education-theory

"Jewish Lives, Jewish Learning" is a lively and useful study offering insight and tools for teachers and learners alike. Through a thorough knowledge of and facility in the field of adult development and adult learning as well as sensitive and compelling case studies, Diane Tickton Schuster illuminates the experience of Jewish seekers. "Jewish Lives, Jewish Learning" provides a framework for understanding the particular questions and circumstances of adult Jewish learners. By doing so, Schuster honors the journeys of adult learners, mirroring the honor that Jewish tradition has for learners of all levels. Much like the study of Talmud that uses a specific text to elaborate a set of related questions, this book opens out, includes and embraces the lives and the learning of adult Jews.

Diane Schuster's Jewish Lives, Jewish Learning is a most valuable resource for rabbis, educators, program planners and anyone interested in enhancing the range and quality of educational opportunities for adult Jewish learning. Through an artful blending of individual learner's stories, theories of adult development and education, Schuster provides a thoroughly accessible resource that offers powerful insights into why adults pursue Jewish study and what they hope to obtain when they come to the study table. Schuster provides a wealth of practical strategies for engaging adults that will add meaning and depth to their lives and promote a passion for lifelong Jewish learning. The stories that open each chapter provide a compelling contextualization for the theories that inform her work. Particularly useful are the many tables throughout the book that summarize and reinforce her key points. This book will be the central address for teachers of Jewish adults for many years to come.

This is a very valuable addition to the study of Jewish learning. Diane Schuster displays a respect for the adult learner,not seen before in Jewish education. Their social-psychological-spiritual motivation is paramount in her mind as she analyses needs and assesses approaches to greater and deeper study. Additionally the pragmatics of adult learning are addressed: classroom strategies, learner orientation, quality questions for the educator.
Worth every penny!

This is the textbook I used while in college. It is very easy to read and well organized. It covers all aspects of learning disabilities from history to teaching strategies. It covers all the characteristics of learning disabilities; perceptual problems, motor, reading, written language, math, social and emotional.

This is an excellent book. It is very readable and quite informative. I used the book for one of my graduate classes in Learning Disabilities. It was also an excellent review source for Praxis II preparation. Get it if you can, especially if you are planning to be a Special Education teacher.

I am a teacher of students with mild to moderate specific learning disabilities and I have found this book to be of such a tremendous help, I call it my "special education Bible!"

Professor Lerner has put together a comprehensive book of approaches within the filed of learning disabilities; procedures for assessing and evaluating students; and teaching methods, strategies, and materials. This 8th edition is written with the new IDEA '97 regulations in mind.

Whether you are an undergraduate, or graduate student, pre-service special ed. teacher or an inservice teacher, this text is an invaluable resource that will benefit the novice and the veteran alike. I am in the process of completing my student teaching and I bought this text because I felt that there was so much I still needed to learn about learning disabilities. I am sincere when I say I was not disappointed!

Bowers' work is an excellent argument for careful reconsideration of "pushing" computing tools as a panacea. I was especially struck by hi intimation that technology is like a drug that causes addiction. Books of this type should be required reading for a variety of policymakers, and this particular book makes the issue of 'tech addiction" easy to understand.

How do computers affect such diverse social issues as cultural diversity, educational quality and ecological systems? Let Them Eat Data provides a social analysis of the computer's effects on life, considering how computer-enforced cultural patterns contribute to global ecological problems. A unique, involving probe of some unusual effects of the new computer world.

In Let Them Eat Data: How Computers Affect Education, Cultural Diversity, And The Prospects Of Ecological Sustainability, C.A. Bowers discusses the issues that arise from the gap between common perceptions and the realities of global computing. These issues include the misuse use of the theory of evolution to justify and legitimate the global spread of computers. Bowers also covers the ecological and cultural implications of unmooring knowledge from its local contexts as it is digitized, commodified, and packaged for global consumption. Let Them Eat Data is informative, insightful, thought-provoking, and highly recommended reading for those with an interest in how the computer and the Internet are influencing popular culture, education, as well as creation and dissemination of information.

how much easier could this guy explain music theory...

the content has taken me from being a mute..to being able to speak the language...

i have a ways to go, but i am on the road now...

thanks charles.

This is THE book to recommend to beginning music students who are completely and totally musically illiterate (as I was). The only knowledge that is assumed of the reader is the ability to count and the knowledge of the first seven letters of the alphabet. From that starting point he guides the reader step by step through key signatures, scales, intervals and chords. This is one of the most helpful books I have come across. I only wish he'd write a follow up volume taking it to the next level.

This is the most readable book on music theory I have come across. The book is written in a conversational style which makes it much easier to understand. Van Riper's approach to theory is unique in that it demonstrates relationships in a way that allows the reader to understand the entire concept, rather than learning by rote memorization. The book covers key signatures, scales, chords and chord progressions from a beginner through intermediate level. This book is a must for musicians who, like myself, do not have a music degree, but would like to gain a good basic understanding of music theory concepts.

