Teaching Books

You Darwinists must feel kind of scary with are new candidate for Vice President being a "Creationist!!!!! Yes the Governor of Alaska is a pro-Life, Creationist. Could this be an "ID"!!!! plot to take over the White House. Heaven forbid, whoops wrong word, Darwin forbid. No that doesn't make sense. I got it. The God DelusionDawkins forbid. No, he's just a delusion, not even an American. I really got it this time. Why don't you guys write her a letter of enlightenment. Before you know it, it's going to get worse. Where do all these people come from that dare have the "audacity" to think for themselves
" Comments by a Guilty Bystander"

The title's "Battle for America's Soul", and the concluding (p.221) "in finding the strength to embrace what evolution tells us about the nature of reality, we will find reward beyond measure. For it is such faith that will ultimately redeem our scientific souls", is very peculiar. The author obviously borrows the concepts of faith, redemption, and soul from religion, although alleged religious claims are the target of "the Battle".

Religious claims encompass the soul, and he strangely appropriates it in his title and conclusion for the object of salvation by evolution, the very theory that proclaims organisms, including humans, as products of physical forces alone and void of any immaterial substance like soul. Likewise, asking for "faith" in evolution is inconsistent with evolution's "actually being true" (same p.221) which controverts the title's "ONLY A THEORY".

The author of course uses religious expressions figuratively, not as commonly understood, attempting to persuade the reader that "The story evolutionary science can tell is grander and more sweeping than any just-so narrative concocted by the pretenders of intelligent design" (p.220). Notice the denigrating language for opponents, and the author indeed casts them in as degrading a light as anyone I know of. He offers various analogies, in one case (p.4) between actions by the Kansas Board of Education in 2000 and fights in Kansas in the 1850s among proslavery and antislavery forces, suggesting that "antievolutionists" (a term he uses persistently for the more accurate "anti-Darwinists") are somehow comparable to slaveholders. Much more; he says (p.168), "proponents of ID ["intelligent design", defending design in organisms, contrasted with Darwinian purposelessness]...seek the undoing of four centuries of Western science". To my knowledge, the opposition is specifically to Darwin's claim of undirected rather than directed forming of organisms, "intelligent design" mostly comprising scientists, who don't want to destroy science but to improve it. Which story is then "concocted" by its "pretenders", as quoted at the top of this paragraph?

Darwin himself, quoted in Darwin's Gift: to Science and Religion, p.31, cites "The old argument of design" and contends: "We can no longer argue that [organisms] must have been made by an intelligent being". The thought that organisms are formed with purpose seems indeed matter of course, and it is natural selection, simulating artificial selection by its "pretenders", that appears "concocted". I tried in these reviews, as well as in On Proof for Existence of God, and Other Reflective Inquiries, to point out that organisms in fact are universally known to act purposely, toward survival, which actual purpose is forgotten in debating the possibility of purpose in organisms' structure. How Darwinians can confuse this evidence with the mechanistic contrivance of natural selection is illustrated by a passage in the book reviewed.

In discussing a parasite causing malaria, the author states: "Evolution has also produced new forms of resistance to [the parasite] within the human population, just as any biologist would predict" (p.66). Predict from what? Such resistance in humans is not developed through purposeless natural selection, requiring countless generations, but through the purposive immune system in individuals. This sort of flawed reasoning occurs throughout the book, not to mention Darwinism.

The author also relies on opinions hardly scientific, like those of judges and journalists, and in general tries to convince the reader and perhaps himself how ridiculous or laughable is the idea of design in organisms, he reflecting the recent barrage of opinions that the design is not quite intelligent. He mocks the designer as maybe creating a new species "in a sudden puff of smoke" and as "not very skillful, since just about everything he creates goes extinct relatively soon..." (pp.50-51). How an all-powerful designer creates a species seems up to him, however. Maybe he does so at the organism's germinal stage, to better suit the inquirer's demands. We still don't know if the egg or the chicken came first. And that every species goes extinct is not so shocking in view of the inevitable death of every individual, which is of more concern to the individual than the eventual extinction of its species. But this too, or any perceived imperfection, is up to the designer, not to the no less imperfect human observer.

