Book Description

As any school principal or adminstrator can tell you, the responsibilities of school leadership can take a person from inspired moments to crisis in an instant. How does a school leader with good intentions preserve a healthy sense of self in the face of a crisis which in the best of times challenges the self, and in the worst of times can lead to deep wounds of the heart? How can good leaders minimize the impact of these crises and remain open to learn and grow from these difficult experiences? These are the questions at the heart of the stories contained in The Wounded Leader.

Through compelling stories that illustrate many of the common dilemmas faced by school leaders, the authors highlight the many paths to healing, and show how sometimes the most painful experience can be an opportunity for growth.

"All leaders incur wounds. The Wounded Leader enables us to understand our wounds, learn from them....and begin to heal." - Roland Barth, Founder of Harvard Principals' Center

"Not only is the book full of fresh ideas and new insights but it is a fun read. It is not the usual leadership book that reads much like the other leadership books but stands out as an original contribution...easily presented and scholarly without being pretentious." - Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Center for Educational Leadership at Trinity College, San Antonio, Texas ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An important, redemptive, eminently practical book!!
"The Wounded Leader" is a wonderful new work for school leaders--however embattled we/they may find our/themselves in any particular context or at any particular moment. It is an eminently wise, provocative book, whose thesis is amplydocumented and very well illustrated by the various core narratives it offers its readers.
"The Wounded Leader" is about the healing power of stories and story-telling. For me, its subtitle gives a better sense of what this book is about: "How Real Leadership Emerges in Times of Crisis." Drawing from a diverse array of inspired sources (from Heifetz and Kegan and Gardner and Bennis to Parker Palmer and Daniel Goleman, e.g.), Ackerman and Maslin-Ostrowski masterfully synthesize an analysis of "how school leaders respond to and make sense of their wounds." Stressing the meaning-making and redemptive power of narratives, the authors show how the stories we tell ourselves and each other about the challenges we face ultimately inform and reveal who we are. The most successful leaders, they imply, are the most authentic ones. "Leadership," they write, "has been described as the capacity to be totally and utterly oneself, to be able to show up fully, to express oneself, and to share this self with an organization that one cares about and wants to influence. If this is the case, then wounding at its worst means leaving the self outside the school, becoming a hollow stranger to oneself and one's leadership altogether."
By framing "crisis [as] an emergent occasion for transformation," Maslin-Ostrowski and Ackerman reveal how we can be changed and tempered enough to learn and grow from our leadership wounds. Its fundamental message is thus profoundly affirmative and reassuring. Moreover, the book (at less than 150 pp.) is a slim (i.e. user-friendly!) volume written in readily accessible prose, enlivened by many aptly chosen narrative anecdotes. I recommend that educational leaders have a copy handy to review and refresh themselves at all times--either on our bookshelves at work or on our bedside tables at night--in order to help us regain our bearings whenever our leadership going gets toughest. ... Read more

Book Description

Reading history, says Arthur Cohen, is essential for those who would reform higher education.

From the earliest American colleges, debates have ranged over familiar issues in higher education: curriculum changes, faculty selection and review, student admissions, and institutional funding. Yesterday's practices underlie today's problems even as the system continues evolving. How has this evolution taken place? And to what degree have things changed or remained the same?

In The Shaping of American Higher Education, Cohen combines historical perspective with in-depth coverage of current events to provide an authoritative, comprehensive account of the history of higher education in the United States. From the colonial era to the present day--and with particular attention to the past 50 years--the book tracks trends in student access, faculty professionalization, curricular expansion, institutional growth, secular governance, public finance, research, and outcomes, placing them all in the context of contemporary society. Cohen organizes the book around a unique matrix of trends, topics, and eras that enables the reader either to proceed chapter by chapter through a chronological sequence of the entire history, or to easily follow a preferred topic, such as faculty or curriculum, by reading only that specific section in each era.

While other books have detailed the early history of the collegiate system, Cohen's work fulfills the need for an up-to-date account of American higher education that emphasizes the post-World War II era. Cohen synthesizes prevailing views of earlier eras in order to establish a solid background for his extensive examination of the past fifty years.

