Download or read book The Importance of Being Little written by Erika Christakis and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-02-09 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Christakis . . . expertly weaves academic research, personal experience and anecdotal evidence into her book . . . a bracing and convincing case that early education has reached a point of crisis . . . her book is a rare thing: a serious work of research that also happens to be well-written and personal . . . engaging and important.” --Washington Post "What kids need from grown-ups (but aren't getting)...an impassioned plea for educators and parents to put down the worksheets and flash cards, ditch the tired craft projects (yes, you, Thanksgiving Handprint Turkey) and exotic vocabulary lessons, and double-down on one, simple word: play." --NPR The New York Times bestseller that provides a bold challenge to the conventional wisdom about early childhood, with a pragmatic program to encourage parents and teachers to rethink how and where young children learn best by taking the child’s eye view of the learning environment To a four-year-old watching bulldozers at a construction site or chasing butterflies in flight, the world is awash with promise. Little children come into the world hardwired to learn in virtually any setting and about any matter. Yet in today’s preschool and kindergarten classrooms, learning has been reduced to scripted lessons and suspect metrics that too often undervalue a child’s intelligence while overtaxing the child’s growing brain. These mismatched expectations wreak havoc on the family: parents fear that if they choose the “wrong” program, their child won’t get into the “right” college. But Yale early childhood expert Erika Christakis says our fears are wildly misplaced. Our anxiety about preparing and safeguarding our children’s future seems to have reached a fever pitch at a time when, ironically, science gives us more certainty than ever before that young children are exceptionally strong thinkers. In her pathbreaking book, Christakis explains what it’s like to be a young child in America today, in a world designed by and for adults, where we have confused schooling with learning. She offers real-life solutions to real-life issues, with nuance and direction that takes us far beyond the usual prescriptions for fewer tests, more play. She looks at children’s use of language, their artistic expressions, the way their imaginations grow, and how they build deep emotional bonds to stretch the boundaries of their small worlds. Rather than clutter their worlds with more and more stuff, sometimes the wisest course for us is to learn how to get out of their way. Christakis’s message is energizing and reassuring: young children are inherently powerful, and they (and their parents) will flourish when we learn new ways of restoring the vital early learning environment to one that is best suited to the littlest learners. This bold and pragmatic challenge to the conventional wisdom peels back the mystery of childhood, revealing a place that’s rich with possibility.

Download or read book Atmospheric Disturbances written by Maggie May Ethridge and published by Shebooks. This book was released on 2014-05-28 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two people deeply in love finally say their vows after ten years of friendship and uncertainty. But then the marriage takes a heartbreaking dive when one of them is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The other struggles to stay afloat while raising their four children even as she confronts the uninvited guest of mental illness. Author Maggie May Ethridge asks: Am I welcome at the marriage table when my husband is lost to bipolar and my wedding band is being twisted in anxiety underneath the cloth? Less about the exact nature of bipolar disorder and more about the nature of love under fire, Atmospheric Disturbances brings us into the heart of a marriage.

Download or read book Flash Feedback Grades 6 12 written by Matthew Johnson and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2020-02-11 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beat burnout with time-saving best practices for feedback For ELA teachers, the danger of burnout is all too real. Inundated with seemingly insurmountable piles of papers to read, respond to, and grade, many teachers often find themselves struggling to balance differentiated, individualized feedback with the one resource they are already overextended on—time. Matthew Johnson offers classroom-tested solutions that not only alleviate the feedback-burnout cycle, but also lead to significant growth for students. These time-saving strategies built on best practices for feedback help to improve relationships, ignite motivation, and increase student ownership of learning. Flash Feedback also takes teachers to the next level of strategic feedback by sharing: How to craft effective, efficient, and more memorable feedback Strategies for scaffolding students through the meta-cognitive work necessary for real revision A plan for how to create a culture of feedback, including lessons for how to train students in meaningful peer response Downloadable online tools for teacher and student use Moving beyond the theory of working smarter, not harder, Flash Feedback works deeper by developing practices for teacher efficiency that also boost effectiveness by increasing students’ self-efficacy, improving the clarity of our messages, and ultimately creating a classroom centered around meaningful feedback.

Download or read book Free to Learn written by Peter Gray and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A leading expert in childhood development makes the case for why self-directed learning — "unschooling" — is the best way to get kids to learn. "All kids love learning. Most don't love school. That's a disconnect we've avoided discussing—until this lightning bolt of a book. If you've ever wondered why your curious kid is turning into a sullen slug at school, Peter Gray's Free to Learn has the answer. He also has the antidote." —Lenore Skenazy, author of Free-Range Kids In Free to Learn, developmental psychologist Peter Gray argues that in order to foster children who will thrive in today's constantly changing world, we must entrust them to steer their own learning and development. Drawing on evidence from anthropology, psychology, and history, he demonstrates that free play is the primary means by which children learn to control their lives, solve problems, get along with peers, and become emotionally resilient. A brave, counterintuitive proposal for freeing our children from the shackles of the curiosity-killing institution we call school, Free to Learn suggests that it's time to stop asking what's wrong with our children, and start asking what's wrong with the system. It shows how we can act—both as parents and as members of society—to improve children's lives and to promote their happiness and learning.

