Schools and Instruction Books

I grew up learning the Suzuki method and believe in it 100%. But, until you are an accomplished violinist (not accomplished at Volume 3), the most benefits will be realized by direction, not by self-teaching. Suzuki method is also a philosophy - look for the book by Suzuki himself explaining this. My violin teacher made all her students' parents read this when we started lessons.

This collection of songs not only is a good collection to learn various techniques on the violin, but I still have fun years later playing them over and over.

Having now progressed to volume 5, I can tell you how wonderful the Suzuki method really is.

Volume 3 is where the difficulty begins to mount. The difficulty is to prepare you for Volume 4, in which new elements are introduced. Practice makes perfect, however, and playing songs instead of pratices helps build tonalization and intonation. The only it does not build, however, is good sight reading. This is not really developed until the 4th volume.

Suzuki method is not designed, however, for self-taught students. In response to another reviewer, the method is designed to help an instructor instruct the student by presenting a collection os pieces that help build the aforementioned items.

Decent collection of music but litte variation in theme. Little to no assistance/tips for the student. Okay but not so great.

Irvine has done some wonderful research for this comprehensive book. The problem is that she doesn't seem to know what she wants to do with it. On the one hand, the book is quite academically objective, presenting the information as straightforward as possible.... Except that Irvine isn't objective. Over and over again she tells us that comprehensive sex education is important and that those moralists on the Right are preventing our children from getting it.

Unfortunately, she never explains exactly why comprehensive sexuality education is so important, or how it will solve the problems that abstinence-only-until-marriage education can't. Irvine takes it for granted that her audience already knows/believes that part of the subject. Furthermore, she never adequately outlines what a comprehensive sexuality curricula would look like. Instead, the book feels like a vehicle to publish all of her research without actually putting in any creative legwork.

To sum up, my problem with this book is that it is too biased to be simply a sociological or journalistic treatise but not biased enough to function as a persuasive call to action on a problem of national importance. While Irvine has done a lot of admirable research, she seems confused as to the objective of her writing.

This is an excellent, well researched examination of sex education and the ways in which discourses of sex and sexuality have been simultaniously decried and utilized by the right. Irvine displays an extensive knowledge of sex education debates and provides an important historical accounting for the current state of affairs. The history presented in her book is fundamental for understanding sexuality, education, speech, and particularly, the interweaving of the three and its implication for battles over sex ed. Bravo. This is an important and timely book which deserves a wide audience.

This execellent and accesssible book explains how and why sex ed has been such a hot button issue. More importantly, it explains how the Christian Right has used sex ed to mobilize politically, how scare tactics are constructed, and why they are effective.

It takes great courage to stand up for comprehensive sexuality education. This book will help to more deeply root proponents in thier own history and offers a clear description of the historic modus operandi of the opposition.

It may be helpful to read this book in tandem with standard books about the religious right; notably Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy, by Frederick Clarkson; and With God on Our Side, by William Martin.

As someone who has taught foreign languages for 20 years and headed up a university foreign language department for nine years, I suspected I had fallen into ruts and needed a fresh overview of current theory and practice. The book met my needs perfectly. In fact, I will be rereading it. Highly recommended.

I read this book in a teacher's book study. Although it certainly addressed all of the current philosophies of language learning, inclusion,contextualizing, giving detailed feedback, etc., the main thing I remember from that book study is how glad I was not to be still in graduate school having to read things like this regularly. It was heavy on theory and short on practical, usable suggestions for the actual teacher having to deal with discipline issues, keeping the kids entertained and motivated, and coping with paperwork while instructing. The prose was dense and unapproachable. I can see that a lot of effort was put into the book, but I hope any future editions will take the practicing teacher into account. It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a stimulating language class. Reading this book took more time than it was worth in terms of practical information.

This is great book to have and read as a teacher's guide book in ESL and SLA field.I've used this book in the class and this gives lots of resources and methodology, etc. This is one of my favorite book.

I would recommend this book to anyone preparing to become a Sunday School Teacher or to those who want to enhance and sharpen thier skills and methods of teaching.

Excellent book for anyone desiring to enhance their teaching ministry!

Elmer Towns has given us an impressive collection of the basics of Sunday School teaching. This should not surprise us since he is called Mr. Sunday School. I attended a conference several years ago where Dr. Towns taught about teaching Sunday School. Much of the material from his session is in this small book. The reader will be pleased to discover that he gives pointers for teaching children, youth and adults - all levels of teaching are addressed in this book.

The Foreword of the book states Dr. Towns' qualifications for writing this book. He teaches a 2,000 member Sunday School class. He has taught adult, youth, and children's Sunday School classes in the past. He has taught in Sunday School conferences in each of the 50 United States. The man is sold on Sunday School.

Towns' begins his book addressing readers who do not feel they can teach Sunday School. He is convinced that most anyone can take an active role in the Sunday School ministry of the church. From there he looks at the teaching task itself. From lesson prep to relational evangelism, he covers all aspects of teaching (The chapters on Effective Discussion, Effective Lecture, & Effective Story are very good). He includes chapters on creating an inviting atmosphere for your class, understanding your learners, reviewing previous lessons, accountability, Scripture memorization, and lesson application. He gives the reader pointers for teaching children, youth, and adults.

Purpose! He focuses on the four-fold purpose of Sunday School - Reaching, teaching, winning, caring. He stresses the importance of mastering the basics and then applying the basics to one's teaching in a balanced way. He also stresses the importance of prayer in the life of the teacher.

One of the things that impressed me the most with Towns' book is that he does not focus on himself, or his own Sunday School teaching experience. Rather than speaking of himself, he refers the reader to the people from whom he learned (and applied) the skills necessary to be a strong Sunday School teacher/leader. He identifies success in others and how it applies to us. I was very impressed that Mr. Sunday School gave me his sources rather than himself. Does the word "humility" come to mind?

