Everyday experiences present unique opportunities to teach children about God. But often parents aren't prepared to take advantage of those times—and the moment's gone. The Power of Teachable Moments shows parents how to see God's activity in their world and share it with their children. How to recognize teachable moments, what to do with them, and how to use them to make a lasting impact are just a few of the topics covered in this practical resource.
A nationally recogonized resource on issues of diversity and inclusion, Dr. Steve L. Robbins has created a collection of short stories that will make you laugh, challenge you to think and inspire you to act to make a better world for all. Read and see why organizations like PepsiCo, Toyota Motor, Herman Miller, the National Security Agency, Trinity Health System and myriad others invite Dr. Robbins to challenge, inspire and motivate them to be the best they can be.
How do we understand what curriculum 'is' and 'does' for both learners and teachers? Using actual field-based vignettes, this book introduces teachable moment-oriented, emergent-oriented, and negotiation-oriented curricula practices, and explores how, while the three curricula notions are distinctively different from one another, they are simultaneously interconnected. Teachable Moments is a valuable resource for teachers at all levels. In addition, this is a book for senior undergraduate- and graduate-level early childhood curriculum courses, as well as graduate students and faculty who are interested in studying contemporary postmodern curricula discourses.
This book draws from and analyzes teachers’ and students’ stories of great classes in order to promote teachers’ development of pedagogical tact and to encourage flow states for students. Taken together, these theoretical lenses—pedagogical tact and flow—provide a valuable framework for understanding and motivating classroom engagement. As the authors suggest, tactful teachers are more likely to see their students in flow than teachers who struggle with basic classroom routines and practices. Grounded in narrative research, and written for pre-service teachers, the book offers strategies for replicating these first-hand accounts of peak classroom teaching and learning.
In The Power of a Plant, globally acclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) Stephen Ritz shows you how, in one of the nation’s poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom. What if we taught students that they have as much potential as a seed? That in the right conditions, they can grow into something great? These are the questions that Stephen Ritz—who became a teacher more than 30 years ago—sought to answer in 2004 in a South Bronx high school plagued by rampant crime and a dismal graduation rate. After what can only be defined as a cosmic experience when a flower broke up a fight in his classroom, he saw a way to start tackling his school’s problems: plants. He flipped his curriculum to integrate gardening as an entry point for all learning and inadvertently created an international phenomenon. As Ritz likes to say, “Fifty thousand pounds of vegetables later, my favorite crop is organically grown citizens who are growing and eating themselves into good health and amazing opportunities.” The Power of a Plant tells the story of a green teacher from the Bronx who let one idea germinate into a movement and changed his students’ lives by learning alongside them. Since greening his curriculum, Ritz has seen near-perfect attendance and graduation rates, dramatically increased passing rates on state exams, and behavioral incidents slashed in half. In the poorest congressional district in America, he has helped create 2,200 local jobs and built farms and gardens while changing landscapes and mindsets for residents, students, and colleagues. Along the way, Ritz lost more than 100 pounds by eating the food that he and his students grow in school. The Power of a Plant is his story of hope, resilience, regeneration, and optimism.
In her new book, bestselling author Cynthia Ballenger explores the intellectual strengths of students whom teachers find “puzzling”—poor, urban, immigrant, or bilingual children who do not traditionally excel in school. Ballenger challenges the assumption that these children—whose families in many cases have less formal education, read fewer storybooks, and talk less with their children about school-like topics—have fewer intellectual or academically relevant experiences. This practical book offers a detailed roadmap for traversing the daily work of teaching today’s diverse population, and helping educators refine their work as it unfolds in the classroom. Ballenger guides the reader as she analyzes what the children said, what this indicates about their thinking, and how her dialogues with them informed her teaching. Book Features: Detailed portraits of the daily routines of teaching and learning. Rich depictions of bilingual children doing serious work with science and literature. Directions for how to listen to children’s ideas and how to analyze classroom discussions. Guidance for following the practices of good teacher research.
