Teaching Books

Joel Spring is nothing if not productive - if you look over the books listed under the author's name, you'll see a plethora of works. Amongst those are the continual revamps of this work and others like it, and they always seem to add something new to the fray. Whether its a new piece of the puzzle that deals with race or commentary on the semantic differences used to avoid saying the word "black" because we don't want to culturally offend, Spring' work says something about a topic that is more than just a topic. It is history and it is a map of progression and the reversal, showcasing both the motions that have pressed a people forward and how much that motion has been used to keep other people from moving ahead.

In the 5th edition of this book, Spring deals with an overview of Anglo-American claims of superiority, Native American struggles, African-American struggles, the things Asian Americans have endured, Hispanic/Latino history, and the Civil Rights Movement and the new Culture Wars. In those chapters Spring brings up interesting points, like the use of "positive stereotypes" for Japanese-Americans and the history on those, and on several other "footnotes" in history that aren't really footnotes at all. Although the book is somewhat small, checking in under 150 pages, it lists a codex of laws and horrors that make one wonder if the artifice of "colorblindness" will ever truly fall away.
One can hope, can't they?

If you find yourself attracted to the struggles of the now and wonder about the roots from which these struggles spawned, this is a god book to read. It has a lot more substance than the smoke and mirrors presented during "Hispanic Heritage Month" and other months like it, really giving you a feel of what Hispanic culture has endured. It goes beyond the superficial things that are presented so often these days, too, and makes the work relevant.
Personally, I hope to understand and can always use something to show me the faults of both the past and newborn "now."

This book claims to give a history of dominated cultures, but it is not written like a history book at all. The dates in this book go back and forth and you can't tell what is happening when. The different chapters are divided by races and there is no overlapping. For example: you can't tell when African Americans are experiencing segregation in schools in comparison to Native Americans. Also chapters end without any conclusion or resolution and Spring offers a paragraph "conclusion" to attempt to tie each chapter to the preceding chapters. This is a terrible book- save your time and you money and don't read it!

This book gives us a lot of examples of how the minorities in this country have had their cultures altered to fit the American version. There are examples of most of the major minority groups and how the education system has played a major part in the pattern of deculturalization.This book is a must have for any student who wants to know the real history, the stuff they leave out of the text books, for any parent or teacher who wants to give their children the truth instead of white washed history, and any person who is interested in the truth.

This book gives a very different look at the history of Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics in the United States than you may have heard before. The content is easy to read, supplemented by statistics to help aid understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone who may be going to work in the education system.

Spring's thesis is that white Anglo-Saxon Protestants have systematically denied educational access to ethnic minorities in order to establish and perpetuate their own system of privilege. This powerful, concise book covers historical injustices against many groups. The book falls short only when the author attempts to extend his analysis to the present day. In his understandable indignation at historical wrongs, Spring fails to acknowledge the extent to which most Americans' beliefs thankfully have changed.

This book is a great resource tool to have at your disposal! It provides tips and information not often shared in teaching courses. I highly recommend it.

Although I have been teaching English for twelve years, I will be the department chair for my school for the first time next year. I felt the need to brush up on the latest research and ideas, so I ordered this book, knowing nothing about the author. I was so pleased and still am as I am highlighting and marking all over this book, tagging all the information and examples that might help my fellow teachers. I love the way Burke balances the need to address standards and requirements with creativity and individualism. It's a must have for every English teacher of any level or experience. A great reference book to have easily accessible.

Burke provides countless examples, a number of graphic organizers, and a significant number of personal anecdotes, examples from his students, and further resources. A great book for any secondary English teacher.

This book - like previous editions - is an excellent book for classroom teachers. It covers what an English teacher must know with plenty of excellent facts and practical suggestions. The author knows what he is talking about from years of experience.

That said - there are some problems. Previous editions were quite compact with short but excellent descriptions of what a teacher had to know to put something into practice.. This one is different. The explanations are often much too long and contain a ton of detail, some of which is needed.

Compared to previous editions, this edition need a little slimming down.

This book is an excellent resource for English teachers at any stage in their career.There are excellent suggestions for those seeking employment as an English teacher (chapter 23). Fabulous information is included on teaching and organizing so that you have time for a personal life (a skill I am still trying to master!). There is also great advice for new/newer teachers on creating classrooms that work well and function cohesively. By far though, the single most important quality of this book is Jim Burke's level of professionalism. He makes me proud to be an English teacher, and instills a genuine desire to convey that pride in my profession to my students. No English teacher should be without this book.

