education-theory

This was one of the books I read in a "teaching college history" course I took at Indiana University. Prior to that I had taught two of my own courses and been an associate instructor for two more. I wish I had read this book prior to my teaching because it asks a lot of very good questions and gives suggestions that you can use in the classroom. The variety of courses that can be helped by such tips is endless -- even if you don't think your particular field could use a particular chapter or really has a particular issue I found reading it always helped me devise new strategies for teaching. This is not, however, a model of how to teach (could there ever be such a model?), you'll have to read and evaluate what may work for you for each particular class.

On my instructional maiden voyage into the sea of communication, this text was my life vest. In 28 concise chapters, Wilbert McKeachie offers pearls of wisdom on everything from drafting a syllabus to dealing with excuses, and everything in between. His straightforward writing lends itself to quick reading and makes it a handy "flip-to" guide for refreshers.
Whether you're wrestling with a "discussion dominator" or trying to finesse responses from silent students, this book offers proactive approaches and solutions to unforeseen challenges.
Keeping things fresh and interesting for students and yourself makes the learning experience more enjoyable. Reading, attending workshops and talking to experienced faculty are some of the suggestions the author offers. As someone who used to teach natural resource seminars, I was pleased that he acknowledged the energizing power of an effective workshop. In addition, the text also offers tips on applying new changes learned in those courses to classes.
As any instructor worth their salt is aware, teaching is an ever-evolving process, that must be honed and refined to suit both instructor and student. For anyone adrift in some arena of college instruction, grabbing onto this 379 page text will prove a worthwhile undertaking.

This text provides college faculty with strategies to become a better instructor and to deal with the challenges of the profession.

Creating objectives, test design, learner goals, lecture formats, teaching to a diverse audience, grading, handling suspected cheaters - you name it and it is in there.

I believe it will be beneficial to any college instructor regardless of size of school. I teach at a small school and the text, though maybe slanted a bit toward the experience at the large research university, was tremendously helpful to me.

The book is easy to read. I have incorporated a lot of the strategies into this fall semester.

This book gives you exactly what you need to make sense of music. I can now easily work up major and minor scales. I understand what modes are. I can harmonize major scales (important). I know how to substitute chords and why the substitutions work. My playing has already improved. I'm only on page 41.
Supposedly, this book has sold 22,000 copies. I recommend making it 22,001 and getting yourself a copy. I can't believe how complete it is.

I want you to imagine your favorite school teacher ever. You know - the one who always managed to put a smile on your face, and somehow make learning fun. My personal favorite was my grade three teacher Ms. O'neil, who was not only a nice teacher but also a very pretty woman. Yes, I was hot for teacher. I digress. Edly may not be pretty, but his book gives me the same smile and gentle encouragement that Ms O'Neil offered way back when.

This book is for people who have always wanted to learn music theory, but hate the idea of actually sitting down to try. Edly allows you relax into the learning process, and helps you to think outside the conventional learning box. With lots of great pictures and hand drawn helpfuls, learning becomes fun, interesting and at the risk of sounding redundant or repeating myself, not boring.

Edly's Music Theory is a practical book for practical people. An immensely fun way to learn, CleverJoe recommends this book to practical people everywhere.

I was one of those professional musicians -- and there are a lot of us out there! -- who didn't know very much about music theory. Music theory's for college cats, dig? Then I started giving lessons, and I figured I'd better know what I was talking about. So I bought this book. Edly makes music theory charming, funny, and interesting with a combination of explanation, practical example, and humour. Believe it or not, this book is hard to put down once you get going. For me, much of the book was a revelation of "Oh, so that's what I've been doing!" than any new information, but it's great to be able to understand and talk about music on a deeper level. The book is geared towards jazz and blues players, but the information is easily adapted to any genre. A must for anyone, from beginner to professional, who wants to deepen his understanding of western music!

