Book Description
Drug and alcohol education in public schools may be important, but its authoritarian stance often invites skepticism among teachers and students alike. Yet this program has its roots not in modern bureaucracy or even Prohibition but in a social movement that flourished over a century ago.

Scientific Temperance Instruction was the most successful grassroots education program in American history, championed by an army of housewives in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union under the leadership of Mary Hanchett Hunt. As Hunt and her forces took their message across the country, they were opposed by many educators and other professionals who believed that ordinary citizens had no business interfering with educational matters. STI sparked heated conflict between expert and popular authority in the debate over alcohol education, but it was eventually mandated as part of public school curricula in all states.

The real issue surrounding STI, argues Jonathan Zimmerman, was not alcohol but the struggle to reconcile democracy and expertise. In this first book-length study of the crusade for STI, he shows Mary Hunt to be a wily and manipulative politician as he examines how citizens and experts used knowledge selectively to advance their own agendas. His work offers a microcosm for observing Progressive Era tensions between democracy and professionalism, localism and centralization, and social conservatism and liberalism.

Distilling Democracy points up a crucial and ongoing dilemma in our education system: educational directives handed down by experts deny citizens the right to transmit their values to their children, while populist educational values sometimes stifle classroom debate. By using history to demonstrate the public's participation in shaping public education, Zimmerman suggests that however unappealing the program, society needs to embrace such popular movements in order to uphold true democracy. His book offers fresh insight into an overlooked chapter in our history and will spark debate by raising new questions about lay influence on school curricula in modern America. ... Read more

Book Description
Within this compilation of notes and quotes is the spirit of what it takes to grow a healthy Sunday School.Use this book for personal inspiration, inspiring others, and gleaning practical insights on making your Sunday School a thriving ministry for growing Christians.Paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Inspirational but short on substance
Maybe it's because the book isn't what I was expecting, but I felt a little let down.It's a lot like those Life's Little Instruction Booklet type books--just a bunch of pithy one-liners & suggestions.A few ofthe quotes were lame, for example, "if the Sunday School is toimprove, it must change; if it is to grow, it must plan for growth." Duh. Most of the suggestions were great, but they didn't give any detailson how to actually do what it suggests, for example, "plan an annualteacher training event to improve and develop the skills of allteachers."Good advice!However it doesn't tell you how to structurethe event, what to teach the teachers, or any of the other information youmight need to actually run a teacher training event.Don't get me wrong -the book is good for what it is; just be sure you know what it is you aregetting ... Read more

Book Description
Jeremiah has a bad case of the term paper blues, but it’s still going to be a great year because the rest of the gang is here too!Paper. ... Read more

Book Description
Sunday School is a time-honored tradition that is linking the church and the world in redemptive ministry.A renewal is occurring in the Christian community that gives the Sunday School unlimited opportunity for evangelism and education, devotion and discipleship. Catch the vision of a new standard Talmadge Johnson and Stan Toler offers inRediscovering the Sunday Schoolas it outlines timely methods of Bible study, organization, staffing, promotion, and facilities.Give your Sunday School a breath of new life with this insightful and challenging book.Paper. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Educate yourself about the religious right with this book
Washington College Assistant Professor Melissa M. Deckman delivers readers a fresh new portrait of the Christian right which, although still critical of their ultimate end goals, wants to understand how they were able to achieve their successes or not.

Differing from the organizational research reports and partisan titles which already flood the market, Deckman's book has readers instead consider why the religious right enjoys so much electoral success even if a majority of American voters do not formally appear to support their ideas.

She then wants us to consider how waging a campaign/counter campaign against these candidates and public officials is literally impossible when we actually do not know about the people who we want to run against.

The thesis of Deckman's book is that both sides in a community demonize each other in the process of school board and local elections in an attempt to win support from undecided voters. The Christian right is at once both more similar and more complex than previous attack campaigns/counter-responses publicly have conceded. Articulating this complex nature will then enable myself and others to win more campaigns and more effectively sell our own policies to that swing public.

Starting out with wanting to make major change, the Christian right candidates and/or elected officials subsequently are required to alter their grand world views in order to be a part of the system which they ultimately seek to change. Built on compromise, the American political system is subsequently not receptive to radical changes which these people (and other candidates) would like to make. Our campaign portrayals of these people might therefore indicate what they would like to do, but it does not actually acknowledge what they are permitted to do; held in check by the American government's system of checks and balances.

