education-theory

This book is an excellent account of Eric Sotto's career in education. Mr Sotto fell into teaching by accident and for a long time was aware that he was unhappy with what he was doing on a day to day basis. This book records his progress from teaching to enabling his students to learn.

I recommend this book to all teachers, whether in public education or commercial training, whether new or with many years of experience.

WHY SCHOOLS FAIL is a great view of the progression of the American education system from its very beginnings to the present day. Goldberg traces teaching methods that are used today back to their origin, often showing how they weren't any more effective then than they are today. This is not a cry back to some mythical Golden Age of Education, but rather an insistence on using the knowledge that we have of child psychology and modern methods of teaching, and creating something better.

The author goes into great detail explaining the effects that some of these practices have upon children. A child may get through all four years of High School math with passing grades, but if the experience has been an unpleasant one, he or she is unlikely to develop a lifelong passion for it. A student will come to see mathematics (for example) as something to be feared or avoided and will not likely be continuing his or her education past what is absolutely required. Goldberg feels that this turns too many people away from knowledge, as they come to associate it with all the unpleasant things that they remember from their school days.

Goldberg questions the rigid structure present in the current educational system. He claims that this stifles creativity and individuality. Many of the anecdotes fall into the funny-because-true category (such as the stories of students forced to hold paper in their mouths to prevent their lips from moving while reading). Not all of his criticisms are new to those who fault the public education system, but where others merely note the practices they disagree with, Goldberg goes into a lot more detail and questions why methods that have been shown to fail repeatedly over time are still being used. Instead of just mentioning that they fail, a lot of time is spent showing how they fail, why they fail and how long they've been failing for.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in furthering one's knowledge of the educational system. There should be quite enough here for both a casual reader and someone looking for detail. The book did not receive a full five star rating from me because I did not agree with much of the final chapter in which Goldberg says what he thinks needs to be done in order to fix the current system. I found it to be too much like a voucher system and that would create more problems than it would solve. However, not a lot of time was spent discussing this and one should not take from this review the idea that this book is about how to overhaul the system. This book is primarily about what the failures are and it does an excellent job of pointing them out.

I have read half a dozen of Chomsky's mainstream political works (Culture of Terrorism, Necessary Illusions, etc.) and picked up Radical Priorities hoping for more of the same interesting stuff. Reading Chomsky usually requires a fair amount of patience and attention, but this book is at least twice as dense and circuitous as the others I'd read. The intent here seems to be to settle even further down into the details of the facts of particular incidents he is discussing; the effect is thorny and inaccessible writing. This is super if you're doing research on a particular topic, but not if you're looking to understand more of Chomsky's wider view of history and politics. (I'd start with Necessary Illusions if you're looking for an intro to his work, by the way...)

Most readers will not, and should not, come to know Chomsky's political writing via this book. For those seeking an introduction to Chomsky's political writing, Deterring Democracy, The Chomsky Reader, and Manufacturing Consent, are the volumes I would most recommend.

"Radical Priorites" added more dimension to my already developed appreciation of Chomsky's writing. It is a collection of abstracts from Noam's political writing roughly encompassing the period from 1966 to 1980. What follows is a list of the attributes that primarily give the book its unique flavour and somewhat specialist appeal among all the works in the Chomsky canon.

1. The introductory essay by editor Carlos P. Otero is one of the most comprehensive discussions of the theory and political vision underlying Chomsky's critiques. Otero's essay touches on most of the major Chomsky themes, the propaganda function of media in "democratic" societies, the veneer of "objectivity" in liberal scholarship, the responsibility (and the lack of it) of intellectuals, to name a few. But Otero goes further than most in trying to elucidate the underlying humanistic vision of Chomsky. He discusses Chomsky's views on human nature, libertarianism and liberalism, socialism and capitalism, authority, anarchosyndicalism, grass-roots democracy and activist strategy. Since in most of his works Chomsky is reticent about the broader philosophical underpinnings, this book, as well as Powers and Prospects, is of tremendous benefit to those who are interested in such matters.

2. Many of Chomsky's published works prior to the mid-eighties can be difficult to find. The excerpts in "Radical Priorities" can help one get a sense of Chomsky's writings during major conflicts such as Viet Nam and East Timor, as they transpired.