"Candor & Perversion" collects nearly forty of Roger Shattuck's previously published essays on a broad range of topics in education, literature and the arts. Nearly all of these essays were published after 1985, predominantly in Salmagundi, The New York Review of Books and The New Republic. It is an outstanding collection of essays by a scholar of wide-ranging, thoughtful and sober intelligence.

The collection is divided into two parts. The first part, "Intellectual Craftsmanship," contains a series of polemical essays that deal with topics generally subsumed in recent years under the term "Culture Wars." In this part, Shattuck stakes out his position clearly in a number of essays dealing with the proper role of education and the importance of the canon. Thus, in the essay "Nineteen Theses on Literature," Shattuck states that, "we have brought ourselves to a great deal of perplexity about the basic role of education." This perplexity arises from the question of whether education's proper role should be "[to] socialize the young within an existing culture and offer them the means to succeed within that culture" or, in the alternative, "[to] give to the young the means to challenge and overthrow the existing culture, presumably in order to achieve a better life." Shattuck's response is in favor of the former, choosing a conservative view of education's role. In doing so, he essentially resolves this question consistent with a position he articulates in another of his essays, "Education, Higher and Lower," where he states that, "some of us have come to believe that it is possible, even necessary, to be liberal in political matters and conservationist in cultural matters."

These polemical pieces on the role of education are followed by a number of essays that explore such topics as "The Spiritual in Art," "How We Think at the Movies" (where he explores, among other things, whether thinking is possible without language), "Life Before Language: Nathalie Sarraute" (where he examines Sarraute's attempts to capture, in fiction, mental life as it exists before it "gets caught and stifled in the rough net of conventional language"), "Michel Foucault," and "Radical Skepticism and How We Got There." In all of these essays, Shattuck explores, with erudition and balance, a range of topics that have been prone in recent years to irrational polemics.

The second part of the collection, "A Critics Job of Work," contains essays that are best described as literary journalism. In a series of essays under the broad title "Tracking the Avant Guard in France," Shattuck explores the biographies and artistic significance of a range of artists and writers, including Marcel Duchamp, Hans Arp, Sarah Bernhardt, Pablo Picasso, and Jean Cocteau. The most telling of his essays in this part of the book is titled "From Aestheticism to Fascism," where Shattuck calmly proffers the lineage that ran from the "antinomian, decadent aestheticism" of the "art for art's sake" movement to the 'irrationalism, racism and nationalism that produced the most vicious and destructive aberration of modern times' in Germany and Italy.

The final essays in the collection are broadly grouped under the title "America, Africa and Elsewhere." Here, Shattuck explores a number of writers, including Mary Settle, Arthur Miller, Octavio Paz, V. S. Naipaul, and Leopold Senghor, as well as the artistic significance of the collaboration between Stieglitz and O'Keefe. These essays are wide ranging, insightful and balanced. The last of these essays, "Scandal and Stereotypes on Broadway: The New Puritanism," seemingly comes full circle from the opening essay of the book insofar as Shattuck reiterates his culturally conservative position in a stinging review of "Angels in America," stating that it was a play for which he was ashamed of himself for not having walked out. In Shattuck's words, the play "represents Puritanism inverted."

"Candor & Perversion" reaffirms Roger Shattuck's position as one of America's foremost cultural commentators. If you're interested in the polemics that have engulfed education, literature and the arts in the past decade, I can only say: read this book! You may not agree with Shattuck, but you will find his intelligent and careful reasoning regarding these issues a refreshing change from the often muddled and irrational posturing that characterizes much writing on these very important subjects.

'Candor & Perversion' collects nearly forty of Roger Shattuck's previously published essays on a broad range of topics in education, literature and the arts. Nearly all of these essays were published after 1985, predominantly in 'Salmagundi', 'The New York Review of Books' and 'The New Republic'. It is an outstanding collection of essays by a scholar of wide-ranging, thoughtful and sober intelligence.

