficient Design Checklists in each section is a great help in keeping users on track toward their objectives. I particularly like Exercise 2 which helps one to identify measureable results. The Performance Objective Template on page 53 of section 1 really helps translate ideas into action. This book is valuable to those who prefer a step by step approach, yet it is flexible enough to be useful to those who have experience in the fild of instructional design.

There isn't an easier way to learn about instructional design than by picking up a copy of Dr. Bruce's book. This book offers a step-by-step process for designing any training need whether it is business or education oriented. Each task within the design process is broken down and explained with clarity, allowing the reader to view specific examples and nonexamples for each component within this process. I have repeatedly used this book to improve the content and design of material for a distance learning course in behavior analysis. I have also used this book to design activities for business projects and education workshops. I highly recommend this book to those who are new to instructional design as well as to those who wish to improve their current practices.

This book practices what it preaches -- a rare commodity in the instructional design literature, indeed! It begins, early on, with presenting a pre-test to the reader (don't worry, you can check your answers!). Then, rather than concentrating on prose and commentary, which many instructional design books do, this book emphasizes practical exercises. You learn the "rules" of good instructional design by working through many examples, and importantly, nonexamples of design practices. While the book focuses on instructional design for computer-based instruction (the example illustrations are mainly of screen captures using the Precision Learning System), the principles you learn can be applied to any instructional system. Dr. Bruce has written an easy-to-follow, easy-to-use first-rate book on instructional design.

For several years I co-taught a series of workshops on Instructional Design with Dr. Bruce at the Association for Behavior Analysis conventions. The materials in these workshops, which were well-attended and highly rated, became some of what was used by Dr. Bruce in the development of his book. There is nothing like having a live audience to help shape development of your materials, and with this book Guy has produced a valuable tool whether you are in education, business, or otherwise interested in designing good instructional materials of your own! -- JE

Dear Karen Hesse,

Just Juice was a great book!It also taught me 3 lessons!You should try this book to have a fun time reading books.

Sincerely,
Emily Cheung

This is the first book I have read by Karen Hesse, and it probably won't be the last.

I am a sixth-grade reading teacher for struggling readers, many of whom are English language learners. I used this book in the classroom for the first time this semester, and my kids really enjoyed it. The language is approachable without being low, and the tone is sweet and simple without being sappy or emotional. And the plot? Well, we got to the last quarter of the story and the students, who will gripe and complain whenever they have to pick up a book, were on the edges of their seats with anticipation. It was a this-is-why-I'm-a-teacher experience!

The story of the Faulstiches is told from Juice's perspective: she is the nine-year-old middle child of five sisters, and she has trouble staying in school. Her Ma is pregnant; her Pa is out of work but an excellent machinist. They have very little, but are a happy family. Several challenges to the family's security and happiness come along at once, but in the end, they are all better for it. And the reader is better for having read it. I highly recommend adding this book to your library.

Have you ever felt worrried for your parents? To stupid to be at school? thats exacly how Juice the unfortunet pooor girl feels because of family troubles and does not have the ability to read or count. Juices family owes two years worth of taxes to the govern ment and stand to lose their house. Juice hates school so she often misses it. Juices mother Ma is expecting a new baby and is diagnosed with diabetes. Pa is trying to find work but is not having any luck. When Pa finally finds work as a metal worker he is too busy shaping metal and delivering it. One day Ma is in labour and Pa goes into town to find help and Juice is left to deliver the baby but not all goes to plan. This book is adrama and action story full of life and is easy to read. I reccomend this book for children who find it hard to read novels and children who are just developing their reading skills.

I think Just Juice was an interesting book because Just Juice had a lot of action and Just Juice never got boring. One of the exciting parts of the book Is how Juice's family is going to pay their taxes.Another exciting part of the book is how Juice could not read. So she got held back a year. She felt really discourage that she could not read. I thought that was interesting because I was thinking how is she going to learn how to read.The Last exciting part is Ma's blood sugar and how Juice helped her read the blood sugar when she was having her baby.
I would recommend this book to 5 th grader girls because there are not many boys in the story and to people who have diabetes because it shows how people can help them.
The theme of the book is how you works together as a family.

I used this book as a read aloud with my third grade class in New York City. A few of the children have been struggling with reading since they began school, and I felt that those students might connect with the main character in some way, shape, or form. I was not prepared for the profound impact this book would have on all of my students. As a class, they were moved to tears towards the end of this story. During our book talks, I watched children who have hesitated at speaking during literature discussions finally raise their hands and share their thoughts. They know a person like Juice, some are just like Juice. This book broke down an invisible wall in my classroom, allowing my children to have an open, honest dialogue about their own difficulties with reading and matters of the heart. "Just Juice" has changed the way many of my children view themselves as readers, students, and little people. I thank you, Karen Hesse. My students thank you.

After reading Tony's book, I understand why it is often used as the textbook for various Christian Coaching education centers. He delves into the science of many of the tenets of life coaching in plain language, and illustrates the art of practical applications of those principles through real examples of coaching situations. I consider Tony's book and John Whitmore's Coaching for Performance two essential books for anyone interested in the study of life coaching.

Bought this for my wife who is a Pastor / Life Coach. Says it contains lots of good principles.

As a christian leader, what is so fascinating about this book is that so many of the principles in it are taken directly from the Bible.
One of the most powerful sentences in the book is this: "Coaching is a conscious imitation of the way that Christ looks at us and the way that God develops leaders."

Tony's book is an integral part of my coach training program. I believe all my students would agree that it is a powerful tool in the hands of someone who wants to be a good coach.

This is an excellent book for someone wanting to get questions to use for stimulating discussion and thinking in others. My tendency is to want to just tell people what is so obvious to me rather than let them get to that place through their own thinking. The book is chock full of questions to use on lots of different levels. I have found it very useful.