John Spritzler's The People As Enemy: The Leaders' Hidden Agenda in World War II is a powerful,necessary, and inspiring book. Read it and you will never see World War II in the same way. More to the point, you will never see contemporary capitalist society in the same way. Spritzler explodes the myth of "the good war" by taking apart, piece by careful piece, much of the structure of lies and myths designed to buttress capitalist rule and exposes the system in its ugliness and ultimate weakness.

He shows too that there is a powerful counter-force to capitalism at work in society: working men and women fighting everywhere for a better world, a force so threatening that the most powerful elites on earth waged a world war to extinguish it. This counter-force, Spritzler shows, was not defeated on the field of battle in World War II so much as misled and betrayed by Communist leaders in a little-known history from which we have not yet recovered. The People as Enemy is a giant step in understanding and breaking free of that history.

The book has profound implications beyond World War II. Echoes of the past in the present and specifically a consciousness of the Iraq war never too distant in this book. It suggests that the real force driving the history of the twentieth century was working class struggle for a new world and ruling class efforts to contain it. The rhythm of the century was revolution and counterrevolution-a rhythm in which we, of course, are still caught. Seldom has a work of history been more acutely relevant to understanding our present and our possible futures.

It's not easy to believe a few people are so greedy and powerful that American soldiers can be sent to war without any real debate by either party, to make powerful and wealthy people even more powerful and wealthy. Can anyone really be that corrupt?

A few weeks ago, a 22-year old Marine Sgt. named Kirk Strasesskie jumped into a canal south of Baghdad when a helicopter hit the water. Kirk drowned trying to save his Marine friends. His friends back home in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin said he could barely swim. In high school, Strasesskie had played sports and spent much of his free time with kids who struggled with their learning disabilities. His dad, an Army veteran, questioned whether the Iraq War was just and why his son should have been there at all?

Kirk Strasesskie's always going to be a hero for me, just like my Army uncle who fought in WWII in New Guinea and those Marines at Iwo Jima and those paratroopers at Bastogne and Chosin. Heroes all, just like my auto worker friends who battle each day and night against their Vietnam experience. Their lives are such a contrast with those boundlessly powerful, elite, selfish few who so easily send them into our constant wars.

I lump them all together today, those heroic figures whose lives were risked or ended fighting for their friends in wars that all were so unnecessary except for WWII - the "good war" of course.

But, as it turns out, while WWII saw heroic soldiers dying on South Pacific beaches and in the frozen foxholes at the Bulge, the most powerful people in our country did business with the Nazis and Fascists making enormous profits on the deaths of 50 million people and laying the groundwork for post war elite control. It was not such a "good war" after all.

After reading John Spritzler's "The People as Enemy" I am as angry about the unjustness of WWII as I ever was about Vietnam or as I am about Iraq. Every library in every VFW and American Legion Hall should stock this book and make it required reading for members. Anyone interested or active in the Peace Movement should read this book to understand who really causes and profits from war.

Every American of conscience should read this book then stand up and demand that never again should our government be allowed to send our brothers and sisters and sons and daughters off to wars that are meant to defeat the values of democracy and solidarity and make the rich richer.

Browsing the bookstore, first, I just liked the cover and the title, "The People as Enemy"-- caught my attention!!

Then, expecting to be bored with WWII history, etc. etc. what I found out (couldn't put the book down!)..was all this hidden agenda stuff that went on, which we never knew about, were never directly told, but.. clearly from this author's extensive research and investigation... was beyond a shred of doubt,going on.

The book is easy to read, even for someone who is not a history buff per se-- but who has an active and inquiring mind.

Thank you, John Spritzler, for hugely shedding light on this misconception of the "good war," and for letting us know the real motives behind it. It's almost hard to believe, but with all your direct references and direct quotes, it's impossible to not believe. Ya mean, it wasn't so "good" after all!? Who woulda thunk it.....

And thank you for making such obvious, in the end, brilliant comparisons to the "good war" (Bush's) we just fought.

I urge everyone who can, to read this book!

15 years ago I was a high performance kayaker. I did not understand all those complicated workouts then ... Recently (3 years ago) I started kayaking seriously again and won age group competitions at all levels accross North America.

Periodization is what produces results. It is based on science which combined with expertise and experience will yield results. I have been watching the development teams and now involved in workout design. This book provides a clear description of the general issues and lets you peek into the specifics. Of course, you cannot just coach by reading a book. But if you are a coach or an athlete with serious experince, this book is going to make a lot of sense to you.