... Read more

Reviews (3)

covers everything, clear writing.
Mr. UCLA (the reviewer who gave the book 1 star) was probably a student of the writer, who is a teacher in UCLA. He didn't seem to enjoy his class too much.

Anyway, I bought the book because I was working on my so-called "education reform", but realized that I didn't know anything about education. The book helped out a lot. It writes about the full history of American Higher education with an emphasis on later eras. Colonial, Emergent nattion, university transformation, mass higher education, and contemporary are the five stage of Higher Education's development. He wrote about the major trends and characteristics of each era, some trends lasting for several eras, like the continuous expansion of the system, never ending diversification, and constant cries for access. One chapter is for one era, and all chapters are subdivided into eight sections to fully illustrate the details of each generation: societal context, institutions, students, faculty, curriculum and instruction, governance and administration, finance, and research and outcomes. The book is very well researched, and has a tremendous amount of data and charts, which were put together very nicely by the author. But that does not mean the book is boring! Though for most of the parts the author tried to be impartial, there were still many spalkling moments when you could feel the author's passion beaming out from the pages, especially as the book go into more modern eras. I know so much more about the history of US education now, and this whole process of developments is very amazing. With this understanding of history, I also gained a far better good grip on current issues, issues not only relating to higher education, but education as a whole. Don't hesitate, you will learn much!

This is an excellent book!
This book provides an insightful and thorough account of the history of higher education.

Useful content, poorly written.
If you're into a stream of interesting facts, get this book. If, instead, you want something pleasurable to read -- try elsewhere. ... Read more

Book Description

This technologically up-to-date book provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to office management, focusing on what office managers actually do on the job. The author's signature easy-to-read style is coupled with a presentation that systematically explores the full range of office management topics—office environment, employees, systems, and functions. Current coverage includes technological advances and their impact on office administration and management—e.g. the Internet, desk-top computers tablet PCs, DVD technology, handheld data-entry devices, USB pen drives, e-printing, Voice Over Internet Protocol, digitizing media, storage application service providers, and Six Sigma and computer misuse. Other discussions feature employee comfort trends, new techniques for forecasting employee needs, increased diversity in the workplace, benchmarking, virtual reality training, job characteristics, theory of motivation, workplace violence, new techniques of job analysis, job evaluations, small groups, new developments in heating/air-condition systems, and dealing with environmental mold. For office managers and supervisors.

Reviews (1)

Excellent resource for administrative office managers.
I found this book to be authoritative, credible, full of easy-to-read material that is up to date and that will enable any administrative office manager to become more proficient at his/her job. I've become so much moreknowledgeable after reading it. ... Read more

Book Description

For almost two decades, acclaimed education scholar and current president of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Lee S. Shulman has been bringing uncommon wit, passion, and vision to issues of teaching and learning in higher education. Teaching as Community Property brings together a brilliant collection of Shulman's papers and presentations since 1987, giving readers a unique window into his ideas and proposals for the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education. What emerges is a vision of Shulman's overarching agenda--to improve the quality of teaching for all students by making teaching a more respected dimension of all the disciplines and professional fields. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Challenge to raise the bar for higher education instruction
This collection of essays and speeches by Shulman presents a challenge to higher education to place greater emphasis on teaching.While professors at many colleges may be experts in their content area, many know little about the art of teaching.In some cases, teaching may even be seen as an interference with their primary goal of research.
Shulman's essays turn attention toward teaching with a careful consideration of the sensitivities of higher education faculty.His first unit focuses around learning as a process that can be understood and supported.He provides gentle arguments with practical suggestions while demonstrating that a focus on learning is a significant responsibity of the academic profession.
His second unit focuses on changing the role of teaching within the professorate.He argues that expert teaching exists and can be taught.Furthermore, creating a culture where teaching is taught in doctoral programs and is treated in a scholarly manner with peer review and dissemination would increase both the quality and prestige of teaching activities within higher ed.
The third unit offers practical suggestions for improving teaching and supporting teaching.
This book would be useful to a reading/ discussion group for faculty.The only criticism that I would offer of this book is a natural result of its format.As a collection of essays, transitions are sometimes not obvious and there is some overlap between chapters.Nevertheless, the collection is well-organized and surprisingly cohesive.As always, Shulman offers a gentle challenge. ... Read more

Book Description

"A delight to read. The book is thoughtful, practical, and extremely respectful of teachers and of the multiple judgments needed to educate young children well."
From the Foreword by Carl D. Glickman
Chair, Program for School Improvement
The University of Georgia

This second edition of Marilyn E. Gootman’s best-selling book is a comprehensive guide to teaching students to do the right thing. With this insightful and important work, teachers can acquire the skills they need to help students practice self-control, solve problems, use good judgment, and correct their own misbehavior.