The collection is divided into two parts. The first part, 'Intellectual Craftsmanship', contains a series of polemical essays that deal with topics generally subsumed in recent years under the term 'Culture Wars'. In this part, Shattuck stakes out his position clearly in a number of essays dealing with the proper role of education and the importance of the canon. Thus, in the essay 'Nineteen Theses on Literature,' Shattuck states that, 'we have brought ourselves to a great deal of perplexity about the basic role of education.' This perplexity arises from the question of whether education's proper role should be '[to] socialize the young within an existing culture and offer them the means to succeed within that culture' or, in the alternative, '[to] give to the young the means to challenge and overthrow the existing culture, presumably in order to achieve a better life.' Shattuck's response is in favor of the former, choosing a conservative view of education's role. In doing so, he essentially resolves this question consistent with a position he articulates in another of his essays, 'Education, Higher and Lower,' where he states that, 'some of us have come to believe that it is possible, even necessary, to be liberal in political matters and conservationist in cultural matters.'

These polemical pieces on the role of education are followed by a number of essays that explore such topics as 'The Spiritual in Art', 'How We Think at the Movies' (where he explores, among other things, whether thinking is possible without language), 'Life Before Language: Nathalie Sarraute' (where he examines Sarraute's attempts to capture, in fiction, mental life as it exists before it 'gets caught and stifled in the rough net of conventional language'), 'Michel Foucault', and 'Radical Skepticism and How We Got There.' In all of these essays, Shattuck explores, with erudition and balance, a range of topics that have been prone in recent years to irrational polemics.

The second part of the collection, 'A Critics Job of Work,' contains essays that are best described as literary journalism. In a series of essays under the broad title 'Tracking the Avant Guard in France,' Shattuck explores the biographies and artistic significance of a range of artists and writers, including Marcel Duchamp, Hans Arp, Sarah Bernhardt, Pablo Picasso, and Jean Cocteau. The most telling of his essays in this part of the book is titled 'From Aestheticism to Fascism,' where Shattuck calmly proffers the lineage that ran from the 'antinomian, decadent aestheticism' of the 'art for art's sake' movement to the 'irrationalism, racism and nationalism that produced the most vicious and destructive aberration of modern times' in Germany and Italy.

The final essays in the collection are broadly grouped under the title 'America, Africa and Elsewhere.' Here, Shattuck explores a number of writers, including Mary Settle, Arthur Miller, Octavio Paz, V. S. Naipaul, and Leopold Senghor, as well as the artistic significance of the collaboration between Stieglitz and O'Keefe. These essays are wide ranging, insightful and balanced. The last of these essays, 'Scandal and Stereotypes on Broadway: The New Puritanism', seemingly comes full circle from the opening essay of the book insofar as Shattuck reiterates his culturally conservative position in a stinging review of 'Angels in America', stating that it was a play for which he was ashamed of himself for not having walked out. In Shattuck's words, the play 'represents Puritanism inverted.'

'Candor & Perversion' reaffirms Roger Shattuck's position as one of America's foremost cultural commentators. If you're interested in the polemics that have engulfed education, literature and the arts in the past decade, I can only say: read this book! You may not agree with Shattuck, but you will find his intelligent and careful reasoning regarding these issues a refreshing change from the often muddled and irrational posturing that characterizes much writing on these very important subjects.

As with his previous works, such as FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE and THE INNOCENT EYE, Roger Shattuck manages to cover many topics in his new book. There is no thematic link between the essays--it is enough that Shattuck writes well about each subject. Shattuck is, along with William Pritchard, Denis Donoghue, and Andrew Delbanco, one of our most perspicacious and eloquent critics, as he is equally adept at analyzing a writer's words (such as in his essay on Mallarme's poetry) or a social phenomenon (such as in his essay "Radical Skepticisim and How We Got Here"). The clarity of his writing prompts one to question the value of the opaque prose produced by many academics in our age.