This book (3rd Ed.) was my only source to pass all 3 CTEL sections the first time (whew)!! I combined it with the outline given at the CTEL website under "study guide". Basically, I used it to answer the study guide questions from the website.

I knew this book was the bomb when a guy who had taken a $1000. prep course and who sat behind me during the test in Daly City said his instructor taught out of the same book.

I only started skimming the book a week before the exam, BUT I did answer the study guide questions several days before the exam then I crammed.
The material is very logical, but details are a necessity for the 3 essay questions. Good luck!!

maybe the only book out there for reviewing for the CTel/CLAD exams. Not organized for easy organized learning but not too bad. I haven't heard the results of the exams yet...

I just took the CTEL exam today, and I sure am glad that I didn't take it before reading this book. Most of the information over which we were tested was explained in the book. Along with the flashcards, I think this is a wise investment.

This book seriously saved my life while I was studying for the CTEL. I read it from cover to cover in a week. All of the information was useful and helped me pass the test!

It helped me pass the CA CTEL test on the first try. I read no other book, this did it for me.

This is an excellent book for intermediate Spanish students. It teaches all Spanish grammar beginning with the most simple and includes the most difficult/advanced topics (subjunctive, etc.). It's written for an intermediate level student with a basic understanding of Spanish who wants to understand it on a deeper level. I highly recommend it!

I purchased this textbook 2 years ago because it looked interesting and informative and as Spanish language educator, I believe it is important to keep abreast of the lastest educative material on the market. Not only was I pleased with the content and the grammar topics covered in the book but I was particularly impressed with the cultural awareness themes in every chapter, the thorough explanation of the grammar concepts and the opportunity to prepare and discuss controversial themes in Spanish thus allowing to student to develop his/her vocabulary and speaking skills. This edition of Conexiones is a complete course for intermediate to advanced Spanish students and if studied thoroughly, to completion with a competent instructor, the student will have and above average foundation in Spanish which would be beneficial to his/her future studies in the Spanish language. I strongly recommend this textbook to teachers and students pursuing advanced knowledge in Spanish.

I found the content of this book nowhere near as profound as the title. At times the writing was dry and listless, but I found the history of St. Patrick interesting. All in all, an OK book.

I listened to this audiobook on a four day road trip, and I had a wonderful experience with the substance of author Cahill's tales which in my mind substantiate the title's claims... that the Irish did indeed save civilization. Such as civilization is. You probably won't find a college course on this topic, however Cahill's conclusion based on the intertwined threads of history makes sense. I was so impressed by Thomas Cahill that I am listening to a second of his audiobooks, which I find just about as interesting. Being an Irish-phile, I favor this book. And I will listen to it again for my listening pleasure. A good read or listen.

God bless the Irish for preserving so much ancient learning and for promoting the art of story telling in poems, prose, and songs. Great read by Thomas Cahill. Especially recommend the parts with Cuchulainn and his "warp spasm." Can be read in a short time.

The title gives a good feel for the tone of the book. It's clever, informative, and very entertaining. You learn without feeling like you hit the history books, and you're left thinking about lessons for the future -- the most important reason to look back at the past.

Very much enjoyed it.

When I first heard the title of this book I decided not to read it, despite my pleasure in Cahill's prior book, "The Gift of the Jews". After a couple of lukewarm recommendations from friends I respected, I picked up a copy through Amazon.com and put it on my shelf of books to read.

When I got around to reading the book, to my surprise, it was NOT about Irish Whisky, or even specifically about Irish history, but tends to focus on St. Patrick and the Irish monastery. In other words, it is more a book about faith and how that faith, spread predominately by Patrick and the centers of monastic learning and study that he founded, impacted an isolated island naton, and then continued to spread by the expansion of the Irish monasteries missionary work.

According to Cahill (and others), Patrick was not as close to Rome as he was to God, and this greatly influenced his peculiarly Irish way of building and directing his monastic orders. While the Benedictines were equally (some would say 'more') responsible for recording and keeping the history of the prior millenium, the Benedictine monasteries were focused almost as much on accumulating wealth and political influence as they were concerned about doing 'God's work' and thus suffered some dilution of their Christian tasks.