You’ll learn strategies to:

• Give students realistic expectations and establish rules for behavior
• Prevent and resolve misunderstandings using open communication
• Deal with anger (yours or your students’)
• Communicate more effectively in order to prevent or resolve misunderstanding
• Develop and use problem-solving techniques
• Reach students with trauma-and dysfunction-associated behavioral problems
• Create effective partnerships with parents

With updated insights, new research results and recommended programs, and a new chapter on "Bullying: Prevention and Intervention," this new edition of a powerful classic is a necessary resource for new and experienced teachers alike.

Marilyn E. Gootman, Ed.D., is founder of Gootman Education Associates, an educational consulting company that provides workshops and seminars for parents and educators, focusing on successful strategies for raising and teaching children. She has been in the teaching profession for over 25 years, and her teaching experiences range from elementary school to the university level.She holds degrees from Simmons College and Brandeis University and a doctorate from the University of Georgia. She is the author of The Loving Parents’ Guide to Discipline and When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens about Grieving and Healing.

Reviews (2)

Good for the UNcaring teacher.
If you are a caring teacher, then despite the title, this book is not for you. You will not find anything new or profound here. I agree with a previous review--this book offers no concrete advice and is not based on a realistic view of the behaviors exhibited in many public schools. The examples of misbehavior provided in the book are incredibly tame compared to what I experience on a daily basis.

This book might be good for someone who has been told by a qualified mentor the s/he has not connected with the students or is too harsh.

Nothing new here!
I had heard good things about this book, but I was disappointed. Gootman's book is very similar to dozens of others out there. She repeats all the well-known DOs and DON'Ts of teaching. While I found myself agreeing with most of what she said, I didn't find many meaningful suggestions of ways to improve my discipline in the classroom. Suggestions such as using I messages, avoiding embarrassing students, and creating a classroom community are not new! I think most teachers are already doing many of the DO's and avoiding many of the DON'Ts, and this book, like many others, did NOT offer a usable plan to change the climate of the classroom. Gootman, like many other authors and speakers who no longer teach full time, suggests that if teachers are caring and plan interesting lessons, problems will be few. I wish that were true. I was looking for concrete solutions to specific behaviors I see time and time again. Gootman's book offered few answers. ... Read more

Book Description

This updated edition gives students and adults practice questions that improve reading comprehension skills quickly. A self-paced approach moves learners along from basic to more complex questions. This book includes easy-to-access answer keys and complete explanations and can be used to practice for high school, civil service, law enforcement, firefighter, military, job proficiency, and placement exams. ... Read more

Book Description

A workbook style text that includes extensive coverage of mainstream college success topics with a focus on the unique challenges facing student athletes. ... Read more

Book Description

Finally! Practical advice from the teachers' perspective!

Learn what effective principals do to influence, motivate, and empower teachers entirely from the teachers' perspective.

Based on an in-depth study in which teachers detail the strategies extraordinary principals used to help them become more effective in the classroom. This second edition incorporates the most up-to-date literature, keeping the core study timely and provocative. Easy-to-follow guidelines are included in each chapter.

Strategies and related practices illustrate how to:

• Use the power of praise
• Influence by expecting and involving
• Encourage professional autonomy
• Lead by standing behind
• Suggest rather than direct
• Use formal authority positively

This book is a must-have resource for any practicing school principal or for teachers studying to be principals.

 

Book Description

Go out with a BANG!

They'll forget you as soon as you walk out the door . . . unless you make your training memorable. This essential resource is your way to make your mark. Fifty ways to close your training sessions and presentations so they won't forget you--or your training.

Each activity lists the necessary time and equipment, a suggested group size, and an intended purpose. You'll have no problem finding a closer that's just right for your needs.