This book is an outstanding resource for anyone who has to lecture at the college or university level. Each chapter is a research-based (and experience-based) guide to the key issues that arrise in different instructional environments. For several years, this book was given to all new faculty at my institution (Univ. Washington, Seattle) as part of the orientation process. It is ideal for that purpose, and still holds many useful comments for more experienced instructors, also.

Having just finished my first year of teaching undergraduate psychology courses, I would like to confirm the praise of this book written elsewhere. I cannot imagine a better introduction. Twenty seven short and specific chapters make this an easy read and a useful reference. Each chapter ends with annotated recommendations for further study. No wonder Teaching Tip's is on so many bookshelves.

McKeachie is a psychologist, and his personal experience is in teaching the social sciences. His preferred approach is constructivist rather than didactic (he prefers discussion to lectures), and his personal value system (chapter 25) can be sensed in most of his advice. His highest value is love and respect for others within a relativistic framework. He is quite committed to active learning in all its various guises.

In a fragmented discipline like psychology, McKeachie's approach is likely to be quite successful. I wonder if those teaching in disciplines with a higher fixed content will find his advice as useful.

The primary strength of this book is the smooth blend of theory with practical advice. Research-supported theory (learning and memory in chapters 4 and 5, Bloom's taxonomy in chapter 24) is introduced with a light touch that makes it easy to assimilate - often with a "take what you want, leave the rest" attitude. In like fashion, the practical advice (cheating, discussion monopolizers) is not heavy-handed, but suggestive.

I read this book through over a two day period, finding that it bogged down only in Part 5 that focused on teaching in contexts that I am unlikely to encounter in the near future. Twice I found myself revising my typical course syllabus.

This was a very helpful book. I was given it as a gift when I got my first college teaching job and it answered many of my questions. I especially liked the chapters about advanced class preparation (including a time line) which helped me feel much more prepared for the first day of class. Throughout the semester I used the book to answer questions about situations that happened in class (getting students to participate, cheating, etc.). I definitely recommend this book to any new teacher!

If you're an instructional designer or curriculum developer buy this book - it will make you better at what you do! I purchased this book over 10 years ago and as my career as an Instructional Designer has progressed, it has turned out to be my most trusted source. No other book in my I.D. library is as dog-eared, annotated and worn. Even after nearly 20 years, the information in this book is still as relevant and useful as it was the day it first rolled off the press.

This book provides a great overview of the theories and models that shaped the field of instructional design up through the 70's. It is a popular primer and reference guide for the field. Reigeluth provides a history and description of the field of instructional design. He then provides a theoretical framework for comparing instructional models and theories. In Unit II, the theories and models are introduced by Reigeluth, with biographical information about the theorists. The theories and models are usually described by the actual theorists. Reigeluth has written volume II of this book, which covers later theories and models. There was also a companion book, Instructional Theories in Action: Lessons Illustrating Selected Theories and Models, written in 1987, which demonstrates how the theories can be implemented to design courses. These books can be a little abstract for those new to the field. However, if you want a hands-on guide to design, also get Instructional Design Strategies and Tactics by Cynthia B. Leshin, Joellyn Pollock, and Charles M. Reigeluth.

Reigeluth's book was a classic when it was published and it still is. This is a very important book which brings together the very best known instructional theories of the 70's. It starts with "Instructional Design: What is it and why is it?" and continues with the models and theories of instructional design. I especially liked the theoretical framework presented in the book that serves as a 'schema' for interpreting, understanding, and evaluating instructional design theories. By doing that, this book highly contributes to the field of instructional design that is so distributed and diverse.

Every instructional designer should read this book to base their design on the theories presented in the book for effective and efficient instruction. I especially liked the way the book is organized so that it can even be used to teach instructional design to novice. Reigeluth even provides guidelines for it in the beginning of the book. I used it in my teaching and I received very positive feedback from my students. It is my belief that every instructional designer should have this one of a kind book.