Download or read book Improbable Scholars written by David L. Kirp and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Improbable Scholars, David L. Kirp challenges the conventional wisdom about public schools and education reform in America through an in-depth look at Union City, New Jersey's high-performing urban school district. In this compelling study, Kirp reveals Union's city's revolutionary secret: running an exemplary school system doesn't demand heroics, just hard and steady work.

Download or read book Miss Nelson is Missing written by Harry Allard and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1977 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suggests activities to be used at home to accompany the reading of Miss Nelson is missing by Harry Allard in the classroom.

Download or read book Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 587 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

Download or read book Creating Compassionate Kids Essential Conversations to Have with Young Children written by Shauna Tominey and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected as a "Favorite Book for Parents in 2019" by Greater Good. Young children can surprise us with tough questions. Tominey’s essential guide teaches us how to answer them and foster compassion along the way. If you had to choose one word to describe the world you want children to grow up in, what would it be? Safe? Understanding? Resilient? Compassionate? As parents and caregivers of young children, we know what we want for our children, but not always how to get there. Many children today are stressed by academic demands, anxious about relationships at school, confused by messages they hear in the media, and overwhelmed by challenges at home. Young children look to the adults in their lives for everything. Sometimes we’re prepared... sometimes we’re not. In this book, Shauna Tominey guides parents and caregivers through how to have conversations with young children about a range of topics-from what makes us who we are (e.g., race, gender) to tackling challenges (e.g., peer pressure, divorce, stress) to showing compassion (e.g., making friends, recognizing privilege, being a helper). Talking through these topics in an age-appropriate manner—rather than telling children they are too young to understand—helps children recognize how they feel and how they fit in with the world around them. This book provides sample conversations, discussion prompts, storybook recommendations, and family activities. Dr. Tominey's research-based strategies and practical advice creates dialogues that teach self-esteem, resilience, and empathy: the building blocks for a more compassionate world.

Download or read book Beginning Teaching written by Sandy Schuck and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-02-28 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The experiences of the first years of new teachers’ professional lives are critical to their decisions about embracing or leaving the teaching profession. Writ large, these experiences have the potential to either underpin or undermine the growth and development of the teaching profession. This book offers a research-based account of beginning teachers’ experiences, told from their own perspectives and often in their own words. Beginning Teaching: Stories from the Classroom provides valuable source material to inform teacher education practices. The authors draw on more than 20 years of research on the professional learning, retention and attrition of beginning teachers to provide evocative illustrations of the challenges and successes that occur in the early years of teaching. The compelling and coherent narratives will appeal not only to student and graduate teachers but also to program designers, coaches and senior managers in schools. Above all, the book speaks to teacher educators in the hope that the experiences discussed here will suggest ways of supporting student teachers to grow and flourish once they launch their careers in the profession. These evocative stories express beginning teachers’ anguish and elation and also provide testimony to their resilience and perseverance in an altruistic profession. The analysis and interpretation of their stories will challenge and uplift; inspire and shame; give cause for celebration and melancholy; generate empathy and provoke introspection. Above all else, these stories call for change.

Download or read book The Smart Classroom Management Way written by Michael Linsin and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-05-03 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Smart Classroom Management Way is a collection of the very best writing from ten years of Smart Classroom Management (SCM). It isn't, however, simply a random mix of popular articles. It's a comprehensive work that encompasses every principle, theme, and methodology of the SCM approach. The book is laid out across six major areas of classroom management and includes the most pressing issues, problems, and concerns shared by all teachers. The underlying SCM themes of accountability, maturity, independence, personal responsibility, and intrinsic motivation are all there and weave their way throughout the entirety of the book. Together, they form a simple, unique, and sometimes contrarian approach to classroom management that anyone can do. Whether you're an elementary, middle, or high school teacher, The Smart Classroom Management Way will give you the strategies, skills, and know-how to turn any group of students into the motivated, well-behaved class you love teaching.

Download or read book Tools of the Mind written by Elena Bodrova and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-04-24 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in its third edition, this classic text remains the seminal resource for in-depth information about major concepts and principles of the cultural-historical theory developed by Lev Vygotsky, his students, and colleagues, as well as three generations of neo-Vygotskian scholars in Russia and the West. Featuring two new chapters on brain development and scaffolding in the zone of proximal development, as well as additional content on technology, dual language learners, and students with disabilities, this new edition provides the latest research evidence supporting the basics of the cultural-historical approach alongside Vygotskian-based practical implications. With concrete explanations and strategies on how to scaffold young children’s learning and development, this book is essential reading for students of early childhood theory and development.

