Customer Reviews (2)

There IS No Place Like Home
A father and his son discover that Kansas does have mountains, and many other wonderful things, as they spend a Sunday afternoon bonding on the plains of Kansas.The charming story by George Shannon is beautifully illustrated by Thomas B. Allen.Gorgeous pastels of the wheat fields, grain elevators and sleepy main streets will be quickly recognizable to anyone from the midwest.The twist is - the words and illustrations will make you see your surroundings in a new way, just like the little boy in the book!

Mountains in Kansas?
Hey--Kansas isn't flat-there are many hills, and this book is an awesome read---and sooooooo funny.You don't have to be from Kansas to enjoy the midwest humor---everyone from Kansas doesn't not have a dog named Toto! You will also find little tidbits of history. ... Read more

Book Description
This book examines the fundamental role of politics in funding our public schools and fills a conceptual imbalance in the current literature in school finance and educational policy. Unlike those who are primarily concerned about cost efficiency, Kenneth Wong specifies how resources are allocated for what purposes at different levels of the government. In contrast to those who focus on litigation as a way to reduce funding gaps, he underscores institutional stalemate and the lack of political will to act as important factors that affect legislative deadlock in school finance reform.

Wong defines how politics has sustained various types of "rules" that affect the allocation of resources at the federal, state, and local level. While these rules have been remarkably stable over the past twenty to thirty years, they have often worked at cross-purposes by fragmenting policy and constraining the education process at schools with the greatest needs.

Wong's examination is shaped by several questions. How do these rules come about? What role does politics play in retention of the rules? Do the federal, state, and local governments espouse different policies? In what ways do these policies operate at cross-purposes? How do they affect educational opportunities? Do the policies cohere in ways that promote better and more equitable student outcomes?

Wong concludes that the five types of entrenched rules for resource allocation are rooted in existing governance arrangements and seemingly impervious to partisan shifts, interest group pressures, and constitutional challenge. And because these rules foster policy fragmentation and embody initiatives out of step with the performance-based reform agenda of the 1990s, the outlook for positive change in public education is uncertain unless fairly radical approaches are employed.

Wong also analyzes four allocative reform models, two based on the assumption that existing political structures are unlikely to change and two that seek to empower actors at the school level. The two models for systemwide restructuring, aimed at intergovernmental coordination and/or integrated governance, would seek to clarify responsibilities for public education among federal, state, and local authorities--above all, integrating political and educational accountability. The other two models identified by Wong shift control from state and district to the schoool, one based on local leadership and the other based on market forces. In discussing the guiding principles of the four models, Wong takes care to identify both the potential and limitations of each.

Written with a broad policy audience in mind, Wong's book should appeal to professionals interested in the politics of educational reform and to teachers of courses dealing with educational policy and administration and intergovernmental relations.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Book Description
It has become known to many as the moment when the U.S. Supreme Court kicked God out of the public schools, supposedly paving the way for a decline in educational quality and a dramatic rise in delinquency and immorality. The 6-to-1 decision in Engel v. Vitale (1962) not only sparked outrage among a great many religious Americans, it also rallied those who cried out against what they perceived as a dangerously activist Court.

Bruce Dierenfield has written a concise and readable guide to the first-and still most important-case that addressed the constitutionality of prayer in public schools. The 22-word recitation in a Long Island school that was challenged in Engel v. Vitale was hardly denominational-not even overtly Christian-but a handful of parents saw it as a violation of the First Amendment's proscription again the establishment of religion. The case forced the Supreme Court to take a stand on Jefferson's "wall of separation" between church and state. When it did so, the Court declared that by endorsing the prayer recitation-no matter how brief, nondenominational, or voluntary-the Long Island school board had unconstitutionally approved the establishment of religion in school.

Writing with impeccable fairness and sensitivity, Dierenfield sets his account of the Engel decision in the larger historical and political context, citing battles over a wide range of religious activities in public schools throughout American history. He takes readers behind the scenes at school board meetings and Court deliberations to show real people wrestling with deeply personal issues. Through interviews with many of the participants, he also reveals the large price paid by the plaintiffs and their children, who were frequently harassed both during and after the trial.

For a long time, opponents of the decision have loudly claimed that it was based on a distorted reading of the First Amendment and deprived Americans of their right to practice religion. Dierenfield shows that the polarizing effect of Engel-a decision every bit as controversial as Roe v. Wade-has reverberated through the subsequent decades and gained intensity with the rise of the religious right. His book helps readers understand why, even in the face of this landmark decision, Americans remain divided on how divided church and state should be.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Battle over School Prayer
Bruce Dierenfield has written an excellent book that combines the personal stories of a very divisive court case, with an excellent historical overview of the relationship between church and state in the U.S.
As a child of one of the plaintiffs I was fascinated to learn the stories of other people involved with the case.

