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Kuharets, Olga R., editor (2001)
Venture Into Cultures: A Resource Book of Multicultural Materials
and Programs.
Chicago: American Library
Association.
A resource book for educators and librarians, Venture into
Cultures covers background information, materials, activities and
websites relevant to different cultural and ethnic groups. Each chapter
focuses on a particular group or geographical area: Africa, the
Caribbean, India, Jewish 96American culture, Korea, Latino Culture,
the Middle East, Native American Culture and Russia. Background
information on the region or culture, a list of recommended materials,
and program ideas are outlined which could form the basis of community
programs, classroom activities or lessons. Suggested materials
including both print and non-print resources, are annotated with a
description and suggested grade level. Chapters also include a list of
websites and other resources. Despite the volatility of the Internet,
most of the websites were still current when tested by the reviewer.
Although the depth of background information varies widely among the
individually authored chapters, the book is extremely useful.
Contributors to this volume include librarians and educators many of
whom have a connection with the culture about which they are writing.
These cultural connections give the materials cited a greater
relevancy and authenticity. This is exactly what professionals working
with diverse populations need.
This is the second edition of this book. The first edition, edited
by Carla Hayden, contained an Index by Culture that effectively gave a
quick booklist of available materials. This would have been a helpful
addition to the general index in the second edition . The primary aim
of both editions was to give librarians and educators materials and
activities to introduce diverse cultures to children. Both editions of
the book fulfilled that primary purpose.
The editor is successful in providing a useful resource for Social
Studies and Geography classes and library programming. On a broader
scale, Venture Into Cultures also provides education students,
in-service teachers, and librarians with resources and ideas for use
with multicultural and Limited English Proficient populations. A
worthwhile purchase.
Pages: 125
Price: $47.50
ISBN: 0-8389-3513-3
Reviewed by Sheila Kirven, New Jersey City University
Parsons, Les (2001)
Response Journals Revisited: Maximizing Learning Through Reading,
Writing, Viewing, Discussing, and Thinking.
Portland, Maine: Stenhouse
Publishers.
When it comes to response journals Les Parsons wrote the book. His
1990 book on the topic began the move toward using these journals to
help students organize their thoughts about reading. In the past
decade Parsons has written one other book on the subject and several
others have joined the movement by writing books or dissertations on
using response journals with literature studies. Now Parsons says, the
journals have become so much a part of the curriculum that we have
moved from substance to form, loosing the reason for using journals
without ceasing the practice.
In this latest book Parsons takes the questions about response
journals that he hears repeatedly and answers them. Along the way he
offers forms and guidelines that teachers can use to make sure their
practice captures the spirit as well as the form of the tool. The
chapter titles give a clue to the areas of concern, getting started,
using journals with literature, with live and mass media, developing
discussion skills, and evaluation. The chapters on live and mass
media, and evaluation are the two most heavy with checklists and
guidelines to help the novice.
Clearly, on one level, Parsons feels that his baby is being
misunderstood. But he also conveys a clear understanding of the
day-to-day challenges that can keep a teacher from reaching optimum
implementation with any new teaching tool. Teachers who are
questioning their own response journal use and those who are
considering implementing journals will find this book a helpful tool.
Pages: 119
Price: $17.50
ISBN: 1-57110-345-7
Reviewed by Kate Corby, Michigan State University
Sarason, Seymour B. (2002)
Questions You Should Ask about Charter Schools and Vouchers.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
In this brief text, Seymour B. Sarason re-visits the premise of his
earlier work, Charter Schools: Another Flawed Educational
Reform? In both titles, the dominant theme is that the charter
school movement, like other educational reform efforts, will fall short
of its goal. In this book, he discusses two major education reforms:
charter schools and vouchers, with the first topic receiving more
attention than the second. In chapter one, he clearly states the
book's purpose: it is intended for those who have not considered the
major issues surrounding charter schools and vouchers. Sarason
contends that most people oversimplify these issues.
Sarason effectively illustrates the complexities inherent in these
movements and notes that, in principle, he is a proponent of both
efforts. He believes, however, that the evidence to judge their
effectiveness is lacking; the data upon which evaluative judgments
should be made is not gathered. Sarason makes a convincing case for
the need for more than anecdotal evidence in order to judge reform
efforts. He further contends that reformers fail to examine past
reform movements in order to avoid making similar mistakes.