3. Included in this volume are more excerpts that give an indication of Chomsky's political vision than practically any other Chomsky book. Some representative titles of the excerpts are: "industrial self-management", "libertarian socialism", "industrial society and anarchism", "the 'moderate' position", "fantasies of the left", "waste production and international dominance", and "Scientists of the world, unite!."

All in all, this book serves as an inspiring testament to radical humanism, and the vision underlying it.

This collection offers Chomsky's usual knowledge and analysis of a wide variety of social and political topics. A large amount of the material was written in the 1980s, although this new expanded edition brings the book's scope all the way up through 2003. Readers approaching Chomsky for the first time may want to start with his book Understanding Power, but for those familiar with the subject matter this is a valuable and very welcome collection.

Don't confuse the TOPIC, which is very difficult for people who are unfamiliar, with the AUTHORS or STYLE.

The material can be confusing, but the authors do well with what they have. This book is far more readable than its competitors. Examples are adequate. Exercises cover all of the important issues. The study guide, a separate book, is useful if the material is still confusing.

For a technical textbook attempting to reach all audiences from the novice to the Finance professional, this book is one of the best. It does not focus so heavily on the theory and mathematical derivation as others, and yet explains the necessary background so that the student does not find Finance just a "black box." It does, however, attempt to be all things to all people. I would like to see a "concise" edition which focuses exclusively on about the first 15 or 20 chapters, but that is a problem constant with all.

I fully understand how very intelligent people who do not have advance financial training would find this book overly complicated. This is not the sort of book you read in bed -- it is a text book. But it is one the most useful on my shelf. I refer to it constantly.

I'm a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and current CEO of a technology company with a JD/MBA from NYU. This book was required reading for an advanced corporate finance class I took while in school. It is the best finance book I have ever purchased.

This is not a primer. But for those who understand DCF, optimal capital structure, capital leases and working capital management... this is your book.

As an MBA student, I have now had the opportunity to study different finance books. This is undoubtedly the best. The CD rom resources are excellent. I will certainly retain this book for refence after graduation.

Don't get me wrong, I truly loved the passion evident throughout this book, but this is just one long, unorganized rant that jumps from one thing to another with no logical progression. This type of writing will do nothing to change people's minds about political/social issues, it will only serve to reinforce what they already believe. This is fine when two people discuss current events on their own, but for a book like this to be published is counter-productive when trying to make good, liberal arguments. It makes passionate, common sense liberals look bad.

That aside, he also makes some very serious accusations like American soldiers cutting out tongues of taliban officials without any type of reference as to where he got this information. When an author doesn't quote sources, it opens the book up to be discredited by opponents. It's also the sign of a lazy writer. If you took the time to actually find these things out, put in a references list.

If you want to read this book, check it out from the library, but please don't encourage this author by spending money on it.

He writes about love, cruelty and the culture of greed, a kind of Noam Chomsky on ectasy. While warm towards American citizens and their radical roots, he despairs of their ignorance of the crimes perpetrated in their name. This is a passionate, minority view, one which looks like it could become mainstream as events unfold in the Middle East. I was charmed by its exuberance, moved by its passion, intrigued by its holistic view of the world ans surprised by its humour. Apparently Neville was something of an underground press celebrity in the sixties and this cheeky spirit shines through each page. Very relevant in times of random cluster bombing described as 'liberation', and the division of the world into good and evil. Strangely philosophical, highly recommended.

The first chapter in this amazing multi layered polemic is based on an essay the author published in Australia several months before 9/11. A seasoned visitor to America, Richard Neville let loose his scathing cascade soon after President George W Bush dumped the Kyoto greenhouse agreement. This was announced around the time Gladiator won the Oscars, and Neville weaves together the impact of these two events on the consciousness of the wider world, a world that would increasingly resist and resent US political & cultural domination.

When this piece was first published it caused a storm - Neville includes the hate emails - while now it seems prophetic. He suggests America is "the wildest rogue nation of all" and shreds our obessive materialism, the "triviliasation of desire", porno violence and the wars against the developing world.

All this with humor & gusto.