Deckman's data includes case studies of elections held in Fairfax County Virginia and Garret County Maryland. These case studies prove that although they share some important group characteristics and goals, not all Christian right campaigns and then the candidates who run them are virtual `carbon copies' of each other. A vulnerability to internal dissent among various religious right candidates and office holders further lessens their being the `mighty boogeyman' of political jargon.

She also suggests that both the `far right' candidates and my beloved liberal counterparts are much more alike than we actually are different. The research in this book uncovers that non-religious right school board candidates are also likely to be religiously affiliated and also are more likely to come from the community elite---who can afford to run in an election and hold public office. We have more in common with each other than we have previously thought and/or let on in campaigns and debates.

Although I also read the more conventional broadsides against the right, and tend to agree with the left, Deckman's book is a critical step for defeating Christian right candidates.

Examines ongoing local school board elections in America
Also available in a hardcover edition (1589010000, $39.95), School Board Battles: The Christian Right In Local Politics by Melisa M. Deckman (Assistant Professor of Political Science, Washington College, Chesterton, Maryland) examines ongoing local school board elections in America, and their effect upon shaping the culture and educational curriculum of the nation, a phenomenon that gaind widespread attention when the Kansas state school board, led by outspoken Christians, voted to delete evolution from the state's science curriculum and standardized tests. Especially focusing upon the electoral success of Christian Right school board candidates, School Board Battles strives to reveal why conservative Christians run for school boards, the extent of the Christian Right's influence upon school boards, and the manner in which conservative Christians in general tend to govern. A critical and insightful study of turbulent struggles to determine what will be taught to America's next generation.

... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Strategic Finance, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2007. The length of the article is 4701 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.

Citation Details
Title: A career-neutral accounting curriculum? The accounting faculty at Kansas State University are pleased with the one they designed.
Author: Dan Deines
Publication: Strategic Finance (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: 31(8)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This thoughtful and engaging memoir opens up a previously hidden side to what many consider the most important Supreme Court decision of the twentieth century. With quiet candor Paul Wilson reflects upon his role as the Kansas assistant attorney general assigned "to defend the indefensible"-the policy of "separate but equal" that was overturned on May 17, 1954, by Linda Brown's precedent-shattering suit.The Brown decision ended legally sanctioned racial segregation in our nation's public schools, expanded the constitutional concepts of equal protection and due process of law, and in many ways launched the modern civil rights movement. Since that time, it has been cited by appellate courts in thousands of federal and state cases, analyzed in thousands of books and articles, and remains a cornerstone of law school education.Wilson reminds us that Brown was not one case but four-including similar cases in South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware-and that it was only a quirk of fate that brought this young lawyer to center stage at the Supreme Court. But the Kansas case and his own role, he argues, were different from the others in significant ways. His recollections reveal why.Recalling many events known only to Brown insiders, Wilson re-creates the world of 1950s Kansas, places the case in the context of those times and politics, provides important new information about the state's ambivalent defense, and then steps back to suggest some fundamental lessons about his experience, the evolution of race relations, and the lawyer's role in the judicial resolution of social conflict.Throughout these reflections Wilson's voice shines through with sincerity, warmth, and genuine humility. Far from a self-serving apology by one of history's losers, his memoir reminds us once again that there are good people on every side of the issues that divide us and that truth and meaning are not the special preserve of history's winners. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Fine Human Interest Story
Paul Wilson wrote a great human interest account of a fascinating point in time and a major turning point in our nation's cultural evolution from his unique front-line view.I disagree with the reviewer from New York.We didn't need Mr. Wilson to write a profound historic text.He gave us exactly what only he, and he alone in all the world, could offer - the memories and experiences of a humble and good-hearted man, an earnest and thoughtful lawyer, who found himself to be a major player in a great event.Mr. Wilson writes very well, both in his chosen words in his work and in his description to us, his readers, of his 15 minutes of fame.His book is a treasure.

More honest than profound
Wilson was the junior Kansas Assistant Attorney General who, largely through happenstance, wound up arguing Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court -- on what we would call the wrong side. Wilson admitsthat he was essentially along for the ride, but provides an honest accountof why he believed at the time that his position was correct: Kansas lawauthorized but did not require segregated schools, thus it allowed localschool boards to meet local needs.