If you are interested in a book that will help you map out your progress THIS IS THE BOOK!
The diffrense with Bompa and others is he started Periodisation and worked with elit athletes more than 30 years with this system.
He actually learns you something with his books and don't just say that he will. He writes a bit messy but that's maybe my limited english that is limiting me.
Oh well, a top notch book for the serious trainer and trainee.

this book is very informative to those wanting to know more about periodization. It covers everything a person would need to know. Bompa's best text to date.

I recently purchased and read Mr. Millbower's marvelous book on integrating music into adult learning. So many trainers attempt to apply techniques that are aimed at enhancing their programs, only to fall short because there is not solid research behind their strategies. Lenn suceeds in bringing theory to life.
He has effectively incorporated his professional and academic training in music into the learning process. Through many real-world examples, listings of actual songs that trainers can use in their programs, and down-to-earth explanations, he has provided a valuable training reference.
Shortly after reading the book, I had an opportunity to see Lenn do a presentation on the book's topic for a local professional group. His humor, technique, presentation style (using a variety of music) were fantastic and he received many cudos from audience members. He really brought his book content to life and showed how effectively trainers can use music to tap into attendee emotion and past learning. I know that even though I write and present on creative training and brain-based learning topics, I picked up a number of new strategies and ideas to incorporate music into my own future presentations.
This book is a "must have" for any professional trainer or educator who is serious about enhancing his or her learning environment.

Reviewed by John Garrison, PhD, MPH Senior Psychologist, Lahey Clinic, Burlington MA Assistant Clinical Professor (Psychiatry), Tufts University Medical School. Reprinted with permission of NAMC, managed by and located at Stewart Communications, Ltd., Chicago, IL

Earlier this year I was invited to speak on the topic of stress as part of an all-day continuing education program for nurses. Having been assigned the dreaded presentation slot immediately following lunch, I was considering the potentially soporific effect of my 45-minute psychophysiology lecture on the audience's postprandial state! I doubted that even my jazzy PowerPoint presentation with video assists would be up to the challenge.

Then I recalled having read a suggestion for using music to counter audience drowsiness after a meal. I flipped open Lenn Millbower's slim but thought-provoking volume, Training with the Beat. Based on the author's recom-mendation, I played an audiocassette of a Brahms Sonata for about 15 minutes as the audience filed back into the auditorium after their lunch. To my surprise, the listeners appeared quite alert during the presentation, and several spontaneously commented on the pleasing impact of the music. Since then, using Millbower's guidelines, I've begun selectively to add music to many of my presentations with pleasing results.

This book, written by a professor who is also a business trainer and musician, is a theory and research-based (but practical) "how-to" guide for speakers, trainers, and educators who wish to use instrumental and vocal music to enhance the learning potential and entertainment value of their presentations. Much like employing a graphic to make a point in a slide presentation, a presenter might choose a recording of a musical piece to produce any one of a number of effects such as developing a positive learning environment, creating a sound metaphor for an idea, or transporting the audience to a different time and place.

Designed for the scholarly but non musician reader, Training includes criteria for selecting specific music to meet the requirements posed by particular situations and audiences - for example, a baroque instrumental to establish a mood or a vocal to create a metaphor for learning. Those doubtful that music holds amazing persuasive power need go no further than radio and TV advertisements for evidence to the contrary. Citations ranging from The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience to Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology are included for those readers requiring additional documentation. The book includes comprehensive listings of CDs/audiocassettes organized into a matrix of recommended applications simplifying choice. Legal and copyright considerations are addressed in the final chapter As the author notes at the end of this work, music does not replace effective lecturing but adds a powerful tool to the presenter's repertory. Speakers, trainers, and educators may all find something of value here.

What emotions does your favorite song bring to mind? Beethoven called music "the mediator between the life of the senses and the life of the spirit." Lenn Millbower's "Training With a Beat: The Teaching Power of Music" talks about what music is, how we process it, its effects upon us, and how we can use it to enhance adult learning. Aimed at corporate trainers, presenters, and educators, it will also be helpful for anyone in business who wants to enhance meetings or brainstorming sessions with music, as well as anyone wanting to learn about music and its influence on our ability to learn.

Among the types of music particularly good for learning are Baroque, because its rhythm closely matches that of the human heart in a restful state, and Mozart, which is currently being touted as being beneficial to infant development. It is in this state that the brain is most receptive to learning.

Drawing on his backgrounds in training and professional musicianship, Millbower writes concisely, making brain theory and music theory understandable to all readers, gives examples, and illustrates his points with entertaining stories. The text also practices the principles of good teaching in other ways: summarizing key points as you go and providing helpful graphics, such as a chart of specifically how different types of music can be used in training.

He includes a fun list of popular music organized by business-related topic that trainers can use to introduce or close segments of programs: "That's What Friends Are For" for teamwork, "Call Me" for customer service, and "We Can Work It Out" for stress management. No book about music use would be complete without a section on copyright law, which explains the user's obligations.