You'll get activities great for:

Book Description

You will score higher. We guarantee it.

Kaplan's LSAT 2004 with CD-ROM comes complete with a comprehensive review of all the material on the exam, plus Kaplan's test-taking strategies to maximize your score. This powerful combination is a highly effective way for you to score higher on the LSAT and make you and your application competitive for law school admissions.

Succeed on the Writing Sample with Kaplan's expert strategies for constructing clear, concise, and high-scoring essays.

Prepare with hundreds of practice questions for Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension.

Practice with 5 full-length LSATs -- 3 in the book and 2 on the CD-ROM -- complete with explanations for every answer and detailed score analysis.

Score Higher with effective strategies and advice from Kaplan's top instructors.

Plus Special CD-ROM Features, Including:

Book Description

Official self-study test preparation guide for the CCIE Security written exam

Review all CCIE Security written exam topics, including:

• Switching concepts, routing protocols, and WAN protocols, including PPP, ISDN, and Frame Relay
• DNS, TFTP, Secure Shell, Secure Socket Layer Protocol, NTP, and SNMP
• Cisco IOS(r) Software specifics, including password security, password recovery, and standard and extended access lists
• Encryption technologies and security protocols, including TACACS+, RADIUS, and KerberosWindows and UNIX operating system security issues
• Cisco security applications, including Cisco PIX(r) Firewall, VPN, IDS, and Cisco Policy Manager
• Basic security methods and the evolution of new secure networks including packet filtering, proxies, and NAT/PAT
• Network security policies, vulnerabilities, and protection techniques

With increased reliance on networking resources to provide productivity gains and corporate revenue contributions, the need for network security has never been higher. Rising concerns over corporate espionage, cyber-terrorism, financial fraud, and theft of proprietary information have radically increased the demand for highly skilled networking security professionals. One of the most sought-after and highly valued networking certifications, the Cisco Systems CCIE Security certification is answering the need for technical expertise in this critical market by distinguishing the top echelon of internetworking experts.

CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide is a comprehensive study tool for the Security written exam. Written and reviewed by members of the CCIE Security team at Cisco, this book helps you understand and master the material you will need to know to pass the written exam. Designed to optimize your study time, this book helps you assess your knowledge of the material at the beginning of each chapter with customized quizzes for each topic. Increase retention of key concepts by reviewing summaries of crucial concepts. Test your comprehension with chapter-ending review questions. Determine your assimilation of knowledge and get a taste for the CCIE Security lab exam with two complete practice lab scenarios focused on security and routing and switching topics. Take timed practice exams that mimic the real testing environment with the CD-ROM test engine or customize the test bank to focus on the topics for which you need the most help. Along with an electronic version of the text, a complete copy of Henry Benjamin's previously published CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Cram is also presented on the CD-ROM as an additional bonus.

CCIE Security Exam Certification Guide is part of a recommended study program from Cisco Systems that can include simulation and hands-on training from authorized Cisco Learning Partners and self-study products from Cisco Press.I am positive individuals will inevitably gain extensive security network knowledge during their preparation by using this book."
-Gert De Laet, Product Manager, CCIE Security, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Companion CD-ROM
CD contains a test engine with over 300 questions, lab equipment suggestions, sample configurations, and a bonus electronic copy of the complete CCIE Routing and Switching Exam Cram text.

Reviews (44)

Amazing book and valu
Not sure why otehr reviewers complain about a book that contains not only material for R/S written, Security writeen, Security Lab and a sample R/S lab along with full working solutions for a security lab far more complicated than the real security lab supplied in the ccie lab at a cost of {$$]US compared to a title around [$$] US, its well written, authorised by the Security team at Cisco and well organised, the examples are great, the sample written examination is excellent and the samepl labs and bonus material mean you are getting like 3 book for the price of one, great buy, recommnedd it for readers just starting on the long road to ccie, if you think your too good already then attempt the lab and see how you fare, the written exam is not cheap either, great book and thank you Ciscopress for writing it,

Ram

The material and CD are fantastic
I easily pass the written exam with this guide and the cd companion alone is worth the price alone,also contains anotehr book as a bonus, its a great book and written well and targets what you see in the exam, chapter 9 is a ccie security lab that from what I hear is far more difficult than the real labs prodcued by Cisco so I highly recommend this book for passing both exams, the book has been reviewed by ccie proctors so its got to be accurate.