The Irish monasteries were rather austere in their goals, and while their scribes were busy copying the 'wisdom of the ages' along with the wisdom of the church, when they reached a critical mass, they sent out another set of monks who had planned and then built another monastery, spread the gospel in their new locale, and set about reproducing their efforts from prior monasteries.

When Charlemagne was beginning the process of turning the warring fiefdoms in the center of the European continent into an Empire of note, he called Alcuin, a monk who was at the time the head of the York cathedral school, to come and to teach the Emperor himself, his court, their children, and the priests and monks in the kingdom.

Much of Christianity by this time had become segmented and fraught with various heresies, and Charlemagne made Alcuin both his Minister of Education and his de facto 'overseer of church doctrine'.

Alcuin's education was from the ongoing branch of Irish monastic training, and many of the scholars he brought to France and Germany as Charlemagne's Minister of Education came from the Irish monasteries.
The Irish by 625 had founded 80 monastic centers in Ireland, Scotland, Northumbria and Wales. The most important were Bangor and Armagh in Ulster; Clonard in Meath; Glendalough in Leinster.

St. Columban was a spiritual heir of St. Patrick who promoted a great deal of the growth of the Irish monastery. Many scholars take pains to compare the Rule of St. Columban with the Rule of St. Benedict, but this devolves into meaningless theological argument that pleases scholars but proves almost nothing. The crucial difference between the movements is that the Benedictine movement is in it's origin an intellectual movement of the Roman and Greek aristocracies within the Roman Church that tended toward an Aristotelian nature in scholarship and flagged in its growth during the 6th Century Lombard expansion.

The heritage of Patrick and Columban, alternatively, was Augustinian teaching through the love of God and all human beings of every layer of society, with certainly one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful missionizing outreach in the history of the Catholic Church.

Cahill writes in a conversational manner that not all scholars will appreciate, but anyone interested in the growth and the spread of education, unification of what became a strong Europe, and in the history of the shaping of the character and background of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and most of Central Europe in a Christian mold will find the book both instructive and entertaining.

While Cahill is not without detractors, I believe the contribution he and his books are making will be remembered and appreciated by anyone who likes both a good story and a well-researched treatise on a part of Irish life which has been too-little told.

Odinelson

I just finished reading Frank Viola's new book: Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity. You've got to read it! Frank has done an excellent job putting together the theological and practical aspects of organic church. This book's message will transform the Christian who has left the institutional church as a reaction to their pain, their offenses, and their disgust and will turn them towards the theological, biblical reason why they need to do church organically.
It seems as though there are two types of people who have abandoned to institutional church; 1) those who have left out of a reaction and 2) those who have left out of biblical conviction. The first group tends to be bitter and angry. Their dialog about church life can be judgmental and caustic. The second group has gotten beyond the reaction and is attempting to be a constructive advocate for the Church as Jesus designed it. If you find yourself in the first group, this book will help you climb out of the hole of negativity and become a constructive proponent for church as it should be based on biblical evidence.
Frank does not pull any punches, and anyone whose life is tied up in the business of churchanity may have trouble with his conclusions. But be careful - truth changes hearts of clay, but will harden hearts of stone. He is also truthful when it comes to the errors seen throughout the house church movement. In fact he even goes as far to say that some of the institutional models are being used by the Lord more than "so-called house churches that are elitist and sectarian." (pg. 267)
If you choose to read "Reimagining Church", (and I hope you do) you will certainly be challenged and encouraged by what the Lord is doing as he builds His Church. Frank's observations and wisdom shines through his attention to detail. This book will serve the Church for ages to come and serve as a tool to keep us focused on real Church. It is truly a benchmark for the body of Christ. Thank you Frank!

I couldn't put this book down! I have read most of Frank's books, including Pagan Christianity, but this one is the best in my opinion. After establishing the foundation of God's relationship with himself in the trinity, he goes on to lay out how God's character is (or should be) reflected in his church. The chapters on "covering" and "authority" are very liberating. A friend who read this book came out of a church where the people in authority were very controlling. This book helped to set her free!

I would highly recommend this book; in fact I did to all my friends. As the companion to Pagan Christianity, this book definitely answers the "What Do I Do Now?" question.