Why not at home?
Over the years I have heard many reasons for school prayer.Everything from the demise of our society in general, to the violence at Virginia Tech.All such attention given to one reason for society's ills with avoidance of many others.The increase in school violence, lack of prayer in our schools.No mention the effects of more and more Mothers working outside the home.No mention of how we have been redirected as to how we disipline our children.You know "They are just expressing themselves.""Or to disipline them is to destroy their self esteem."No you are teaching them to live an orderly life in an ordered society.Instead of blaming a lack of school prayer for our ills, why not blame we as parents?

In the 6th Chapter of Matthew Christ admonished us to pray in private, in our closets, not as some glowing example of so called Christian values, in public.Which is so like wearing ones religion on ones sleeve, and looking down on those who choose to pray in private.In turn the 1962 Supereme Court decision has also given rise to this need to display the 10 Commandments on our public grounds or in our courthouses.In turn angring many professed Christians.Deplorying a merger between "Church and State."One reason many of us came to this land in the first place, "Freedom from religion."Not just freedom of religion.

This book gives us a reminder of what we have had to contend with in our society since 1962, from both sides.This is not a Christian nation, and we should attempt to revamp our values.Never mind that at the founding of this nation the new comers tried to exterminate those who were here already, and then we brought peoples from another land as slaves.Not too Christ like from where I stand.

What about those of other beliefs, who do not believe as the majority, you know Buddist, Muslims, Jews, and even non believers?Should not their needs be respected as well?What ever happened to "Love Thy Neighbor?"

Our Constitution dose state in part Congress shall make no law respecting one religion, or the establishment of one religion as opposed to another.So we then call the judges "Activist" for upholding this point.If we are so "Religious," why all the wars?In this world we have fought more wars over religion than anything in history.Blaming a whole host of ills on a lack of school pray for everything from increased crime, to abortion.

So we get upset over the court upholding our Constitution, which we both love and hate.

Read this book, and get an inside look at both sides of this argument, and understand there is a great need for not school prayer, but home prayer, to whom ever, and how ever an individual prays.There is after all, diversity even within Christianty, so why should one frame of mind win out.Tolerance is the message here.Educate your self, refresh in your mind even though "Atheist" brought the suite, we all win in tolerance.

... Read more

Book Description
All parents want to give their children the best educational experience possible, but many don’t know what to look for when making their selection.Which is best -- home schooling, private schooling, or public schooling?Each child’s needs are different, and each family could come to a different conclusion.School Choicesgives parents the tools to choose the best type of schooling for their specific situation.Lists of questions in the book help parents determine if they can afford to spend the time and money required for private or home schooling. School Choicesalso gives parents tools to evaluate the quality of local public schools and private schools by asking about accreditation, teacher credentials, and curriculum.Additionally, parents who choose home schooling will learn how to prepare their home, their children, and their curriculum for this challenging task. School Choices Provides parents with questions to help them determine if they can afford the expenditure of time and resources for private or home schooling. Teaches parents how to evaluate the quality of their local public and private schools by asking about accreditation, teacher credentials, and curriculum. Tells parents how to get started in home schooling.How to prepare their home, their children, and their curriculum. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of School Health, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2007. The length of the article is 3882 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Citation: Cornwell L, Hawley SR, St. Romain T. Implementation of a coordinated school health program in a rural, low-income community.

Citation Details
Title: Implementation of a coordinated school health program in a rural, low-income community.(General Article)(Report)
Author: Lisa Cornwell
Publication: Journal of School Health (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 77Issue: 9Page: 601(6)

Article Type: Report

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
Like other big city school systems, Chicago's has been repeatedly "reformed" over the last century. Yet its schools have fallen far short of citizens' expectations and left a gap between the performances of white and minority students. Many blame the educational establishment for resisting change. Other critics argue that reform occurs too often; still others claim it comes not often enough.

Dorothy Shipps reappraises the tumultuous history of educational progress in Chicago, revealing that the persistent lack of improvement is due not to the extent but rather the type of reform. Throughout the twentieth century, managerial reorganizations initiated by the business community repeatedly altered the governance structure of schools-as well as the relationships of teachers to children and parents-but brought little improvement, while other more promising reform models were either resisted or crowded out.