The number of instructional theories and camps of instructional theorists are growing at a rapid rate. Camps of constructivists face off against camps of reductionists and the debate rages on. Unlike many other scientific communities, educators and instructional theorists seem to spend as much energy tearing down the past as they do in inventing the future.

Charles Reigeluth has taken a very different approach to instructional theory. He has gathered together many of the best minds in instruction and assembled their writings into a second volume of instructional theory and practice. In this volume, he allows the various authors to present twenty-one different instructional theories. As editor, Dr. Reigeluth and others cross-reference these various theories and practices to create a discussion of similarities. Rather than take a position that one camp or another is right or wrong, each is allowed to make a case for the work they are doing. Each is given space to offer examples of process and results. If you are looking for a clear picture of the profession of instruction in 1999, then you need look no further than this volume. You will not find exhaustive descriptions of each theory or complete descriptions of all the associated research. This book is more of a summary of all the important work in the profession with extensive references to the larger body of work.
The message from Reigeluth is clear. Instructional professionals need to spend more energy looking for solutions and less energy on carving out individual positions. The focus should be on results because results ultimately determine what works. This work builds on the original volume of instructional theories published in 1983, and there is an indication from Reigeluth that a third volume is now in the works. This is must reading for anyone who wants to take the pulse of the profession.

Charles is my Ph.D. dissertation advisor and my mentor so I knew that he put in a lot of efforts on putting this book together. Please pay attention to the last chapter: formative research methodology. Not only for us researchers or professors in universities to get more insight about instructional design, theories and models, but I know a lot of corporate trainers are also using this book as "bible" to guide their daily design work. A very good book (green book vol. 2), highly recommended.

Reigeluths first volume of Instructional Design Theories and Models was published 16 years ago and quickly became "the bible for the development of many instructional designers in the years that followed" (p. 1). In this second volume, Reigeluth has assembled more than a survey of instructional design and learning theories. He sought to reflect the great diversity and changes in thinking since his first volume in 1983. He reasoned logically that the original book formed a picture of the topic in that time period and now it was time to assemble a new snapshot. Taken together, volumes I and II fully illustrate the roots and development of instructional design theories in the U.S. from the 1970s to today.

Volume two is organized into five units. An introductory unit and a reflective unit surround the three units that form the core of the book. These three units present instructional design theories grouped around cognitive, psychomotor and affective development themes. While the topics are divided, the overarching theme of the book is a systems approach to learning-- everything is related.

The introductory unit offers two papers presenting perspectives on the theories and changes that have occurred since the first volume. Reigeluth (1999) begins the unit by defining the terminology of design and theory. He works to establish the framework within which the reader can "analyze and understand the instructional-design theories presented in this book" (p.5).

Thirty-eight authors present twenty-three papers in the three units that form the core of this book-- the descriptions and reports on the state of learning and instructional design theory. Reigeluth organizes each unit purposefully. He explains the selected content and his thinking about their organization by briefly introducing each unit. Each paper is authored by a recognized authority on that topic: Jonassen on constructivist learning environments; Hanaffin on open learning environments; and Gardner on multiple approaches to learning, for instance. Romiszowski presents the single paper that comprises the second unit, psychomotor development.

The only comment that might be taken as a mild negative suggests that while there are many discussions of changing paradigms, the reader is left without a sense of one direction in which to develop instruction. This is more a reflection of our times than the quality or organization of the text. Thirty years ago there were fewer theories and more consensus than is evident today. Reiguluth has been fair to present the multiple points of view, even when they do not intersect to form one dominant theory by which to gauge the work of instructional design.

The author, Charles M. Reigeluth has been a Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University since 1988. According to Reigeluth, his "research interests include redesigning educational systems and designing high quality learning resources" (Reigeluth, 2001, p. 2). An avid writer, his publications include eight books; two have received "Outstanding Book of the Year Awards" from the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT).