Two things surprised me in this book. The first is a negative; the second is a positive. First, Towns' mentions that there are a variety of learning styles, but he never expounds on them. That would fall more into the category of learning than teaching. However, it would have been nice to have a summary of this data. The second is that Towns' gives us a section on classroom discipline. This is better understood as classroom management, or classroom control, and is more often an issue with children and youth classes. Still, I was surprised that he covered the topic in this book.

Some readers may be put off by occasional advertisements for Gospel Light products. This did not bother me in the least. I can only recall two instances of this. Both were qualified - If you are not currently using an alternative product with similar features. It is almost inconsequential, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

In the final analysis, this is a very good, albeit brief, book on teaching Sunday School. It irks me fiercely to read someone say, "If you apply this book to your Sunday School class, you will grow beyond your wildest dreams." So, I won't say that. However, I must say that the application of Towns' instruction will probably help you to learn and grow as a teacher and the extent to which you learn and grow; your class should learn and grow too. I will probably get a copy of this book for all my Sunday School teachers. I think you will enjoy this book as well.

Someone gave me this book my first year of teaching. I have now taught music for 6 years, and have used this book every year. Each song is notated musically, and accompanied by the game and a short introduction as to the origins. I also teach Kindermusik, and can see that many of our activities must have been taken right out of this book. I HIGHLY recommend this book, and although I wish you great luck in finding it for under $100, or at the library, you wont be disappointed if you spend the money.

This book has a wide variety of different musical games, all of which are singing and movement games. Perfect for the Kodaly educator. Many of the games can be found in more readily available and inexpensive resources, however, so try to get titles before you buy.

This is a publication I was very familiar with and it was a delight to be able to track down a new copy. The examples are a wonderful source of pictorial reference for earlier times and trades and the craftsmanship involved in their execution is exquisite.

The good thing is you can get all of Bewick's (or more precisely his workshop's) engravings, not only the mammals, birds and vignettes but also some miscellaneous designs, with such a cheap price. The bad thing is the images are arranged thematically, with the whole book giving an impression of hotchpotch. The arrangement can be confusing: Bewick's famous vignette depicting a little girl pulling a horse's tail find itself under the theme "Agriculture", instead of "Children and Animals". Of course we can't complain too much as it's not easy to arrange such a great number of designs, most of which being impossible to be dated. And the printing is good considering the low price. All in all, a good bargain as usually with the Dover series.

Everytime this book is updated, I buy it. Anyone who works with children birth to five or is involved in the field of early intervention will find this book practical and relevant . It is a perfect combination of theory and practice written in an easy to read style and format. Want to know about classroom strategies for a child with vision impairments..?It's in there. What about working with para-educators? You'll find it. Need to know about adapting materials for infants in the home? You'll find that too. This book is a must for the experienced and the inexperienced teacher, home visitor, early interventionist, teaching assistant, etc. I use it as a textbook with my graduate education classes and as a personal resource when working with children and families. The resources included in the book are excellent and useful for anyone wanting to learn more about working with young children with special needs.

This book is a great resource for including students with special needs into a regular education environment. The book offers great suggestions from activities to how to set up your classroom. This book also addresses the needs of parents of children with special needs. This is a must have resource for educators.

I absolutely loved this book! It gave me so much to think about and made me realize that my children were still learning even if it didn't look like it compared to usual standards. I realized that I too need to deschool and quit thinking "school" in order to help my children more.

This book is witty, intelligent, thoughtful, and written by a woman who obviously loves her family very much. I also appreciated that it was secular and I didn't have to skip over any religious parts.

Nancy Wallace and her family were unschooing before unschooling became a buzz-word. There are delightful moments in this, the first book on homeschooling I ever read. I especially enjoyed Wallace's discussions of music in her home. Her children's example led me to Suzuki music. Music now fills my home in a very special way, just as it filled the Wallace home.

Her dealings with school districts, expectations and general schooling issues are so interesting, as are her stories of visits from unschooing proponent John Holt.

I bought this book because I was looking for ways to explore art and art materials with my 4-year old son. This book has been a wonderful guide. For one thing, the author suggests ways to organize art materials which make the whole process at once more orderly and serious, lending a tone of respect and importance to art activities. . I also followed the author's suggestion of supplying my son with only the three primary colors, and have watched his surprise and joy as he's be learning on his own how to create different colors. ( In between colors, he has learned to carefully wash and dry his brush, and seems to take pride in his workmanship -- another technique I learned from the book). I've yet to use the suggestions on various types of collage and clay activities, but I look forward to doing so. Another feature of the book is the many reproductions of works of art by both famous artists and students in the author's workshops, as well as fascinating quotes about art by famous artists. There is much here to pore over. I have found this book very inspiring, both in helping my son "do" art and in "doing art" myself. It is a book I will treasure and use for a long time to come.

Reading this book influenced my developing philosophy for my own elementary school art program. While it is not written specifically for the public school program, many of the ideas can be incorporated. My students, in grades K-8, all enjoyed mixing their colors, using only the three primary colors, white, and, later, black. I would suggest this book to anyone, whether parent or teacher, looking for new ways to teach artitistic creativity.

A wonderful compilation of games to teach children number and math concepts! So much better than the same old worksheets! I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to "liven up" their math instruction!

Wonderful book for using games instead of worksheets for learning addition,subtraction, multiplication and division. Each game gives a version for younger or older children. There are cover-up games, money games, outdoor games, and children's story games. some supplies are provided in the book others are easily made. Very good book for game ideas.