Whether the book's author, alongside others, likes it or not, the purpose of preservation is a principal attribute of all living things, whatever the power behind it is wished to be called, and it seems the schemes of this power, incorporating all of nature, are "grander and more sweeping"--to repeat the book's above phrase--than Darwinism's piecemeal accumulation of accidents.

Jerry Coyne the eminent Professor of biology at the University of Chicago in the Department of Ecology and Evolution and steadfast critic of ID wrote a review of a book by David P. Mindell called the Evolving World: Evolution in Every Day Life that was published in Nature 8/31/2006, Vol. 442, p983-984. Here is a quote from that article, "...if truth be told, evolution hasn't yielded many practical or commercial benefits. Yes, bacteria evolve drug resistance, and yes we must take countermeasures, but beyond that there is not much to say. Evolution cannot help us predict what new vaccines to manufacture because microbes evolve unpredictably. But hasn't evolution helped guide animal and plant breeding? Not very much. Most improvements in crop plants and animals occurred long before we knew anything about evolution, and came about by people following the genetic principle of `like begets like.' Even now, as its practitioners admit, the field of quantitative genetics has been of little value in helping improve varieties. Future advances will almost certainly come from transgenics, which is not based on evolution at all."

I found it also interesting to note that Coyne goes on to state that of the two commercial uses for evolution that he's aware of, one includes the use of directed evolution to produce commercial products such as enzymes to protect crops and plants from herbicides. And we all know that another way of describing directed evolution is with the term Intelligent Design. Yes indeed when it comes to the advances (especially with molecular evolution) that have been attained over the past century it is the application of intelligent design in concert with the development of new methodologies and instrumentation that have guided researchers to their goals.

One would never know that from reading Miller's book. Coyne takes a pragmatic approach with respect to the distinction between micro and macroevolution, noting the irrelevancy of the latter in the pursuance of scientific experimentation. Coyne is cognizant of the fact that whenever examples are cited detailing research instrumental to evolution, they all involve microevolution. Miller on the other hand makes no such distinction. When Miller cites in his book that evolution is the "glue that binds the biological sciences together" he is adamant in his assertion that macroevolution is just as scientifically germane as microevolution, when nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is the empirical case for macroevolution remains on a shaky foundation, and as Coyne alludes to in his article macroevolution makes no noteworthy contributions when it comes to experimental biology. I doubt that any scientist, even Professor Miller, would conduct any experiments differently if they were under the impression that macroevolution were unequivocally baseless.

Theodisius Dobzhansky's maxim that "nothing makes sense except in the light of evolution," only makes sense when applied to microevolution. As we have seen time and again this is where Darwinism works reasonably well and not only that, most advocates of ID accept microevolution.

Miller acknowledges that NDE has a long uphill battle and is on the defensive. Even though he admits on page 35 that scientists do not know how the flagellum evolved; he reiterates the same worn out stale arguments he used at the Dover Trial to try to refute ID. Hasn't he figured it out that his arguments have been rebutted successfully; they haven't worked in 3 years since that trial, they are not going to work now in this book. He knows he has been losing ground yet he still pursues a failed policy. It doesn't make sense.

That leads me to believe that the purpose of Miller's book is solely for its use as a rallying cry to inflame the passions of the Neo Darwinists in continuing their assault against the Intelligent Design movement. As far as those who are new to the controversy, anyone who objectively reads this book will come away with more questions than answers. Therefore, someone has to fire up votaries of the NDE and for a number of reasons he is the logical choice. He does not let them down. Miller's incendiary rhetoric is best illustrated on page 201, "The partisans of ID are lobbing intellectual napalm into the scientific community, and so great is their enthusiasm for their tactical objectives that they remain oblivious to the fact that nothing will remain but ashes and dust if their attack is successful." What a bunch of metaphoric bombast!