If you are debating whether to put your child in a Montessori school or keep them there this a great book to purchase. Our daughter is now entering 2nd grade at a Montessori school, and I wish I had read this book sooner! It takes away the veil of educator mystque from around the method. Answer questions I hear from people who criticize the method, and gives a basis and a history for the Montessori method. It also talks about the whys and the where-fors that I never really got answered by the teachers. Well worth the investment.

I want to thank the author for writing such a clear and eye opening book about the Montessori schools and methods, it really helped answer all of my questions about the Montessori world. As a parent my soon is now getting closer to his 2nd birthday. And unfortunately I see that the traditional Day Cares are not the best answer for his personal and academic growth. (trust me, he used to go to one of the best in the country) and we had checked with several others just to make sure.

I always heard about the Montessori schools and " how different " their teaching is and how more secure, self-confident, smart, aware their kids usually come out. But I also always heard the bad rumors about it. So I decided to investigate before changing my son current school to a Montessori one.

This book is written very clear to answer all those questions and the analysis that the author does regarding the "myths" that other people create about the Montessori methods, makes it very clear to anyone who is just starting from ground zero to understand more about the Montessori world.

After reading the book, I finally found a great Montessori school here in GA after looking at more then 8. The author also gives you some "hints" in what to look for when visiting a school. (that really helped alot).

My 2 CENTS for anyone who is starting to think about moving your kid to a Montessori school are the following:

1) Even though you will be paying a little bit more (according to the state that you are in it could have some exceptions regarding price, there are few states that have Montessori method teaching in a public school ) then a good day care, it will be worth it in the long run.

From 0 to 6 years old are the crucial ages to plant a good foundation in your kid. This maybe the most important investment that you will ever do in your life.

From 2 months to 3 years old:

Is what Montessori called: A second embryonic period occurs after birth during the first three years of life when the child's intelligence is formed, when the child acquires the culture and language into which he or she is born. It is a period when the core of personality, social being and the essence of spiritual life are developed.

From 3 to 6 years old:

Children of this age possess what Dr. Montessori called the Absorbent Mind. This type of mind has the unique and transitory ability to absorb all aspects physical, mental, spiritual of the environment, without effort or fatigue. As an aid to the child's self-construction, individual work is encouraged. The following areas of activity cultivate the children's ability to express themselves and think with clarity.

Note: There are Montessori schools that will go up to High School.

2) Also check if the school is AMI (Association Montessori International) certified. AMI was founded by M. Montessori and they go to every school that is affiliated every few years to ensure that the Montessori standards are being held or check if the school is AMS (American Montessori Society) certified.

Unfortunately now a days you will find a lot of schools that will say they are Montessori and some can really have a good Montessori teaching curriculum (even though they are not affiliated) but if the school have the AMI or AMS is away to ensure that you should have in that school good quality in the Montessori methods.

3) Also look in several Montessori schools (not just one) and ask the teacher to show you the classroom and some of their teaching methodology. ( You need to get a good gut feeling that this is the right school for your kid, no matter if they are AMI or AMS certified). Make sure that you visit a school during a school session and see if the kids are happy and busy with their work and the environment is a peaceful and harmonic one .

4) Lastly check out this book and do a search in your favorite search engines for the names below under AMI or AMS web sites they have list of all the schools that are certified in your state.

Association Montessori Internationale

American Montessori Society

Good luck and I'm sure you will be seeing the results in your kid very soon.

I want to thank the author for writing such a clear and eye opening
book about the Montessori schools and methods it really helped answer
all of my questions about the Montessori world. As a parent my soon is
now getting closer to his 2nd birthday and I see that unfortunately
the traditional Day Cares are not the best answer for his personal and
academic growth. (trust me, he used to go to one of the best in the
country) and we checked several others just to make sure.

I always
heard about the Montessori schools and " how different "
their teaching is and how more secure, self-confident, smart, aware
their kids usually come out. But I also always heard the bad rumors
about it. So I decided to investigate before changing my son current
school to a Montessori one.