This book adds little to the historyof this landmark case. Most of Wilson's history is covered in RichardKluger's Simple Justice, which is far more thorough. Much of Wilson's ownstory is of minor relevance -- filling out the paperwork to be admitted tothe Supreme Court bar, his train ride to Washington, how it felt to watchThurgood Marshall argue the case, etc. However, Wilson does provide somelocal details to round out the historical record, such as an account of howlocal Topeka politics almost caused Kansas to default before the SupremeCourt.

Wilson doesn't offer much reflection on the experience of being"wrong." Part of the reason is that Wilson's position was notbased on racial views, but on his support for local control over schools.He doesn't seem to appreciate how that support for localism, or federalism,could be used to advance malevolent ends (because, to be fair to Wilson, hethought Kansas schools offered equal facilities to blacks and whites).Because Wilson had little moral or personal investment in his position, hisloss does not have much of a sting to it. As a result, the book is more ofan ant's view of a battle between giants than an effort to confront theethical dilemma of being a lawyer who represents the "wrong"side. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

This could happen to you, too...
As the book explains, Dr. Grey was accused of sexually abusing a little girl in Sunday School.The basis of the allegation was a nightmare reported by the girl's mother, endorsed by the pastor, and left unquestioned by the congregation.During the trial, prosecution witnesses couldn't get their individual stories straight, much less their corporate story.Unfortunately for Dr. Grey, the careless actions of a handful of people were allowed to wreak havoc on his life.

The author faced 30 years in jail.He had a standing plea offer throughout the trial by which he could have avoided any jail time.Yet he and his wife chose to pay the price of a trial--both psychological and financial--in a effort to clear his name.

This book is not so much a self defense as it is a hindsight-enabled reconstruction of what went wrong in the author's case and why.You'll learn what could happen to you, too, if three bad things converge:

1) some untrusting person accuses you of an unspeakable crime,
2) an authority figure is too quick to take your accuser?s side, and
3) "good people" do nothing.

This 240 page book can be divided into equal thirds as follows:

1. Pre-trial. The author provides detail about himself.This establishes his credibility, but also helps us see things from the state's perspective and from the perspective of his accusers. There?s also enlightening info about polygraph exams, police roles, choosing a lawyer, and courtroom strategy.

2. Trial.The middle third is mainly a reprint of court transcripts.Key testimonies are those of the alleged victim, her mother, and the pastor.As the transcripts represent, the one person who should have been able to shed light evenhandedly--the pastor--wasn?t up to the task.It was as if his church were on trial, and he conciously chose to sacrifice one innocent man to save his life?s work.

3.Post-trial.First the author speculates about what he could have / should have done differently, with an eye toward helping others who may face similar crises.Then he takes a broader look at the state of the American judicial system on the specific issue of "presumed innocence" in light of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The author has a PhD in physics, so his writing is quite organized and readable.Yet, since he's not a psychologist or a lawyer, he treats the subject in a most practical way.Further, Dr. Grey has done a commendable job of showing understanding toward his accusers and being objective about his own shortcomings.

I wish I could give this book 5 stars, but it's just not the kind of thing you want to keep on your coffee table.Yet if I were the head of any organization involved with child care--esp. a pastor with a nursery / sunday school ministry--I would make this book required reading for all associated personnel. ... Read more

Book Description

The inspiring story of a CEO who gave up his career and followed his heart

Thomas M. Bloch (Kansas City, MO), former CEO of H&R Block, is an eighth grade math teacher and cofounder of University Academy. Bloch has been involved in a variety of other education initiatives in his hometown since he changed careers. He and his wife, Mary, founded the Youth Service Alliance of Greater Kansas City to encourage and recognize outstanding community service through school-based programs. He is a trustee of the University of Missouri at Kansas City and President of the Endowment Fund for the Henry W. Bloch School of Business. In 2000, he was asked to return to H&R Block as a member of the board of directors. ... Read more

Book Description
To Educate a Nation brings together the work of some ofthe most notable young scholars in the field of national education policystudies, focusing on the growing federal role in reform efforts; programsto provide equal educational opportunity; the changing relationships amongfederal, state, and local agencies; and the shifting boundaries betweenpublic and private sectors.