I would take a moment and warn anyone who reads this book, that it has profound implications and will put such a dissatisfaction in your heart for your current experience that you may never be able to go back to the status quo.

Here are a few of the more enlightening quotes from the book:
On Church Unity (119-122)..

"If a group of Christians demands anything beyond a person's acceptance of Christ before admitting that person into fellowship, then that group isn't a church in the biblical sense of the word. It's a sect."

"I believe the division of the Christian church is rooted in the evolution of the clergy/laity class distinction.....Once the clergy/laity fault-line was created, various clergymen began to divide amongst themselves on theological matters. This spawns a self-perpetuating movement that has produced a raft of new sects in every generation."

On the modern clergy system (Page 160)..

"Perhaps the most daunting feature of the clergy system is that it keeps the people it claims to serve in spiritual infancy. Because the clergy system usurps the Christian's right to minister in a spiritual way during corporate gatherings, it ends up debilitating God's people. It keeps them weak and insecure."

"Since the clergy carries the spiritual workload, the majority of the church becomes passive, lazy, self-seeking ("feed me"), and arrested in their spiritual development."

Do you ever wonder why you are bored in Church? It's because you were never meant to be a spectator! Do yourself a favor and read this book!

Derek
SheepleBlog.net

For everyone who initially finished reading "Pagan Christianity?" and still had questions about leadership and how something like "organic church" was even possible, this book is a must have! "Reimaging Church" is the 3rd book in Frank's new 5(Two are left to be released I believe) part series. The first was "The Untold Story of the New Testament" which helped many of us finally make sense of the NT. The next book was "Pagan Christianity?" which traced the roots of the question back to reveal many startling conclusions. Now, "Reimaging Church" takes our breath away as Frank helps us make sense of the concept of organic, first-century church life in today's world.

From the stories of organic church life at the book to the answers to tough questions at the end, "Reimagining Church" continually answers questions that we were left with at the end of "Pagan Christianity?" I'll admit that I personally had tears come to my eyes when I thought of how beautiful the church really is and now my heart is constantly burdened when I think of the bondage the church has allowed to come on herself.

If you read "Pagan Christianity?", this book is the next puzzle piece needed to help complete the picture. I'm sure that the next few books will help complete the picture one piece at a time. One thing's for sure, you can never view the Bible, church, or our Lord the same way ever again. In fact, with a mural this beautiful, you wouldn't ever want to turn your eyes from it.

Reimagining Church by Frank Viola

What a wonderful vision of the functioning church Frank has been able to describe in Reimagining Church. With a solid and dynamic foundation in the fellowship of the Godhead, Frank takes the reader on a journey out of an institutional mindset and into an organic way of seeing what the writers of the scriptures were experiencing and communicating in the letters they wrote. In Frank's own words he says:

"Christians must learn the language of scripture with respect to the church. The original meaning of countless biblical terms like "church, " "minister,""house of God ,".....have largely been lost. These words have been invested with institutional power. A power that was foreign to those who originally penned them."

Reimagining Church challenges the reader's mindset towards a different vista. To see from the table of fellowship in the Godhead and to not settle for the good that we have experienced in the church, but to desire the BEST of what God has intended for the church in its practice and expression of His life. Each chapter takes on well known doctrines and practices of the modern church and lays them out as they are presently practiced, and then, challenges them through the light of God's intention of community with man. In other words, Frank challenges us by asking how our church practices lines up with the reality of God's eternal purpose.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all those who have left the institutional form of church and who desire to meet in a practical way under the headship of Jesus Christ. To those of us attempting to meet in an organic way this book is a refreshing and pointed challenge for us to seek the fellowship in the Lord, examine our forms of meeting and yield to his building of us together in Christ.

Over the past 12 years, we have had many visitors to our organic church gatherings. We often ask our visitors if they have questions or comments, but have found that most people don't even know where or how to begin with their questions. With Reimagining Church, many of the "big" questions are asked and answered in a clear way that point's to God's eternal purpose. I believe that being able to put this book in both brothers and sisters hands will help open up understanding and conversation, thus, pointing us into the fellowship of Christ.

Christopher Pridham

I am in my last yr at my college in a degree of education and this book is AWESOME! The only thing I do not like is that it has no glossary. But they words are italized and the chapter is basically spelled out for you.

If you want to wildly improve your reading speed and simultaneously improve your comprehension then get this book! Plain and simple.