Download or read book We Want to Do More Than Survive written by Bettina L. Love and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2020 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award Drawing on personal stories, research, and historical events, an esteemed educator offers a vision of educational justice inspired by the rebellious spirit and methods of abolitionists. Drawing on her life’s work of teaching and researching in urban schools, Bettina Love persuasively argues that educators must teach students about racial violence, oppression, and how to make sustainable change in their communities through radical civic initiatives and movements. She argues that the US educational system is maintained by and profits from the suffering of children of color. Instead of trying to repair a flawed system, educational reformers offer survival tactics in the forms of test-taking skills, acronyms, grit labs, and character education, which Love calls the educational survival complex. To dismantle the educational survival complex and to achieve educational freedom—not merely reform—teachers, parents, and community leaders must approach education with the imagination, determination, boldness, and urgency of an abolitionist. Following in the tradition of activists like Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin, and Fannie Lou Hamer, We Want to Do More Than Survive introduces an alternative to traditional modes of educational reform and expands our ideas of civic engagement and intersectional justice.

Download or read book The Child Is the Teacher written by Cristina De Stefano and published by Other Press, LLC. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh, comprehensive biography of the pioneering educator and activist who changed the way we look at children’s minds, from the author of Oriana Fallaci. Born in 1870 in Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori would grow up to embody almost every trait men of her era detested in the fairer sex. She was self-confident, strong-willed, and had a fiery temper at a time when women were supposed to be soft and pliable. She studied until she became a doctor at a time when female graduates in Italy provoked outright scandal. She never wanted to marry or have children—the accepted destiny for all women of her milieu in late nineteenth-century bourgeois Rome—and when she became pregnant by a colleague of hers, she gave up her son to continue pursuing her career. At around age thirty, Montessori was struck by the condition of children in the slums of Rome’s San Lorenzo neighborhood, and realized what she wanted to do with her life: change the school, and therefore the world, through a new approach to the child’s mind. In spite of the resistance she faced from all sides—scientists accused her of being too mystical, and the clergy of being too scientific, traditionalists of giving children too much freedom, and anarchists of giving them too much structure—she would garner acclaim and establish the influential Montessori method, which is now practiced throughout the world. A thorough, nuanced portrait of this often controversial woman, The Child Is the Teacher is the first biographical work on Maria Montessori written by an author who is not a member of the Montessori movement, but who has been granted access to original letters, diaries, notes, and texts written by Montessori herself, including an array of previously unpublished material.

Download or read book Teach Like Finland 33 Simple Strategies for Joyful Classrooms written by Timothy D. Walker and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-04-18 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The best-selling book of easy-to-implement classroom lessons from the world’s premier educational system—now available in paperback. Finland shocked the world when its fifteen-year-olds scored highest on the first Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a set of tests evaluating critical-thinking skills in math, science, and reading. That was in 2001; even today, this tiny Nordic nation continues to amaze. How does Finnish education—with short school days, light homework loads, and little standardized testing—produce students who match the PISA scores of other nations with more traditional “work ethic” standards? When Timothy Walker started teaching fifth graders at a Helsinki public school, he began a search for the secrets behind the successes of Finland’s education system. Highlighting specific strategies that support joyful K–12 classrooms and can be integrated with U.S. educational standards, this book, available in paperback for the first time, gathers what he learned and shows how any teacher can implement many of Finland's best practices. A new foreword by the author addresses the urgent questions of teaching, and living, in these pandemic times.

Download or read book Lift Us Up Don t Push Us Out written by Mark R. Warren and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2018-08-21 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parents, young people, community organizers, and educators describe how they are fighting systemic racism in schools by building a new intersectional educational justice movement. Illuminating the struggles and triumphs of the emerging educational justice movement, this anthology tells the stories of how black and brown parents, students, educators, and their allies are fighting back against systemic inequities and the mistreatment of children of color in low-income communities. It offers a social justice alternative to the corporate reform movement that seeks to privatize public education through expanding charter schools and voucher programs. To address the systemic racism in our education system and in the broader society, the contributors argue that what is needed is a movement led by those most affected by injustice--students of color and their parents--that builds alliances across sectors and with other social justice movements addressing immigration, LGBTQ rights, labor rights, and the school-to-prison pipeline. Representing a diverse range of social justice organizations from across the US, including the Chicago Teachers Union and the Genders and Sexualities Alliance Network, the essayists recount their journeys to movement building and offer practical organizing strategies and community-based alternatives to traditional education reform and privatization schemes. Lift Us Up! will outrage, inform, and mobilize parents, educators, and concerned citizens about what is wrong in American schools today and how activists are fighting for and achieving change.

Download or read book Teasing Tattling Defiance and More written by Margaret Berry Wilson and published by Center for Responsive Schools, Inc.. This book was released on 2013 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This practical guide by veteran teacher Margaret Berry Wilson first reviews why children misbehave, then offers positive, effective strategies to stop 10 common classroom behaviors quickly and respectfully--and get students back on track for learning.

Download or read book Discipline Without Stress Punishments Or Rewards written by Marvin Marshall and published by Piper Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition has the same content as the first edition but includes testimonials and additional submissions from teachers and parents. The Discipline without Stress® Teaching Model is used around the world. The non-coercive (yet non-permissive) approach to promoting responsible behaviour and motivation for learning is totally different from current approaches that use rewards for appropriate behaviour and coercive threats and punishments. The book can be used across the entire teaching spectrum -- in small childcare centres to large high schools and in rural, suburban and urban schools. It can be used in any home or youth setting.