Collectively, these essays provide a new and penetrating look at howeducation policymaking has changed over the past fifty years. Individually,they address such issues as desegregation, education choice, Title I, theNational Defense Education Act, the politics of pre-K education, andSupreme Court decisions on equal opportunity--as well as how No Child LeftBehind fits into the larger framework of debates over the standards-basedreform movement.

Developed over three years of seminars at Brown University, To Educate aNation brings thematic and analytical coherence to the subject.Bridging historical and social science analyses, the contributors examinethe interactions of federal initiatives with state and local practices asthey highlight the complications inherent in American education today andprovide a framework for grappling with its problems. Their insights expandour understanding of federal policy, national reform movements, and thechanging nature of the polity in education--the institutions, traditions,and power relationships that define who has a voice in educationpolicymaking and how they participate in it.

For citizens and scholars alike, To Educate a Nation provides newways to think about educational decision making in a federal system ofgovernance, about unintended consequences of top-down policies, and aboutthe continued resilience of state and local variation, clarifying howeducation policy is made in our unusual American system of sharedgovernance and supplying an effective framework for understanding today'scomplex policymaking context.

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

Book Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Extraordinary Book, Recommend for Curriculum
Marissa Moss's Dustbowl story is one of the most compelling books I've ever read on the topic.I'm a literate adult, but was shocked at how much I DIDN"T know before I read this book.She packs Depression-era "facts" into a heartbreaking (and ultimately heartwarming) tale of a girl and her family, all rendered especially poignant with charming drawings that accompany the text. The whirling storms of dirt that cover everything with mounds of dirt ("we could tell where it came from by the color: gray dirt from Oklahoma; red dirt from Texas; brown was our own Kansas dirt") are brought to life with the evocative drawings, as well as the well-rounded characters.This book should be read by every child--and adult--in the country, as an essential part of U.S. history.I loved the book, was moved by it, and was sorry when it ended.

girl in a storm
This book is about a girl who lives in a house and they live by a farm and all they have are horses and cows and chickens.She is in a big dust storm.They cannot keep anything growing so her mom and dad go out to a dancing contest to see if they can earn money for seeds.They come back without any money.So they join a last man standing club.This club is for people who are having hard times but will not abandon their town.I liked this book because it was based on a true story, and it was from a long time ago.The setting was set in the desert with lots of wind storms and also set during the Great Depression.

The girl that learns agin
This book was alsome. It puts me in her place. I can get in to alot of books but this is the book that it gust took a little bit to read it. It might be little but it is good. We could have done alot of other books but i picked this one. I'm all so reading two other books. It is about a girl in the gret depresion she has to clean ever day. She lifes with her mom,dad,and her brother. She and her panters and her friends have to live in the sand storms. My reflection is i would recmond this book to other people that have to do something on the great deppresson. OR if you just want to read it for fun. The story elements are where the story takes place in the dester. the point of fewe is that the worst can happen.

Rose's Journal: The Story of a Girl in the Great Depression
I liked it because I really like the Amelia stories (also by Marissa Moss) and learning about the Great Depression.They finally came together!

Moving and informative
Rose's Journal is one of Marissa Moss' best books yet.It is both a vivid picture of the Depression era and a moving portrait of an individual child.Rose's relationships with her family, friends, farm animals and land are delicately, poignantly, and even humorously depicted. The narrator's soulful and childlike drawings leaven the serious text; her words are also enhanced visually with real photos of the time and drawings of her brother's comic strips. A humane, creative, refreshing and vivid way to present history to children. ... Read more

Book Description

Meet the legend Buffalo Bill Cody as a boy.

Book Description

Will Cody and his family are true pioneers, leaving behind Iowa and everything familiar to venture into the newly established Kansas Territory. Join Buffalo Bill on his first journey as he and his Ma, Pa, and sisters board a covered wagon and blaze a new trail.

Customer Reviews (2)

When men were men
If Bill had posters on the wall of his newly built frontier home, they would show Kit Carson and Jim Bridger, frontiersmen and gentlemen both, also Bill's cousin Horace Billings...and Bill's beloved father Isaac.

Like Richard Peck and Harper Lee, Kimmel provides a simple definition of manhood (and womanhood): Stand your ground, keep your cool, do what's needed.Unlike today's hair-trigger instant-microwave world, the 19th century has Horace and Isaac and even Bill talk their way out of danger, rather than reach for fists and firearms.