Overall I'd recommend this book because, as they used to say on "American Bandstand," it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

As we grow up, no one tells us that we are "thing-makers" and "thing-users." No one tells us that some of the THINGS we make and use have turned into "master things" that no longer serve but rule the human. Jonesburg opens the human eye to reality of thing-making. Look around you --- whether it is the computer, the house, the office, the rules set by government, the police, teacher, food, and essentially anything else we can think of --- they are all "things" created by humans. Government is a "complex thing" made by humans. Education system is a "complex thing" made by humans. Workplace is a "complex thing" made by humans. We constantly interact with these "complex things," searching to satisfy our needs. Yet, according to Jonesburg, some time in human history, these "complex things" ceased to merely become artifacts made by humans to serve human needs, and instead turned into what Jonesburg calls --- master artifacts. Each master artifact uses a system of brute force coupled with conditioning exercises to control those who must serve than be served. The book is definitely an eye-opener on social structure. However --- it also leaves a very bad taste in one's mouth. It is sort of like the movie MATRIX. --- Have you seen it? Reading this book makes one wake up and find oneself chained to all sorts of super-things, super-machines, super-structures, each controlling and dictating some aspect of one's life. For those accustomed to serving the "masters" and having no "revolutionary genes," this would not be a good reading! According to Jonesburg, many never seek reality but only masters to serve.

Mr. Jonesburg provides for the reader an excellent tool for someone that is seeking to evolve to a higher self. In effect, his perspective is one of being outside of human society altogether, looking in. You could say that he is seeing things from a very soul-ful perspective. Having read his book, I am better able to understand semantics of words, and how labels are used by people, and as well, how concepts are utilized by people. He is correct in quoting Bhudda's three points- that suffering is because of the perspectives that we hold, and the belief systems that we adhere to.

His perspective has added much depth to my own personal perspective. If you are a free-thinker, this book has value.

P.S. You may wish to check to see if the library has this one before you buy.

The concepts presented in this book are verry inspiring and are presented clearly and to the point. Ways of living and dying presents an existencial viewpoint that shows how our tools are granted essences by us, allowing them to no longer be tools. they become entities which enslave us as the tools.

The book offers several important selctions from contemporary literature and demonstrates through the discussions by Waxler and Trousntine how powerful literature can be. The book should be read and used in any group that still believes in the possibilities of creating a human society.

From Library Journal: This book is the result of work that Waxler and Trounstine have done within the Massachusetts Correctional System. An alternative to jail, Waxlers program, Changing Lives Through Literature, encourages offenders to examine their lives through discussions of literary works. This book contains selections used in the program as well as discussion ideas. In addition, before each section readers will find discussion of the theme (i.e., violence, identity/voice, friendship/love, and family) and explanations of why the particular stories were selected and how they can be used to facilitate discussion. The authors represented include James Dickey, John Steinbeck, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Jack London. An interesting addition to criminal justice, penology, or social welfare collections, this might also work in education collections for teachers who are looking for innovative ways to teach contemporary classics.Danna C. Bell-Russel, Lib. of Congress, Washington DC

Defining just what constitutes a charter school is a daunting task. There are so many variables. A charter school is basically a school that receives a charter or contract which is granted by a public agency to a group, such as parents, teachers, agencies, businesses etc. which wish to create an alternative to public schools within the public school system. However, state laws differ, thereby creating many variables. Some laws allow the state to grant a charter. Other states allow the local school district to grant the charter. State laws also differ as to who may propose the charter school or even allow any of several bodies to grant the charter. Laws differ as to whether such schools must adhere to state standards or may be exempt from them. Laws also differ as to the degree which they may be self governed and the extent to which they are accountable to local school boards. In other words, differing state laws have created several models as to what constitutes a charter school.

As a member of my local board of education, I am interested in the issues surrounding innovative proposals for public education. There are strong arguments both for and against the concept of charter schools and this book sets them forth. On the one hand, such schools are said to be more accountable and provide alternative educations designed for the constituency it serves. Arguments against are that such schools drain funds from public schools and take away the common factors that unite us as citizens from the common education provided. The author does a good job in settting forth the arguments both pro and con. He also sets forth the issues regarding the position of education labor unions on the subject.

The concept of charter schools is new so there will be much data to be gathered over the upcoming years as to the success of charter schools. The movement is likely to continue to grow and as it does so, this book may, in some ways, become dated as new information becomes available. Meanwhile, this book does a good job of explaining what charter schools are and laying out the issues which surround the movement towards these schools.

As a fifth grade teacher I found this book seated much regarding charter schools in an important historical context. The book is unique in that it does not rehash old arguments but brings new light to a subject that is of great importance today. Refreshing and well written.

Holly Anderson