Concise coverage of CCIE Security Written Exam
Yes, there are some typos and the cd does have some problems, but if you want to pass the CCIE Security written exam then buy this book. It provides concise coverage of the material you need to know.
I passed the exam a few days ago, thanks to having this book which I used for my final review.
CCIE #11568

ccie security exam prep. guide
Today I passed for my ccie written for security. I used this book to prepare myself for the ccie written exam. It's a
very usefull book, a lot of tips etc. A lot of exam question to get the ccie exam look and feel.
Very interesting book.

Great buy and value for money
has two great sample ccie labs great value recommneded for all ccie candidates ... Read more

Book Description

In colleges and universities, there is increasing demand to help students learn how to conceptualize, analyze, and reason. Learning to Think presents a model of learning that takes into account the different ways learning occurs in different academic disciplines and explores the relationship between knowledge and thinking processes. Janet Donald--a leading researcher in the field of postsecondary teaching and learning--presents a framework for learning that goes beyond the acquisition of knowledge to encompass ways of constructing and utilizing it within and across disciplines. The author discusses how learning occurs in different academic disciplines and reveals how educators can improve the teaching and learning process in their classrooms and programs. ... Read more

Book Description

Clear organization, easy to grasp language, and comprehensive coverage of real estate principles have earned this text a significant following.Real Estate Fundamentals has trained more than 70,000 real estate professionals.

Instructor Resources include lecture outlines, suggested items to bring to class and a 100 question sample exam.This text can be used in conjunction with the Real Estate Study Guide CD-ROM. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Clarity, accuracy
After scanning this and six other similar books, I chose this one for my home study. There is an intellectual clarity in _RE Fundamentals_ that makes it stand out from the others. It has the accuracy of a scholarly work without being opaque. No marketing hype here. Nothing about how rich you are going to be. Quizzes at the end of each chapter are brief but adequate.

Good real estate primer...
This is the book that is given with the pre-licence classes at the tennessee real estate education system(TREES). The class is not taught right from the book but they believe that this book is a solid primer and reference point. I agree, this book provides all the basic general information needed to pass the real estate exam anywhere and it is presented in an organized easy to read format. Also the price is very reasonable compared to other RE primers. I recommend it.

..............socks ... Read more

Book Description

Introducing a bold, persuasive new argument into the national debate over education, Dr. William Ouchi describes a revolutionary approach to creating successful public schools.

This program has produced significant, lasting improvements in the school districts where it has already been implemented. Drawing on the results of a landmark study of 223 schools in six cities, a project that Ouchi supervised and that was funded in part by the National Science Foundation, Making Schools Work shows that a school's educational performance may be most directly affected by how the school is managed.

Ouchi's 2001-2002 study examined innovative school systems in Edmonton (Canada), Seattle, and Houston, and compared them with the three largest traditional school systems: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Researchers discovered that the schools that consistently performed best also had the most decentralized management systems, in which autonomous principals -- not administrators in a central office -- controlled school budgets and personnel hiring policies. They were fully responsible and fully accountable for the performance of their schools. With greater freedom and flexibility to shape their educational programs, hire specialists as needed, and generally determine the direction of their school, the best principals will act as entrepreneurs, says Ouchi. Those who do poorly are placed under the supervision of successful principals, who assume responsibility for the failing schools.

An essential component of this management approach is the Weighted Student Formula, a budgetary tool whereby every student is evaluated and assessed a certain dollar value in educational services (a non-English-speaking or autistic student, or one from a low-income family, for example, would receive a higher dollar value than a middle-class student with no special needs). Families have the freedom to choose among public schools, and when schools must compete for students, good schools flourish while those that do poorly literally go out of business.

Such accountability has long worked for religious and independent schools, where parents pay a premium for educational performance. Making Schools Work shows how the same approach can be adapted to public schools. The book also provides guidelines for parents on how to evaluate a school and make sure their child is getting the best education possible.