An Exciting Start to a Fantastic New Series
Bill Cody is only eight-years-old when his twelve-year-old brother, Sammy, is killed while riding a wild horse. He blames himself, and knows that he should have tried harder to get Sammy not to get on the horse, but why would Sammy listen to him? Sammy was a man, Bill was just a kid. So starts TO THE FRONTIER. With the tragedy a few months behind them, the Cody family packs up and decides to leave LeClaire, Iowa, as well as the bad memories that it holds, and head towards the newly established Kansas Territory, where they hope to claim a great piece of land before anyone else can. However, Bill quickly realizes that Kansas is nothing like Iowa, as there's a real city, and the people (especially the men) are rougher than he ever expected they'd be.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was ecstatic to find the new series THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG BUFFALO BILL in the local Barnes & Noble, and just knew that I had to purchase TO THE FRONTIER, as I've always been interested in reading about Buffalo Bill. What I found was a fantastic new series, that I hope to read more from in the future. Bill is a fun character, who, at the age of eight is wise beyond his years, in both the horse business, as well as the family business. His sisters are fun characters to read about, though they don't make the greatest appearance in this book, and his parents, especially his Pa, are exciting and good-natured. What makes the series even more exciting is the fact that E. Cody Kimmel is a distant relative of Buffalo Bill, so you enjoy reading what she has to write about him. All in all this was a fabulous book, and a must have for anyone interested in cowboys, Buffalo Bill, or historical fiction.

Erika Sorocco ... Read more

Book Description

Westward Ho!

Congress has ruled that settlers in Kansas Territory will decide whether Kansas will enter the Union as a free or a slave state. Charlie Keller's papa is an abolitionist, and he's moving the family to Kansas so he can cast his vote for freedom.

Papa and Momma, big sister Ida Jane, even baby Sophie, seem excited about being pioneers -- but not Charlie. Why couldn't they stay back home in Massachusetts with Grandpa and with Charlie's beloved old dog, Danny, who is too old to make the trip? Turning the wild Kansas prairie into a farm is hard work, filled with worries and danger. Will Kansas ever feel like home to Charlie? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

It has lots of suspense.
Pioneer summer is a good book becouse it's very exciting. And, when you finish the book,the next book starts right on the next day! That way, you don't wonder what is happening between the two books.

I loved it!

A real story about real people!
Pionner Summer is a "ready-for-chapters" book that really has it all.Pioneer Summer deals with emotional issues that children, regardless of the historical era, have in common.Eight-year-old Charlie is leaving his home and friends and making his way to a new home.At one time or another almost all children have dealt with a difficult transition period.Also, Charlie is dealing with the process of developing his personal belief system.His parents are committed abolitionists.Charlie must decide if he feels as strong about the issue of slavery.The other reason Pioneer Summer is an excellent book for the "ready-for-chapters" student is because the story brings to life an time in history that is rarely given adequate attention in history books.Pre-Civil War history often gets short exhanged in order to dedicate more textbook space to Westward Expansion and the battles of the Civil War.Pioneer Summer is a real story about the real people who settled the Kansas territory in hopes of influencing the vote on the issue of slavery.One last reason to love Pioneer Summer--it leaves many unanswered questions about Charlie and the Keller family that can only be answered by reading Cabin in the Snow and Our Kansas Home.It is a great way to introduce sequels to young readers.It left me wanting more and I teach history!!

This book makes history interesting for the young reader!
My 8-year-old son Sam is more of a non-fiction kind of guy--interested more in facts than in stories.But this one held his interest beautifully.It was a great history lesson for him and a great review for Mom and Dad!And, it was not too hard to read nor too easy, but just right.We got our first copy at the library, but I'll soon be purchasing all three in the series.

Great chapter book series!
My son loves the Prairie Skies series and can't wait for OUR KANSAS HOME.It's a warm family story but full of rich historical details that never overwhelm the plot.My son is in fifth grade but is a reluctant reader, so I'm always on the lookout for books that hold his interest but that aren't too babyish. Highly recommended!

Exciting historical fiction!
As a teacher and as a parent I've often been frustrated as I try to help my kids study for history tests about the pre-Civil War era.They have to learn about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, but it's just another date to memorize.But in Hopkinson's new chapter book, kids get a look at what life might have been like then.The note says she used letters and manuscripts to research the time period, and it shows.Even though the book is geared for third graders, my fifth grade classroom has enjoyed it too. Highly recommended! ... Read more