His paranoia is really manifested in Chapter 7 when in citing a change in the definition of science by the Kansas School Board and using skewed rhetoric, Miller was afraid that astrology, paganism, and wiccan healing will fall into the realm of science. What Miller fails to tell you is that by describing science as an open-ended search for more adequate or reliable explanations of the natural world using empirical methods, it implies nothing about the supernatural. Also, Miller advocates teaching all aspects of evolution while discouraging a critical analysis of it. That is not only wrong, it defies common sense and it is antithetical to the goals of education. Furthermore, it has nothing to do with advancing a religious bias as he so paranoiacally suspects.

In short this book can be summed up in one sentence: a desperate attempt at saving and perpetuating macroevolution from the juggernaut of Intelligent Design. It's not going to work. It hasn't worked since the atrocious decision at the Dover Trial and it's not going to work now.

The author, Ken Miller, was one of the expert witnesses for the evolution side in Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School Board, and Michael Behe was the main expert for the ID-iots. After reading this book, it's clear why the evolutionists won and why the presiding judge described what the ID-iots had done as "breathtaking inanity."

Scientific theories must be testable, and as Miller points out, ID is not testable in any meaningful way, so ID is not science at all.

ID-iots do propose some testable hypotheses, of course, however those hypotheses are not specifically about ID itself, rather they are about the so-called "limits of evolution." No one seriously disputes that evolution is a scientific theory, so it's not surprising that hypotheses about evolution -- and its alleged limits -- are in fact testable. Unfortunately, as Miller points out, testing the ID-iots' anti-evolution hypotheses shows that those hypotheses are wrong. For example:

1. Behe claims that the vertebrate blood-clotting cascade is irreducibly complex (IC), and therefore needs all of its parts to work. In reality, however, some vertebrates are missing some parts of the cascade, and yet their blood still clots just fine. Even worse for the ID-iots, there is also evidence indicating that key parts of the blood-clotting cascade may actually have evolved from protein domains that: 1) had nothing to do with blood-clotting, and 2) didn't even originate in vertebrates. (pp. 62-66) Ouch!

2. Behe claims that IC systems can't evolve step-by-step, because intermediate stages have no function at all, and therefore cannot be preserved by natural selection. In reality, however, most, if not all of the IC systems that Behe himself proposed, including the bacterial flagellum, have subsets of parts (i.e., intermediate stages) that do have functions. The function of intermediate stages may be, and frequently is, different from the function of the full system; but a function is a function, and if it's beneficial to the organism, then natural selection can preserve it, making it a target for further adaptive modifications. The bacterial flagellum doesn't look at all like a machine designed from scratch and constructed with all new parts, rather it looks just like evolutionists would expect: a conglomeration of spare parts scavenged from here and there, held together with duct tape and baling wire. (pp. 53-62)

3. Behe's famous 10^40 claim in "Edge of Evolution," about the enormous odds against any evolutionary pathway requiring the evolution of two or more protein binding sites is based on a glaring (deliberate?) misrepresentation of the evidence. (pp. 66-69)

4. Dembski claims that intuition tells us that if law can't produce complex specified information (CSI), and if chance can't produce CSI, then a combination of law and chance can't produce CSI either. (p. 39) As Miller points out, however, intuition is not a very reliable standard. After all, intuition is what told humans for millennia that Earth was flat and stationary. (p. 84) Furthermore, computer programs that mimic evolution's mutation-selection process -- which essentially is a combination of law and chance -- routinely produce CSI. (pp. 74-78)

5. Even worse for the ID-iots, Dembski's claim that new genes cannot be produced by natural processes is shattered by evidence that Mother Nature has indeed produced new genes, quite a few times, and fairly recently. And Mother Nature's accomplishment has been replicated under laboratory conditions, thus enabling scientists to actually observe evolution while it was taking place. (pp. 79-82)

Chapter Four deals with fascinating evidence from the field of genomics, using DNA evidence to establish the genealogical links between widely separated species, just as modern courts use DNA evidence to establish genealogical links between parents and their children. DNA evidence is considered conclusive in the courts. There's no reason why it shouldn't be considered conclusive in evolutionary biology.