Having once written a book about a famous serial killer, The Life & crimes of Charles Sobhraj, Neville argues that the personality of a psychopath equates pretty closely to that of Uncle Sam. There are Chapters on Who Killed the Counter Culture, the enviro rape of Texas (guess who by?) and even the politics of romantic partnerships ("to love, honor & throw away").

The last Chapter, from the cave to K-Mart, brings together all the themes and projects into the realm of alternative possible futures - "the journey to whole Earth healing inches ahead...". This is a fast, easy read and I have since enjoyed following Neville's controversial futurist raves on his website . While I don't agree with all his judgements, he has inspired me to think about the world in a new way. Amerika Psycho is already a cult classic in my neck of the woods.

I have admired Neil Postman ever since the days of Teaching As a Subversive Activity. It's thus with regret that I can't recommend this collection of essays. I found little insight, much condescension, and even more of what in his opening essay he sneered at social scientists for doing: stating the obvious as if it was profound discovery.

That opening essay, "Social Science as Moral Theology," in which he attempts - and fails - to show that sociologists, psychologists, and the like are "storytellers" rather than scientists, is a prime example. (Since my background is in physics, I should have been expected to be sympathetic to Postman's view. That I still found it so unconvincing should be an indication of how weak his argument is.) Just a few examples:

- He defines "science" in a way that excludes social sciences - an utterly invalid method by which anyone can "prove" literally anything.

- He derides as meaningless non-science studies linking TV viewing with aggressive behavior because they haven't come to any clear conclusion. (Astronomers still can't agree on how galaxies form. Are they not doing science?)

- He misstates scientific process and misdefines "empirical" as requiring "natural life situations," by which standard all of quantum physics and much of relativity physics are likewise non-scientific "storytelling."

- And frankly, anyone who gleefully writes about how he sprang a well-considered line of argument on a professor and brags that "it did not take me long ... to reduce her to saying" such-and so is not engaging in rational argument but ego-tripping.

What makes this all the more frustrating is that in subsequent chapters he does not hesitate to use some of the same methods he denounces as "storytelling" - demographic surveys, intergroup comparisons, etc. - when they will advance his argument.

Teaching as a Subversive Activity remains one of the most important books ever published about education. If you haven't read it, do. And do read Postman's works on the dangers of over-reliance on technology. But skip this volume in favor of another.

The book probably is a good summary of Neil Postman's ideas if you're new to him, but if you've already read his major works there's not much here to recommend. In fact, some of the ideas and even the prose can be pretty slack at times. Should pique the interest of newcomers, however.

I actually went out just to get Building a bridge to the 18th century but that was in hardcover so i decided to just get a paperback of this .. i've read all his 80's and 90's works and like the previous reviewer said.. it is just a compressed version of his later works.. it's actually easier to read since he doesn't go into his frequent bit of going back a couple centuries and talk about when print was just introduced as in his other books.. Anyways, a good read.. Yes this was helpful!

The material covered is on the ATI TEAS entrance exam, however, it is presented in a different text style. There are no critical thinking or reasoning questions for you to practice. Science and math need those sections added to this book. If you are rusty on all areas of math, science & reading it will help refresh you. Depending on the type of test you have to take, I would consider additional or another source of help.

... I want the best. This book, although they were not involved in the test that we took had me reviewing for stuff that had nothing to do with what I was taking. Which is why I give it the stars I did. However, check out the certain aspects of this book, and get other sources if you wish to ace this test. Call me a person who definitely learned from experience.

I see the other's reviews for the book and am very surprised. I couldn't have been happier with this book. I purchased a few books to help me prepare for my nursing school entrance exam, but this one is my favorite. It definitely helped me the most. I do feel that it made the entrance exam out to be more difficult than it actually was, but that was a real positive for me. I was actually over prepared for the exam, and therefore did really awesome on it and credit my success to this book. It has excellent reviews for math (which I really, really needed!) and English. It is an excellent, thorough preparation guide. I can't see how you can not do well on the entrance exam if you really utilize this book. Highly recommended!

I have not yet read this book, but instead I have just purchased it. There were no customer reviews of this book as of yet (besides mine) and that concerned me a little. As I take an over view of the book, I get enthused that our prof has chosen it for the up coming semester. Although, as usuall, I think student book prices are outrageous including this one. Seventy-two dollars for a paperback!!?