Shipps chronicles how Chicago's corporate actors led, abetted, or restrained nearly every attempt to transform the city's school system, then asks whether schools might be better reformed by others. To show why city schools have failed urban children so badly, she traces Chicago's reform history over four political eras, revealing how corporate power was instrumental in designing and revamping the system. Her narrative encompasses the formative era of 1880-1930, when teachers' unions moderated business plans; previously unexplored business activism from 1930 to 1980, when civil rights dominated school reform, and the decentralization of the 1980s. She also covers the uneasy cooperation among business associations in the 1990s to install the mayor as head of the school system, a governing regime now challenged by privatization advocates.

Business people may be too wedded to a stunted view of educators to forge a productive partnership for change. Unionized teachers bridle at the second-class status accorded them by managers. If reform is to reach deeply into classrooms, Shipps concludes, it might well require a new coalition of teachers' unions and parents to create a fresh agenda that supersedes corporate interests. This study clearly shows that, in Chicago as elsewhere, urban schooling is intertwined with politics and power.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Book Description
The authors of this volume argue that urban education is in urgent need of reform and that, although there have been plenty of innovative and even promising attempts to improve conditions, most have been doomed. The reason for this, they agree, lies in the failure of our major cities to develop their "civic capacity"--the ability to build and maintain a broad social and political coalition across all sectors of the urban community in pursuit of a common goal.

Drawing upon an ambitious eleven-city study funded by the National Science Foundation, the authors synthesize and make sense of the enormous amount of data from Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. Not only is this a vivid report from the front lines of big city schooling, but this work challenges us to rethink our approach to the crisis in our schools.

The authors vigorously contend that it is essential for all (or most) important actors in an urban community to join together in a shared vision of what is wrong in the schools and how to fix it, and to pursue that vision strongly and systematically over a long time. That can only happen, however, if those same actors develop the ability and willingness to set aside narrow aims and opportunistic behavior in favor of pursuing the collective good.

Written for a wide spectrum of potential readers-including educators, social scientists, policymakers, and every citizen who cares about his or her child's education--this book restores coalition politics to the center of educational reform and reminds us to look well beyond pedagogy and management theory for solutions to problems that are immune to the usual remedies. Drawing on select cases, the authors show that effective civic coalitions can be built. The struggle for reform can be won.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Book Description
This profusely illustrated history chronicles the heyday of the one-room school and its vital influence on American education from the pioneer era through consolidation after World War II.

The Midwest's one-room schools were, Wayne Fuller observes, the most democratic in the nation. Located in small, independent school districts, they were sustained with the barest of resources by civic-minded farmers who voted taxes, set budgets, constructed schools, elected school boards, hired teachers, and approved curricula. Their efforts virtually wiped out illiteracy, strengthened their children's devotion to democracy, and opened up new vistas beyond the borders of their lives.

Filled with evocative images of school houses, students, and teachers, this volume rescues from obscurity the life and material culture of rural education: McGuffey Readers, wooden desks, slate blackboards, potbellied stoves, kerosene lamps, and screened privies. Fuller describes how rural children walked, rode horses, or drove buggies to school along dirt roads; the way they dressed; the games they played; and the lessons they learned. He also recounts the life of the typical teacher--usually female, young, unmarried, and educated in one-room schools and county teacher institutes.

Entire communities, Fuller shows, revolved around these schools. At various times they were used as churches, polling places, sites of political caucuses, and meeting halls for local organizations. But as America urbanized and the movement to consolidate took hold in rural counties, these little centers of learning were left at the margins of the educational system. Some were torn down, some left to weather away, some sold at auction, and still others transformed into museums.

Despite its demise, Fuller argues, here was a school system that worked. His book offers a timely reminder of what schools can accomplish when communities work closely together to educate their children.

This 8-1/2" x 11" book contains 329 black-and-white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

one-room country schools
This is a history full of pictures of the little schools where people were educated when my grandparents grew up and when my parents started teaching.My dad taught in several different types of situations and thought the one-room country school was THE BEST.I felt saddened in this book when history demanded that these take a back seat and most died. ... Read more

Book Description
Educational reform is one of the most critical issues facing our cities, but some cities are better at it than others. To explain why, this book relates education to politics, showing how the "whole village" can be mobilized to better educate tomorrow's citizens.

City Schools and City Politics is based on an eleven-city NSF study of civic capacity and urban education. As participants in that study, the authors conducted research in three rustbelt cities that have lost much of their tax base and have legacies of machine politics. They analyzed the ways in which government, business, and community leaders create, or fail to create, civic support for public education, focusing on why certain cities show greater initiative than others in addressing these problems.