Chapter Five includes a discussion of embryological evidence that also provides strong support for evolution.

Most of the last half of the book focused on the publicity and political campaigns that ID-iots rely on to promote ID. (If ID-iots spent any time actually doing science, maybe they wouldn't need to rely so heavily on publicity campaigns. Just a thought.)

This is an excellent book, very accessible, even for laymen.

This is a surprisingly engaging effort by Mr. Miller. Reading Only a Theory is akin to watching a captivating movie filled with intriguing special effects, robust characters , and a suspenseful plot ... with twists, turns, and Olympic hurdles!

For years I have been grappling with the question: Which came first, the chicken or the proverbial egg? You can not imagine my delight when I discovered Only a Theory ... a book about Intelligent Design (ID) Theory versus Darwin's Theory of Evolution, and the ultimate question for scientific and religious scholars: How did my Persian cat and the rest of mankind get here?

My original game plan in writing reviews was to adhere to this philosophy: Stay far, far away from politics, sports, and religion (they are too controversial and someone always loses). In spite of my past convictions, I find myself writing a review on a book that manages to make sport of politics, and religion. A trifecta! However, everyone from students to scholars ... will enjoy this marvelous treat from Kenneth Miller.

If you like imaginative courtroom drama, Perry Mason can't hold a candle to the final closing arguments (the book is based upon this trial). It takes place in the quaint town of Dover, Pennsylvania. Biology Professor, Kenneth Miller, (Brown University) was one of the expert witnesses at the trial. He had the jury, judge, and me ... intrigued by his take-no-prisoners testimony.

My favorite section is when testimonies from both sides explore the bio chemical systems (of which the body produces thousands). These machine-like marvels of nature control thousands of functions in perfect symmetry, harmony, and precision. They are called "bacterial flagellum". (I remember the name because they remind me of my ex wife, but I digress). If you liked Movies featuring The Terminator (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and The Transformers (starring Shia LaBeouf), you will be enthralled by these beauties.

In the end both sides won some points (in my opinion). There are still gaps in both theories in which proponents say: Trust me. Only a Theory should be a valuable addition to any library. You will love it. Trust me!
Reviewed by Reggie Johnson, President, Success-Tapes.Com

I bought this book to have a glimpse at what was awaiting me in my upcoming Action Research class for my masters program. I found the samples much better in comparison to the custom book that my program offered for this class. It gives a step by step directions, I know I will have to use it for further classes in my upcoming Doctorate degree. This book is a good place to start if you have no idea of where and how to start your project for research.

Finally, a book about action research that gets right to the point. It provides a good overview of action research in the context of other research paradigms. It describes many very simple and practical methods for collecting data. It can be used with a thesis or dissertation as well as short research projects.

This book will tell you exactly how to conduct an action research project in your school or classroom. It takes you through ever step of the process and describes how reports and papers should be presented. It presents a variety of ideas for data and data collection, and describes how to analyze qualitative data. the most important chapter for me was the chapter that described how to use action research for a thesis or disertation. The author describes what would go into each chapter.

Teachers, administrators, human service personnel are often encouraged to be engaged in action research. However, obtaining a sound, thorough but readable text to assist such professionals in conducting action research has been very difficult. This book fills this void wonderfully. The book lays out the steps of action research, provides practical examples all in a way that is scholastically sound but engaging and interesting reading. No mean feat for any book on research! I would highly recommend this for working practitioners and for guides for students involved in masters and even doctoral projects associated with action research. An excellent resource!!