This book is written very clear to
answer all those questions and the analysis that the author does
regarding the "myths" that other people create about the
Montessori methods, makes it very clear to anyone who is starting from
ground zero to understand more about the Montessori world.

After
reading the book, I finally found a great Montessori school here in GA
after looking at more then 8, the author also gives you some
"hints" in what to look for when visiting a school. (that
really helped alot).

My 2 CENTS for anyone who is starting to think
about moving your kid to a Montessori school are the following:

1)
Even though you will be paying a little bit more (according to the
state that you are in it could have some exceptions regarding price,
there are few states that have Montessori method teaching in a public
school ) then a good day care, it will be worth it in the long
run.

From 0 to 6 years old are the crucial ages to plant a good
foundation in your kid. This maybe the most important investment that
you will ever do in your life.

From 2 months to 3 years old:

Is
what Montessori called: A second embryonic period occurs after birth
during the first three years of life when the child's intelligence is
formed, when the child acquires the culture and language into which he
or she is born. It is a period when the core of personality, social
being and the essence of spiritual life are developed.

From 3 to 6
years old:

Children of this age possess what Dr. Montessori called
the Absorbent Mind. This type of mind has the unique and transitory
ability to absorb all aspects physical, mental, spiritual of the
environment, without effort or fatigue. As an aid to the child's
self-construction, individual work is encouraged. The following areas
of activity cultivate the children's ability to express themselves and
think with clarity.

Note: There are Montessori schools that will go
up to High School.

2) Also check if the school is AMI (Association
Montessori International) founded my M. Montessori and they go to
every school that is affiliated every few years to ensure that the
Montessori standards are being held or AMS (American Montessori
Society). Unfortunately now a days you will find a lot of schools
that will say they are Montessori and some can really have a good
Montessori teaching curriculum (even though they are not affiliated)
but if the school have the AMI or AMS is away to ensure that you
should have on that school good quality in the Montessori
methods.

3) Also look in several Montessori schools (not just one)
and ask the teacher to show you the classroom and some of their
teaching methodology. ( You need to get a good gut feeling that this
is the right school for your kid, no matter if they are AMI or AMS
certified). Make sure that you visit a school during a school session
and see if the kids are happy and busy with their work and the
environment is a peaceful and harmonic one .

4) lastly check out
this book....

A sympathetic biography of one of the most famous leaders in the women's movement. According to Heilbrun, Steinem's beauty and ability to remain constantly in the public eye have been a constant source of irritation to other feminists. She presents Steinmen as a slightly naive, well-intentioned and empathetic individual who never intended to lead the feminist movement and indeed would have preferred remaining in the shadows as a reporter and writer.

I read this book nonstop while on a lengthy car trip. I found it to be incredibly interesting, informative, well-researched, and enjoyable to read. If you've ever wondered how Gloria Steinem got to be the icon that she is, this book explains it all. Whether you are researching Steinem or just looking for an interesting non-fiction, this book is for you!!

Growing up in the early 80's, I had a vauge idea who Gloria Steinem was and what she did. I was delighted to pick up this book and read the first (and probaly most accurate)book on such a revolutionary leader.

Denounced by the extreme right and extreme left, Steinem's life has taken her from Ohio to Massachusetts to India, Washington DC and NY. Having cofounded Ms. the National Women's Political Caucus, the Women's Action Alliance and Voters for Choice, Steinem is truly an example of a good role model.

Heilbrum's superb prose takes us into the infamous resentment born by Betty Friedan and Kathie Sarahchild. Although both of these women are famous in their own right, their inexcusable and childish tantrums undid their own feminist reputation without any help from Steinem. Also deserving of their repuation is Betty Harris who's paranoid delusions and lax work ethic jepordaized the working environment at the early MS. Steinem is a saint for having dealt with these crazies and still keeping cool.