Revolutionary yet practical, Making Schools Work shows that positive educational reform is within reach and, indeed, already happening in schools across the country.

... Read more

Reviews (10)

A fascinating book on the problems of schools in America
William Ouchi does a terrific job of outlining the basic problems in the public school system today. From there he offers valuable insight into many solutions that can be applied to our ailing public school system. It's painfully clear that we must do more in order to fix our educational system.

Thie book is a terrific read from start to finish, and I highly recommend it!

School Reform 101
Anyone who complains about public schools should read this book. It is going to be VERY important to the national dialog about how we pull up our socks and get busy making things better.

I know you are busy, so I encourage you to do a good old college-style "gut the book" exercise on this one. It reads well and is only as long as it needs to be (262 uncrowded pages). Speed-devour 100 pages a night and you can get the essence in 2 stints.

I've been voraciously consuming education reform literature, and this one is by far the best of the lot. It gives me a considerable sense of hope that Governor Schwartzenegger has read it and reportedly gave it to some people as a Christmas present. I suspect that this will be a book that many, many people read and talk about.

Prof. Ouchi worked with a team of researchers to analyze the organizations of hundreds of schools and districts, documenting trends in function and dysfunction and examples of turnarounds. He took the findings and synthesized them into seven "keys." He does a great, sensitive job of explaining how none of these alone is the magic answer -- rather, progress is made by working on all seven together. One of the super things about this book: it is very grounded in the reality that education is about people. He speaks to the reader as a potential reformer, and never gets highfalutin or pessimistic. He reminds the reader often that the people involved almost never WANT bad things to happen. Things just seem to work out that way when the organization is busted.

The "Keys" are:
1) Every Principal is an Entrepreneur
2) Every School Controls its Own Budget
3) Everyone is Accountable for Student Performance and for Budgets
4) Everyone Delegates Authority to Those Below
5) There Is a Burning Focus on Student Achievement
6) Every School Is a Community of Learners
7) Families Have Real Choices Among a Variety of Unique Schools

Another great thing about the book: it prepares you to get involved constructively in making YOUR school or district better. This is not just an academic exercise -- it's a plan for bringing better results.

An easy read for anyone concerned about PublicEducation
An easy must read for all!
This book is a must read. As a parent activist and public school teacher, this book is a great handbook to revolution in the schools. An easy read, he highlights good things going on and tells you how to evaluate your school in simple words. He also grants permission to everyone and anyone to question the current system, and then take action to decentralize it. It is a practical handbook to empower the public and creat revolutionary change in public education. READ IT AND PASS IT ALONG TO YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS TOO!

Is this guy talking about the same Seattle and Houston?
I live in Seattle and have children in the public schools here (also, I'm an education activitist here). Dr. Ouchi has written quite a revisionist history of Seattle education and used some cunning tricks to do so. For example, on page 37 he states that it was reported by a local newspaper that our last superintendent, Joseph Olchefske,was to resign at the end of the school year. Immediately following that sentence he gives a reason why (making it look as though that is what the newspaper, the Seattle Times, reported). The reason, as Dr. Ouchi, states, was that the superintendent "had been criticized for moving too slowly to close small schools and reduce central office expenses". Nothing is further from the truth and if Dr. Ouchi had bothered to actually read either of our two local newspapers, he would know this. Our superintendent was ousted for mismanaging $34 million dollars (he was an investment banker and possibly could have done more but hey, it's only money). Dr. Ouchi tries to hide this information in another section of the book by calling them accounting errors. If only they had been simple errors!
He also tries to make it seem as if Seattle teachers, by voting more than 85% a no-confidence vote, were trying to get back at the superintendent for his work in changing the procedure for teacher removal. Again, untrue. Teachers voted against him because of his lack of ability in running the district. They were joined by the principals executive board and by so many parents that he was forced to resign. The only supporters he had left sat on the school board which promptly saw the majority overturned in the last election.
Couple this disinct penchant for fudging the truth to support his theories with the recent revelations in print and on television about the so-called Houston miracle makes this entire book suspect.