The book I recieved was in perfect condition, packed well, and better than I expected.

I had to buy this book for one of my university's special education credential classes, but the book's a definite keeper. I find that I learned more about what I need to know to do my job from this one textbook than from all my other textbooks combined. At least that's what it seems like most days!

This was a text book for my now completed first education class, "The Diverse Classroom". We did not have to read the entire book, just Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 12, so I base my review on those chapers. This book is rich in detail on the challenges faced in contemporary classrooms. It is well written, and has very complete and thorough references. In addition to raising awareness of key issues, it provides many practical suggestions for application.

The other text book for the class was "Introduction to the Foundations of American Education" by James A. Johnson, et al. That book was not as good by comparison; it was much too preachy.

I bought this book for a graduate course. It is easy to read and very clear. The authors write it in a very friendly manner. You gain a lot of information and it gives great suggestions. If you need help with what's happening in the reading world, this is the book for you!!

I will keep this book as a teaching Bible. It has amazing examples and useful material and resources.

This is one of my favorites. It has every assessment possible for reading-ready to copy and use! short chapters too!

Freeman & Freeman have hit a great niche with their book. I don't want or need, a complex linguistics book in the style of Chomsky. Freeman & Freeman take language research and package the relevant "real-world" findings so they will be of use for teachers. Although my interest is for English as a Second (ESL) teachers, I believe every teacher is concerned with literacy, and Freeman & Freeman's book covers what teachers need to know concerning phonics v. whole word instruction, spelling, and grammar. Freeman & Freeman seem to belong to the Stephen Krashen school of language and reading. This is a plus for me, but for Krashen-haters, it probably wouldn't be, and they should look elsewhere. This is "baby" linguistics book--you won't get a section on Chomsky's generative grammar here. I think it would be a good companion volume along with VanPatten's "From Input to Output"--which is a slim volume solely concerned with second language acquisition and has the same conversational tone--and--this is important--their teaching advice and philosophy meshes.

very helpful to learn how to:
- pronounce the words
- read and write
- use grammar
- and for the vocabulary

This book is EXCELLENT in my opinion. When I don't fully grasp grammar points from my russian textbook, I refer to this. It would be nice if it came as a cd course though.

I chose to use this book as the textbook for my Russian class because it was cheaper than Golosa or Nachalo. That was a mistake. The book includes all the grammatical information that you need to speak Russian, but a beginning Russian student needs more than just grammar. I don't know the author of this book, but I'm guessing that he doesn't place much importance on teaching. It seems he still adheres to the grammar-translation approach to teaching Russian. The organization of the book is confusing, neither thematic nor grammatical. The exercises are brief, and could have easily been lifted from a Russian textbook that was printed in the 50's or 60's. Frankly, I don't know why this book has gotten such rave reviews, unless it's being compared to not having any book at all. It's a lot cheaper than a real textbook, but there's a reason why it's cheaper. If you want a cheap way to learn Russian, check out the Berlitz Self-Teacher from the library.

This is a great book to learn russian from the ground up. Every lesson is comprehensive in its theme and there are exercises at the end of each chapter and solutions in the back. There are also consolidated grammar tables in the appendix for quick lookup and a 1500 word vocabulary. I bought 6 russian language course books on Amazon and this one is by far the best.

I have studied on my own at various levels of seriousness 6 languages in my life, (some to the extent of becoming fully fluent, some becoming basically conversational, and some starting and giving up out of disinterest or dislike for the language in general) and amid the many books I've used for all the languages, I found this book to be the best book for any independent foreign language learner (i.e. not in a university or other language class). Not just for Russian - which this book happens to cover - but any book. The reasons, below:

- reasonbly compact chapters with specific points to be learned in a logical order
- starts with basic grammar, and expands very methodically upon the fundamentals, gradually progressing to A-level Russian
- no "travel talk" - all texts and exercises are normal, everyday (and progressively harder and "bookish") rather than "hotel/airport/taxi" topics
- very clear explanations of all grammar, at basic as well as obscure levels (and the author tells which points are not so crucial and may be skipped if one wishes to do so - he even does this for an entire chapter on the vagaries of Russian numbers, counting and mathematics)
- compact in size - can be taken anywhere, and densely packed with vocabulary and grammar - this is no amateur book
- grammar terms are explained very well, and examples given very clearly
- good texture of pages and very readable print; no clutter; fonts used are very soft on the eyes and bold (mainly Russian words) are well-highlighted against the slightly tan-tinged, off-white pages - not overly-contrasty as with pure-white linen-colored pages
- texts vary from being short and to the point, to longer and more literary, providing variety and a chance to move at a good pace
- again, a very logical progression from basic nouns, verbs, then cases, endings, etc. through tenses, "bookish" style, etc. to cover nearly all the points one might encounter in Russian grammar
- an unbelievable price for all this - $20 retail, $12 or so on Amazon - worth many times that in terms of content

The downsides?

- no audio tapes - as others have noted, there is no way to know the correct pronunciation unless you supplement it with another series (Teach Yourself, Routledge, etc.) which have dialogues recorded and transcribed
- there are plenty of exercises for each grammar point but most are pretty brief; need to supplement with Teach Yourself's "Russian Grammar" or Terence Wade's grammar workbook
- later chapters have rather long vocabulary lists - probably difficult to master all of the vocabulary at once for one chapter, unless one works on a chapter a week or so; takes time to master this moreso than the grammar itself
- not much use of the often difficult-to-read italic Russian font (found in some other college-related texts) or handwriting (again, not much to say on this but one or two examples would be a nice addition, perhaps the text of a handwritten letter as one chapter addition)
- I always think the cover photo is so odd - hardly a good shot of St. Basil's on Red Square, taken wide-angle and appearing far off, with the inexplicable marching soldiers and an old Coke billboard (long gone now, I hear) in the forefront - the attempt to juxtapose the various elements of modern and old Russia are negated by the poor photo angle and distracting elements (lamppost, old-ish cars, large boring sidewalk dominating the foreground, etc.) - I know this is hardly a reason to complain about the book, but this mundane shot doesn't get one excited about a Russia visit each time one picks up the book to study; perhaps a snow-covered Orthodox church in the countryside or a nightscape of St. Petersburg, as cliched as those scenes are, would be more attractive and sell the book (also - can't translate what's on that billboard, even after studying the book! Something about "Coca Cola - always better with... [something]..." - can anyone help??)

Otherwise, the best language textbook that I have ever used. Highly recommended above all others.

This is a must for language teachers, with very clear information covering a wide range of topics from a history of teaching methods to teacher development.

While at times this book gets into some technical terms, most of it is in everyday english, or at least everyday for a student studying language teaching. It is an easy read, that doesn't put me to sleep like many other linguistic books on my plate. Brown adds enough humor and examples that with a good instructor this textbook seems to be pretty stand alone. The one complaint I have with it; the author plugs a lot of his own work, now he may be qualified, and published some good stuff, but it is almost like getting an advertisement while you read.

I use this book at a English methodology course at a university. The words and structures of each chapter are so easy that even non-native speaker of English can understand the content of the book well. I strongly recommend this book to non-native teachers of English like me.

I was shocked to read Dr. Pennington Jr use the following as the title for his book review: "A text written in everyday English." This is precisely what H. Douglas Brown's Teaching by Principles (Second Edition) is not!

Here are two examples from Mr. Brown's text which illustrate what I mean. Consider first his "everyday" definition of cheating: "a surreptitious violation of standards of individualized responses to tests or other exercises." Next, take a gander at how he describes group-work: "a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned to a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language." This type of jargon might impress some, but it's not everyday English and it defeats the chief purpose of language: to communicate! Additionally, it overturns Mr. Brown's assertion in another part of the book: "do not overwhelm students with linguistic terminology." Perhaps if Mr. Brown were to practice what he preaches, we might take him more seriously.