If you're serious about reading faster, this is the book to get. It is very effective if you do the drills and everything like it says. Of course, that's the down side too - you actually have to WORK...

I was amazed tha after reading only a few chapters, I was reading at double my former speed. The approaches presented in this book worked so well I finished one selected book in a matter of hours. Something I've never done before since I'm generally a very slow reader.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that you have to be consistent and dedicated with practice readings over a period of of many weeks & months or you'll lose the "momentum" of what's being taught. Overall though, I'm quite pleased with my progress.

Oh, and you should acquire a reliable, easy-to-operate stop-watch for the practice readings as you'll have to adjust allowed reading times regularly during sessions.

This book is, hands down, the best speed reading book on the market. It reads as a home-study course, meant to be read one day at a time, for 36 lessons. There are also practice drills to be following the daily lessons where you practice what you learn.

Yes, this might sound like a lot of effort, but the rewards are wonderful. Do you expect to just pick up a musical instrument without putting in practice time? Will you become a good athlete by sitting on the couch watching TV all day? Speed reading is the same. It's a skill you can acquire but you must put some time in, typically only a minimum of 20 minutes a day. The more you can practice, the better you'll become.

The book preaches reading based on purpose. A lot of people are compulsive and think they need to read every word of every book, magazine, newspaper, email, and document they see. Instead, think about what you need to get out of it, and only read until you've satisfied that requirement.

The author teaches you how to improve your speed, comprehension, and recall, all lessons building on the days prior. You will get immediate feedback and satisfaction within the first week of reading as you see your performance increase.

Bottom line? The book works. The author speaks in a very conversational tone and is easy to read, learn, and apply. After I completed the first half of the book, I went from 300 words per minute (WPM) to an average of 750 WPM. I fluctuated between 600 and 900 during drills, max was 998, with excellent comprehension. After completing the entire book, I now average between 1200 and 2000 words per minute depending on material. Remember, you don't have to go the same pace for everything. When you drive a car, do you take the turns as fast as the straight-aways? Of course not. My biggest excitement was seeing how much I improved day-to-day and how quick the results came.

This is an excellent book and one I highly recommend to anyone trying to improve their reading speed and comprehension.

I am often skeptical of "teach yourself" miracle books. However, I'm extremely pleased to say my skepticism was completely unwarranted for "Break-through Rapid Reading". The book is simply written, easy to understand and (most importantly) will improve your reading rate.

When I got the book, I was an average reader with a rate of about 260 words per minute. After only a week I've almost doubled my reading rate. I'm now reading 400 wpm, and I'm not even 1/4 of the way into book. "Break-through Rapid Reading" will deliver real results. It will have you reading faster and remembering more.

The book is divided into short chapters of information and anecdotes followed by exercises designed to develop faster reading. Each exercises is easy to understand and often easy to do. The chapters are designed to be read one a day. They take between twenty minutes to an hour to complete, including exercises. After just a few days, my reading rate was already dramatically improving.

One of the best features of this book is that you use your own books in each exercise. This makes each exercise more enjoyable and helps you start getting through your reading list as you go.

I've just started college, and I'm already finding it easier to read through my school books. I recommend this to anyone who wants to read more -faster. It will deliver.

I bought this because I read that Brain Gym was good for kids with special needs. Never having seen it done or used any other Brain Gym products- I naturally ordered the TEACHERS EDITION, thinking all the directions would be there for implementing this is my classroom. This manual would be for someone already familiar with the basics of Brain Gym exercises who wanted to find creative ways to use it within a classroom setting. I will be looking for Brain Gym products that meet my needs better.

This is a good book to get your students really thinking. It gives you ways to get them back on track and keep them there. It also gives your students an option of doing something on their own to help get them back on track.

After having read about Brain Gym in other books, I rather expected a little something more. What I got was a very thin book of limited scope and poor illustrations

I went to a Brain Gym workshop and got hooked. The movements are a great way to get the brain stimulated for learning. I took the moves I learned back to the classroom and my kids loved it. The moves inside the Brain Gym Teacher's Edition are easy to follow and use. It's also great how various movements are targeted for a specific academic skill. My students look forward to Brain Gym everyday!

This is a great book for any educator. The activities can be used to start off the day, transition between activities and to get some movement for the children. Highly recommended.