Making Schools Work
This book explains how the organization of a school system can affect student performance. It is filled with stories and data that are interesting, uplifting and compelling. I especially like Professor Ouchi's response to the question, "What makes a school great?" His Seven Keys to Success are "right on," in my opinion. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding why some schools and school systems work while others do not. ... Read more

Book Description

Guide to understanding students with autism and including them fully in the classroom. Includes specific ideas for enhancing literacy; planning challenging, multidimensional lessons; supporting student behavior; connecting, communicating, and collaborating; fostering friendships; and adapting the physical environment. Softcover. DLC: Autistic children--Education--United States. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

This book will challenge how you think!
This book is a great guide to understanding students with autism, but will also help you understand how to address concerns with students with other disabilities. My favorite chapter is on behavior and really gets to the core issues. She provides information that will create a shift in thinking, e.g., that forcing compliance is not the way to go. I highly recommend this book, it is terrific.

attitudes mean so much
This book is obviously geared towards educators, but the lessons that it contains are so relevant for parents as well. So much of the development of our children can be facilitated or hampered by our attitudes. With autism, it is often the case, that conventional wisdom serves merely to reinforce existing stereotypes; that the true professionals are not those who have seen lots and lots of autistic kids, but rather those who have seen none, or those who have seen lots and lots of this particular kid.
I would advise any parent looking for hope, guidance and inspiration to read this book. It isn't a novel; its not some tear jerking success story. It is real; its a compilation of many many success stories, achievable success stories.

GET THIS BOOK!!
I am raising a 2 children on the autism spectrum and I also have some teaching experience. I found the suggestions in this book to be practical and realistic. Teachers will benefit from information which is applicable to an entire classroom, not just the person with autism. Your child's teacher would be lost without a copy of this book. Buy a copy and share it with your child's teacher. Or, buy it and give it to your child's teacher as a gift (he/she can read over the summer before school starts up). You're going to love this book!

Manual for Teachers in the Inclusion Environment
Reviewed book given to me by a neighbor and parent of a child with autism. He had heard Ms. Kluth's lecture and purchased many copies to give to teaching professionals.
This book could be called a working manual for teachers who must discover how to reach a child with autism. There is more than one map to the process, and Ms. Kluth has cheerfully and whole-heartedly charted them out! In opening chapters, definitions of what it means to have autism, inclusion schooling explanations and required assessments are described, but quotes from people with autism are sprinkled around-giving the disability the human face it needs. My favorite paragraph, pulled from a web site created by folks with Asperger's:

Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity. Neurotypical individuals often assume that their experience of the world is either the only one, or the only correct one. NTs find it difficult to be alone. NTs are often intolerant of seemingly minor differences in others. When in groups NTs are socially and behaviorally rigid and frequently insist on the performance of dysfunctional, destructive, and even impossible rituals as a way of maintaining group identity. NTs find it difficult to communicate with persons on the autistic spectrum. NT is believed to be genetic in origin. Autopsies have shown the brain of the Neurotypical is typically smaller than that of an autistic individual and may have overdeveloped areas related to social behavior.