I teach TESL in Toronto, Canada, and I have no choice: I must use this book with my classes. I'm constantly trying to help my students by translating Mr. Brown's words into everyday English. Teaching by Principles is short on specifics and sufficient examples, and in my opinion is just as "immensely dry, convoluted and tedious" as all the other texts in this genre which Dr. Pennington alluded to in his review.

Sorry, but this is one frustrating book to read and from which to teach.

the book is useful, and offers some practical information on its subject. much of the information is helpful for the novice teacher I just said this book is better than PLLT not the best one. when I was a university student I hate PLLT class because I was taught useless things, i'm not complain about my teacher but subject. I just need more practical exam.

The Girl with the Brown Crayon
Vivian Gussin Paley
Review by K. Winick-Ford

I am inspired and amazed- such a treasure to American literature, Paley shares her numerous years as a kindergarten teacher with her unique insight. She is insightful, being mindful of her students, their needs and the changes our society is facing.

Although all her stories are wonderful and easy to read, the girl with the brown crayon connects well-loved stories by a well respected author and how the class connects and adapts and evolves through the days. Too often we read about the short attention span of youngsters and their self-involvement and disconnectedness. Paley revives the soul- she shares authentic stories of her children, seeing the light they bring to our culture.

My favorite quote from the book is this, "apparently I needed classroom after classroom of young children demanding to be heard before I could identify my own voice and imagine my own questions." Pg. 43

This story, with obvious connections to racial identity is an easy read for all adults. The connections between Leo Lionni's books parallel What truly inspires me is how the class, as young as they are, relate to the books and the hidden messages they reveal. The book won several awards and there's no doubt to me, well deserved.

The main character, Reeny is strong and dominate throughout the book, showing signs of great leadership. The author reveals on her birthday why she is at the school she attends rather than a more local one. The issue of race and leadership is unveiled. It reminded me not only of the racial inequalities we face each day, but also how a child will not respond internally to leadership but will react when opportunity presents itself.

The issue of sexual identity is also presented and how children respond to the characters in the stories. The author explains to the children why they were written the way they were and poses an in-depth question as to whether or not they have to be male. Again, the children respond thoughtfully.

Never underestimate children. As the book draws to a close, Paley tells how the children respond to emotional crisis in the classroom and in their lives. She also tells how they mature and develop. Their insightful connections to the stories they have heard and how they connect them to their lives is amazing! From the Polish boy back to Reeny, the story comes full circle. The closing is appropriate. Not only is it the end of Paley's school year and her teaching career, but she leaves us with the tools we may wish to use- a list of Leo Lionni books, which many must be eager to revisit. In short, this is a fantastic book that you will be a better teacher and a better person having read it.

This particular piece of writing by Palely is describing her last thoughts she will have as a teacher. Palely is going to retire at the end of the school year and keeps a diary of her last year. She barely mentions math and science or gym and music. Her main focus turns to her language arts sessions. Her class begins to focus of a series of books written by Leo Lonny. Soon, all of their lives are entangled with Leo Lionni and all of his characters.There are several themes to this book that are of importance. The main theme, however, is knowing as adults, we can learn from children. As an example, the children in this book all have their very own personalities, as well as ethnicities in this classroom. Every one of them gets along and learns to understand each other. As adults, we must wonder why is our world so corrupt? These children refuse not talk to another because of skin color or personality difference. Another example is how well the children took off on learning and digesting each piece of literature. They are so excited to read and color and act out each book as if each book touched each individual child in some spectacular way. They are excited about reading! As adults, we need to learn from that. There are many adults who donýt read or canýt read and have no enthusiasm to try. It is sad to think that somewhere along the line the fun of reading is drained from their minds and reading will strictly turn into a task for some of these children.
I support this book, particularly on how the book expresses life long learning and growing (mentally). It really redefines who we are as adults and makes me take a second look at life. There are so many things that I donýt know about myself that I think I know. I am glad I read this book. I recommend this book 150% to anyone who wants to learn more about yourself through a child/children. Buy this book today and rediscover who you really are!