The authors reveal that, of the cities examined, Pittsburgh has made the most strides in educational reform, followed by Boston, while St. Louis has consistently lagged behind. Their observations show that cross-sectorial coalitions are essential for bringing about change; that organizational arrangements in the business community and their relationship to local government affect whether there is the capacity to address school reform; that leadership is critical in bringing about change; and that municipal institutions and culture influence a city's ability to take action.

Packed with empirical data and analysis, City Schools and City Politics demonstrates the citywide and long-term character of successful efforts to reform public schools, relating education to the priorities of municipal governments and describing the conditions under which reform becomes possible. It extends regime theory to public education and shows that education policy is inextricably linked with urban political life and is an issue of real concern to political science.

This book is part of the Studies in Government and Public Policy series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A MUST READ for anyone interested in education reform
I am the founder of St. Louis, Missouri's first charter school - the St. Louis Charter School...This book is an invaluable resource on national education and urban trends.It is packed with a wealth of data on schools, student, and cities.Once you have read the book, you will be armed with real numbers, case studies and examples to use in planning and promoting your own charter school or engaging in conversations with others about education reform and the history of public education in America. ... Read more

Book Description
The suicide of a youth group member.The drowning of a teen on a summer missions trip.A school shooting.These are frightening scenarios that Christian school staff members and youth workers sometimes face.One of their biggest fears is facing a tragedy and not knowing what to do.Most Christian school personnel receive inadequate instruction on what critical steps to take to prevent their school from being paralyzed by tragedy, and few youth workers receive the training needed to counsel their teens after a crisis.As a high school counselor, Sandy Austin has faced tragedy ranging from the shootings at Columbine High School to four suicides in eight months at the Colorado high school where she works.In times like these, she understands how important it is to already have a crisis plan in place in order to minimize the panic or chaos that often occurs during and after a tragic situation.In theCrisis Manual for Christian Schools and Youth Workers , Austin uses her experience and expertise to give youth workers step-by-step instruction on how to plan ahead and handle tragedy should the need arise.Having this peace of mind is highly important when it comes to dealing with the lives and well-being of young people.Step-by-step processes include:Formulating a Crisis Team Prevention and intervention strategies Communication through the crisis Helping the families of impacted youth Conducting funerals and memorial services Debriefing Education regarding residual effects of the tragedy ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Everyone should read this book!
As an individual who has experienced crisis, I appreciate Crisis Manual for Christian Schools and Youth Workers: How to Prepare for and Handle Tragedy. Sandy Austin's book instructs one about how to prepare and handle an emergency. It is just as important to react well during an emergency as it is to handle the after-effects of the emergency. This crisis manual should be in every library, school, church, and home. When tragedy strikes, be ready: read Sandy Austin's crisis manual. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

More to Kansas than Dorothy and Toto
Written for middle school students, this history is spiced with tales, photos and sidebars seldom seen in history books. My daughter loved the book because these characters match her fictional favorites for fortitude and impact. "Hey, Mom, listen to this..."Apparent exhaustiveresearch, unusual photos, strong creativity.The story-telling charm isoff-set, however, by misspelled words, omission of prehistoric eras, andrewrite of characters who are not socially mainstream or exemplary. Kansaswas more diverse and colorful than this book portrays. Was truth thinned toassure that the book would "sell" to schools?History is meantto be rich. It is about life, itself.

Great Plains History Is Brought To Life!
Well- it's about time!This book will let the world know that there muchmore to Kansas that those drab monochrome tones we see every time we watchthe beginning scenes of the Wizard of Oz!.While still being veryinformative, this book was a real pleasure to read.It's done in a"story style" that was certainly more interesting that the boringold history texts of my youth!The book really allows the reader to relateto the many fascinating historical figures as genuine people rather thanmere ghostly gray figures of days gone by.The whole book simply struck meas "being about real people for real people".The great original artworkand wonderful photographs and post cards were the "icing on the cake". Well done to the team that assembled this fine work!I hope its serveswell those curious to know about the Sunflower State for years to come!

Kansas schoolchildren are lucky to have this book!
I have read this book and I found it a great read! The art work is very good.The Kansas schoolchildren should feel special to be able to use such a informative book.The photos are super and there are so many of them! The end of the chapter postcards are really a neat idea.Thisbrings Kansas history to a level of interest for everyone.Wish my statehad one like it. ... Read more

Book Description
The human harvest of which Jesus speaks is ready--and it’s time for all of us to get into the field!Paper. ... Read more

Book Description
Actual diary entries of an experienced pastor and new Sunday School superintendent form the basis for this book. Follow the struggles and victories of these two Christian workers as you discover ways to reach new goals in ministry.Paper, spiral-bound. ... Read more