Even though I am "neurotypical" I understand this point of view! Ms. Kluth encourages teachers to see. "Not seeing is not a positive response to difference. Recognizing, however, and doing our best to understand how differences affect students' lives and educational experiences, helps us to better know and serve each individual student." She emphasizes a strength-based perspective to not only instruct students, but to preserve their dignity, scrutinize plans that do not help the student's needs, and to connect with families and incorporate them to the student's advantage. In fact, shared responsibility for solution-building can come from home, and families appreciate it. "Brainstorming together is an energizing process," writes one parent. "It can make assessment and planning look more like a celebration and less like a funeral. The focus of the discussion becomes giving families normal life opportunities rather than creating 'near normal' children." Ms. Kluth interprets 'local understanding' that families have of their child, meaning "a radically deep, intimate knowledge of another human being." Parents can help with behavior and likes/dislikes because of their knowledge.
Plans for classrooms that work with students with autism are suggested. Types of the disorder can influence the behavior of each individual; there is no 'typical' autistic, and the author illustrates the benefit of taking the effort to find likes/dislikes of each person. For example, the chapter 'Friendships, Social Relationships, and Belonging' breaks the myth that autism is a lonely affliction. Peer support is vital, dialoguing is important (especially for the individual who has been rewarded for compliance and quietness all of their lives), and opportunities for both in the school community is essential. Quotes from this chapter are filled with relief upon being accepted with the unique and different traits of autism.
The author encourages teachers by giving them power to assume: "The rule should always be, when in doubt, assume that students can learn and want to communicate. We have no other choice." I think this is an important process to teaching, to have faith in the student's abilities, whether actuated or not, by default (and not just with autism).
"Teacher as talent scout" is the tone found throughout the book. Often articles and books treat autism with such a clinical, aloof approach that humanity is divorced from the process of instruction. The author encourages teachers to try, attempt, and try again, and may success stories are illustrated.
There is also a matter-of-fact sensibility to some of the situations a teacher will face."Many students with autism (and many without) have items they carry with them for comfort." An instructor, realizing that this is important to the student and not just an eccentric behavior classroom disturbance, can move on from there. Ms. Kluth reiterates this point-that the motive of a child is not to disturb the environment with repetitive words or gestures or preferences, but that they are oftentimes triggered by something to act this way. Is the routine disrupted? Is there a noise/smell/sensation that is painful to the child? Are they distressed in some way and unable to communicate this?
How we label people can contribute to how we view them:
We like things. They fixate on objects.
We try to make friends. They display attention-seeking behavior.
We take breaks. They display off-task behavior.
We stand up for ourselves. They are non-compliant.
We have hobbies. They self-stim.
We choose our friends wisely. They display poor peer socialization.
We persevere. They perseverate.
We like people. They have dependencies on people.
We go for a walk. They run away.
We insist. They tantrum.
We change our minds. They are disoriented and have short attention spans.
We have talents. They have splinter skills.
We are human. They are ??

Autism is a difficult thing to comprehend. I wish this book could be on the reading list of future teachers so that their understanding of this disability is more complete. I wish that more books about children with special education needs could be written in the same positive, refreshing and useful style. My wish for my nephews, all autistic, would be to have educators that have the same attitude as Ms. Kluth's.

A must have for those who want inclusion!
This was a wonderful book! As a parent of a child with autism, I found so many practical ways to help his classroom teacher adapt her curriculum to meet my son's needs and keep him involved in the class. I recommend this book to parents who have been told by administration, " We don't do inclusion here"! This is proof that you can do it and do it well. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Kluth speak and her enthusiaam for helping our kids is infectious! If you get the chance, don't miss her for the world! Definitely one of the best workshops I have ever attended! She not only gives you ideas, she has you role play them so you can see them in practical use! ... Read more

Book Description

Exemplary teacher research has established that explicit teaching plays a vital role in the K-8 classroom, with particular benefits for struggling readers. This book is a practical resource for explaining reading to students who do not learn to read easily. Identified are 22 major skills and strategies associated with vocabulary development, comprehension, word recognition, and fluency. Ways to explain each skill or strategy are illustrated with abundant concrete examples, which teachers can use as starting points for developing lessons tailored to the needs, strengths, and interests of their own students. The book also shows how to move from the teacher's explanation to the student's independent use of new concepts, and how to embed explicit teaching within a context of rich, engaging literacy experiences.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Individual chapters cogently provide examples
Gerald G. Duffy is a former classroom teacher and professor emeritus at Michigan State University. He draws upon his many years of experience and his considerable expertise in Explaining Reading: A Resource For Teaching Concepts, Skills, And Strategies to provide the reader with a solid guide for aiding in their teaching literacy to students who are slow to absorb the skill. Individual chapters cogently provide examples and ideas for explaining vocabulary, teaching word recognition, comprehension strategies, and a great deal more. Explaining Reading is highly recommended as an excellent and detailed advice guide -- especially for classroom teachers and home schoolers involved in a literacy instructional program. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Highly Recommended
Essential for business students, graduate and undergraduates alike. Helps you write professional reports and term papers. Many graduate schools require it. ... Read more

Book Description

Paths to the Professoriate offers all those involved in higher education—everyone from administrators to scholars to graduate students—a much-needed resource that brings together major research, the most important developments in practice, and informed analysis on improving graduate education and preparing the future faculty. This important book includes chapters from some of the best-known researchers, practitioners, and scholars working to prepare the faculty of the future.

... Read more