If you need to read this for a college or high school class, or as part of a women's studies project that you are doing for some other purpose, then I'd like to assure you that it won't be all that painful. You may even enjoy it and wish that you'd found this book sooner, all on your own. I was only assigned to read parts of it, but I finished the book by choice.

It's interesting and well writen. Some of the language and nearly all of the issues that are brought up are inflamatory. In class discussions I compared the book to "Fight Club," and was nearly laughed out of the room, but I am at least partly serious. It does have the edge of a social visionary who wanted to shake things up and blow old fashioned society out of the water. No soap bombs, though, but that's only a technicality.

If you have any choice in the matter I would suggest that you choose this book over stuffier works by less forward thinkers. I swear that reading it won't hurt that badly.

It is interesting to teach this book and track how students respond to this book, and how differently male and female students respond to the issues Wollstonecraft raises and discusses. We contextualize the book, and then extract it from its time and place and try to place the issues in our own time and place. A lot of great questions can be raised as we contemplate how far we have and have not come, and what can or should be done about that. . .and who shall do it. It is also an arresting exercise to ask students to apply different literary theories as they discuss this text. The idea is to encourage them to step out of their own shoes and into someone else's as they consider these issues. And it gives great opportunity to ask students to try to separate themselves from their own assumptions and stereotypes about gender and gender behavior, and reassess the issues in Wollstonecraft's time and place, and in light of today's assumptions and stereotypes, which can be harder to quantify than some presume.

As I read this book, I find myself comparing the authors examples of the treatment of women by their fathers/husbands with the way women are today treated by the media.

Mary discusses how women are to be kept ignorant of all knowledge and only to be valued for their physical charms (almost every ad on TV/in print). The examples of her contemporaries that she quotes are frighteningly familiar.

Why is this so? Who determines that the education of females is not relevant to society. Sure they are allowed to go to school now, but they are still treated with amazing patronization and condescenscion? The amount of my (intelligent) female friends that insist they are dumb/ignorant/stupid/an idiot is disturbing. Maybe now females are allowed to learn, they should also be allowed self esteem.

I think I got sidetracked. This book is a complex and well written argument for the emancipation and education of women. It is as true today as much as it was 200 years ago. It is, however a slow read as the language is couched in the vocabulary of the late eighteenth century and many of the terms are unfamiliar.

Work Left Undone helps readers understand the choices which they have made and how attitudes (both positive and negative), stereotypes, and personal feelings have affected the direction of their lives. Readers learn the value of planning for the future and making conscious forward-thinking decisions based on real abilities and real hopes and aspirations instead of leaving life up to lucky or unlucky accidents of fate. What we want for our daughters, what we hope for as we educate girls is to give them the confidence and ability to make these choices without regret and to value their work in their family, the community and corporate world. Sally Reis' work accomplishes much to this end.

Work Left Undone: Choices and Compromises of Talented Females. By Sally Morgan Reis, Creative Learning Press, Storrs, CT, 1998
Reis provides a very comprehensive look at the problems gifted girls face in reaching their potential. She begins by laying out the complex choices faced by women in our current society, particularly the conflicts felt acutely by gifted girls. Subsequent chapters address particular groups of obstacles and barriers including those that are "external" such as cultural attitudes, lack of family supports, etc., and those that are internal such as psychological factors and personality issues. Reis addresses special groups of girls including girls who are culturally diverse or economically disadvantaged, women in science and mathematics, talented artists, older gifted women, and women who opt for a conventional career. The book ends with a chapter devoted to recommendations and a chapter with a broad array of resources of all types.

This book should be read by everyone, esp. gifted women. As a researcher in this area myself and author of Where Have All the Smart Women Gone? I concur that there are some very hard choices. The women in my research told me and over and over about wanting to go in one direction, but being discouraged from doing so. I called it Double Bind. This is a comforting, affirming book, yet also an academically well written book. Please read it.