Just A Girl is the sensitive, personal story of the author’s ambition to become and succeed as a scientist during the “white man in power” era of the 1950s to 2010s. In the male-dominated science world, she struggles from girlhood unworthiness to sexist battles in jobs on the farms and in the restaurants of America, in academia’s laboratories and field research communities, and in the executive corner office. Jackson overcomes pain, shame, and self-blame, learns to believe in herself when others don’t, and becomes a champion for others. The turbulent legal and social background of sexual harassment and sexism in America over seven decades is delivered as “history with emotion.” Just a Girl is also a call to action: it identifies the court cases and lawsuits that helped advance the cultural changes we see today; outlines the pressing need for a Boys and Men Liberation (BAML) movement; highlights new approaches by parents; advocates for changes in our universities; and suggests a different direction for corporate America to take to stop the cycle of sexual harassment. Eye-opening and inspiring, it points the way to a brighter future for women everywhere.
Praise for Facilitating Group Learning "In this engaging and accessible book, George Lakey draws on a lifetime's experience to provide a highly practical resource to anyone seeking to understand and respond to the complexities of group work. The book will be invaluable to anyone trying to effect social change through groups while striving to stay simultaneously sane and employed." Stephen D. Brookfield, Distinguished University Professor, University of St. Thomas "I've been working with forms of direct education for many decades, and I found new ideas and inspirations in every chapter. For anyone involved in teaching, training, sharing skills, or leading groups, this book is an invaluable resource!" Starhawk, author, The Earth Path, Dreaming the Dark, and Webs of Power "George Lakey has inspired our union to engage in education in a way that challenges us to redefine social justice and equality in new and exciting ways. This book helps us to continue our journey to touch the souls of union members." Denis Lemelin, national president, Canadian Union of Postal Workers "Facilitating Group Learning will ease the way of all who venture into the white waters of facilitation. George clarifies the most basic, complex, and nagging challenges of facilitation, while honoring the realities of individual and social power dynamics and providing real-life examples from the path of continued growth and mastery. A rare gift!" Niyonu D. Spann, founding president, TRV Consulting and Beyond Diversity 101 "This book is a must-read for people who teach adults of any age, no matter what the subject, and care about doing it in ways that yield deep and abiding learning. Wonderfully well-written and rich with psychological and spiritual insights as well as practical strategies, it represents the fruits of a lifetime of transformational teaching and learning by one of the foremost adult educators of our time." Parker J. Palmer, author, The Courage to Teach, Let Your Life Speak, and The Heart of Higher Education
Steve Layne shows teachers practical ways to engage and inspire readers from kindergarten through high school, to develop readers who are not only motivated to read great books, but also love reading in its own right. --from publisher description.
Communication strategies for building a better relationship with your children, from a psychologist who has worked with families for over three decades. Are you frustrated when your child is not responsive to your efforts to be a good parent? Are you shaking your head in confusion or barking orders as a last resort in getting through to him/her? Do you wish for more quality time with your child? Parenting is the toughest job—for which most parents have no training. We tend to emulate our own parents, for good or for bad. In the Bible, Proverbs 22:6, we are told to “train your children in the ways of the Lord, so that when they are old, they will not depart from Him.” Teachable Moments: Building Blocks of Christian Parenting is a source book for parents and helping professionals who want both the spiritual context and the step-by-step practical parenting tools with which to be effective, engaged, Christian parents. Are you ready to move from surviving to thriving in your relationship with your children? You will learn: –Nine parenting perspectives to guide your understanding of your child –How communication defines relationship and the four distinct types of communication to use when your child is not having problems –Eleven specific communication tools and behavior management strategies, and more The author, a licensed clinical psychologist with decades of experience in practice, also includes “Learn the Concept” exercises embedded within the chapters—so you can practice these tools and strategies and start enjoying a better relationship with your children today.