Paley's purpose for writing this book consists of helping to open our minds to the insights of children. She implies in her writing that we, as adults, can learn from children. Paley wrote about events that took place in her classroom during her last year of teaching. This book has many stories within itself. The theme or topic revolves around the children and how they react to literature and each other. This book is good that it opens us up to the world of children and how they think and feel. A good portion of the book is Paley's thought and feelings about what is going on with the children. It is good that we know her thoughts, but I would like to have read more about what the children were doing. I think more details about how the other children reacted and behaved would have been nice, other than concentrating a good deal on Reeny. Also when Paley writes about the stories she read to the class, I think she should have given a little bit more detail about the stories. Some people, including myself, may not have read some or any of Leo Lionni's books. Overall, it is a fun book to read.

The Girl with the Brown Crayon is a book that displays a journey through a kindergarten classroom which can only be described as a unique adventure of self discovery. Vivian Paley is the author as well as the kindergarten teacher of this very classroom. During her last year of teaching, she meets an interesting child named Reeny who leads Paley as well as the rest of the class on an exploration through the books and illustrations of Leo Lionni.
The Girl with the Brown Crayon is a book which covers important topics that cannot be learned in any college course. It discusses issues of identity and acceptance seen and felt through a child. I enjoy Paley's excessive use of dialogue. It aides in capturing the emotions felt by the characters and allows experiences to become more realistic in the readers eyes.
Overall, I recommend this book to future educators. It will teach you to become more open to your students thoughts and ideas rather than constantly focusing on certain curriculum. It will allow you to see the vastness of opportunities education can hold for you and your class!

The Girl with the Brown Crayon is a non-fiction book that is also an autobiography. It does not describe the complete life of the author, but it does explain a year in her life and in her classroom. This book is intended for any one interested in becoming a teacher. I would recommend this particularly a lower elementary teacher, because it would help them to understand the wonderful things children and comprehend and accomplish at such a young age. Ms. Paley has a simple, straightforward writing style that is easy to read.
There is one sentence that sums up Ms. Paley's last year as a teacher. "...I resist the uninvented classroom." (p. 50) Throughout the year, Ms. Paley and her students are books of Leo Lionni. It is through these books that the students and Ms. Paley discover themselves. One student in particular plays a major role in the development of the class. Reeny "sees" things before any one else does. She also brings new interpretations to the class.
I would say that The Girl with the Brown Crayon was an interesting book. At the beginning the author warns us that it might not seem like a true story. She is right, the events to seem incredible. It takes a very special class full of very special students to have a year such as they did. Throughout the book the author is very analytical of herself. She keeps finding traits of herself that the characters in the books also posses. Due the fact that this is her last year of teaching, she is very reflective, and rightfully so. Ms. Paley is also a good teacher in the sense that she is constantly reviewing what she is doing with her class. It has become stereotyped that older teachers follow the same exact curriculum from their first year. Ms. Paley fights that, and is always inventing something new and creative for the class she is teaching that year, not the class she taught the previous year.
There is a common theme of a person versus society. Throughout the book the students discuss the feeling of the characters and whether what they did was appropriate or not. While the students were looking at the books with a very high intellectual level, it should have also been brought down to their level. For example, would they give into the peer pressure of giving up the golden wings? The key words in that sentence are peer pressure. Through out the entire book, this idea was never brought up. The students could think higher, but only when they were talking about wings. What about issues in their lives.
Overall, this was a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone that is looking to teach in the near future. Ms. Paley has wonderful ideas, which she brings into her teaching. Ms. Paley makes her children excited about what they are doing.