This was course material for my course in Ed Psych as part of my Bachelors degree. Prejudice made me think it would be boring and uneventful. On the contrary I have found that it is well written, with clear examples and continuous and consistent internal referencing and clear examples. Mr. Slavin refers to "intentional teaching" throughout the text. The text and its setup has been cleverly pegged to this theory, leaving me with a thorough understanding of educational psychology for a starter in the field. This should be obligatory reading for any teacher, if not the ones I have had over the years who could have done myself and other students a favour by studying it before standing in front of a classroom.

Overall I did not care for this book. I found several mistakes througout the sample test and was therefore concerned about what mistakes I did not catch. I would not recommend this book for test preparation at all.

I really feel that this book helped me prepare form my nursing school entrance exam. It has excellent practice tests and a lot of them, so you can really get a lot of use out of the book. I did extremely well on the exam after working with this book. Highly recommended.

This book was a good review for preparing for my nursing entrance exam. It helped me to prepare for reading comprehension and math which is hit on pretty big on nursing exams. Reading comprehension is sometimes very tricky. A lot of it has to do with the examineer's interpretion of a reading passage, which can be right, wrong or in between. This book helped me with practicing reading comprehension in the interpretation of the examineer. I also used the following which is I found highly helpful for the science section of my nursing entrance exam:
Key Facts For Anatomy and Physiology (ISBN: 0971999694)
This second book helped my pass my entrance exam. It always good to know a little more than not enough when it comes to nursing entrance exams. I highly advise getting both books.

I found this book to be a huge disappointment and a waste of time. I heard a recommendation on Pacifica radio in LA which I highly respect, but the book totally lacked insight. Alexandra Robbins includes tedious details such as, the spending budget of Skull and Bones, meaningless quotes from alumni over the years which I found erroneous. The book lacks focus. The only point I could find the author attempting to make was that the myths of these elitist Yale societies are perpetuated by the societies themselves, and I could have figured that out in about a sentence or two.

Secrets of the Tomb promises to sort the truth from the rumors about Skull and Bones and it delivers. Anyone familiar with the secret society will find tons of new material, such as Skull and Bones documents, stories, and interviews. Anyone unfamiliar with Skull and Bones will be astounded at how much influence it has had and continues to lord over our country. The atom bomb? Bay of Pigs Invasion? Brown Brothers Harriman? Grave-robbing? All the work of Skull and Bones.

Enthralling sections devoted to President George W. Bush illustrate how the President has used the secret society to his benefit, appointed fellow members to important positions in his administration, and yet continues to deny publicly he knows anything about the club. (Funny, he mentions it in his autobio.)

But Secrets of the Tomb presents this all of this information not as some conspiracy theorist blather, but as a solid work of investigative reporting, which is something no one has ever done on Skull and Bones. The book takes care to demystify some aspects of the society while confirming other details. At the same time, it's an incredibly fast-paced read, like a detective story.

This book is a must-read not only for anyone interested in secret societies, but also for anyone interested in knowing more about President George W. Bush. One of my favorite books I've read in a long, long time.

So I read a lot of the harsh reviews against this book below. Obviously no book is for everyone, but I feel many of these negative reviewers kind of missed the point. Okay, if you're looking for the lost X-Files episode, true, this is not it. Nor is it an apologist tract in defense of Satan's minions here on Earth (To those out there who think it is, there's pills you can take for that now. Ask your doctor if Reality is right for you).

I found it to be a very well written book about a very interesting subject from an author who sees it from the most relevant perspetive of all; a realistic one.

There is a saying that all disappointment stems from false expectation. I went in without expectations and I found the book highly enjoyable and well worth my money. However, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, nor am I put off by her well researched dissertation on the history of Yale. And like me, she enjoys making fun of those who take themselves too seriously while at the same time recognising their potential relevance on the world stage.

The Bottom Line: If you want Mulder and Scully, go with a classic like "The Cosmic Trigger" or "Ride A Pale Horse" (Then ask your doctor...). If history puts you to sleep, perhaps this one is just not for you. But if you want a well written book about a fascinating subject that will take you somewhere you've never been and are unlikey ever to be, check this one out. It's actually really good!