Although very short, this title encourages the reader to think
about educational reform in a new light. Its importance is diminished
by the similarity to his earlier contributions. It will be useful to
the reader interested in considering the complexities of educational
reform but of limited use to the serious researcher. Of the 19
references, 10 are to the author's earlier works.
Pages: 123
Price: $15.00
ISBN: 0-325-00405-6
Reviewed by Barbara Wales, Central Missouri State University,
Warrensburg, Missouri
Shiveley, James M. & VanFossen, Phillip J. (2001)
Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in
Government, Economics, and Contemporary World Issues.
Westport, CN: Greenwood
Press.
This book is part of the Greenwood Professional Guides in School
Librarianship Series. Other titles in the series discuss using primary
sources to teach critical thinking skills in history, geography, the
sciences, world languages, and mathematics.
The book is arranged into three parts. Part I presents an overview
of critical thinking and discusses how critical thinking pertains to
the social sciences. Part II defines primary sources and provides
instructional strategies for using primary source documents in the
classroom. Part III identifies 118 web sites containing primary source
documents. Each site description contains an abstract of the site, a
set of questions and activities designed to promote critical thinking
skills, and a list of other related sites.
Since teaching with technology, incorporating active learning
techniques, and developing students' critical thinking skills are goals
for many teachers today, a book providing practical suggestions for
accomplishing these ambitious goals could prove extremely valuable.
The first two sections provide a thoughtful framework and fairly
lengthy bibliographies, and the third section provides specific
suggestions for what sites to use. Overall, the book includes a nice
balance of the theoretical and the practical. The authors are
realistic about possible pitfalls involved in using Internet resources,
and they discourage having students engage in activities requiring
extensive surfing. Instead, they suggest directing students to primary
sources that the teacher, with the help of this book, has identified.
The first two broad categories in Part III, Political Science and
Economics, deal primarily, although not exclusively, with historical
subjects. Topics include Bacon's Rebellion, Stamp Act, Give Me Liberty
or Give Me Death, The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Jim Crow Laws,
and the Scopes Monkey Trial. The third category is Contemporary World
Issues. Given the pace of change in our world, this section already
seems somewhat dated. For example, although the links in the unit on
Terrorism are still active, the suggested sites do not take into
account the events of September 11 and the aftermath.
Given how rapidly Web sites come and go, the accuracy of the URL's
is always a concern, but most of the sites featured here seem to be
stable, and a few that could not be located using the given URL could
be found using a Web search engine. Many of the URL's are extremely
long and complicated, which teachers would need to take into account
when preparing their lessons.
Libraries serving teacher education programs will find this, as
well as other titles in the series, useful additions to their
collections. One suggestion to the publisher would be to consider
paperback editions. It seems that updated editions would be useful, and
more schools would be able to afford them at paperback prices.
Pages: 244
Price: $39.95
ISBN: 0-313-31283-4
Reviewed by Sharon Naylor, Illinois State University
Yero, Judith Lloyd (2002)
Teaching in Mind: How Teacher Thinking Shapes Education.
Hamilton, MT: MindFlight
Publishing.
Judith Lloyd Yero takes a different approach to improving teaching
and learning in Teaching in Mind. While many books on education
proscribe a specific philosophy or practice, Yero delves deeper into
the teaching experience by analyzing the "unconscious underpinnings"
and subjective realities that each teacher brings to the classroom.
Focusing on that perspective, Yero attempts to convince readers that
knowing what beliefs lie beneath each instructor's teaching practices
will lead to more effective teaching and, thus, more effective learning
on the part of students.
Throughout thirteen chapters, Yero provides the structure to help
teachers reflect and analyze their beliefs and behaviors. In Chapters 3
to 5, she explores "the metaphors teachers use to describe their work"
and explains why the ones used are significant. Subsequent chapters
investigate how commonly held beliefs influence teachers' decision
making and actions. Yero also examines the "conventional wisdom" of
education. The last chapter is a call for action, in which Yero
implores teachers to make conscious decisions to change their realities
and behaviors in order to become better educators. The book concludes
with a Self-Inventory and substantial bibliography, which includes
websites.
Using both research and anecdotal evidence, Yero carefully builds
the case for her call to action, encouraging teachers to become more
self-aware and self-reflective and to develop the vision and courage to
change their moribund teaching methods. She offers some insightful
observations and provides the structure for teachers to explore - and
change -- their own assumptions. Though not an especially complex
assessment of the state of teaching, educators interested in
investigating new approaches to education will find this very readable
book illuminating and helpful.
Pages: 274
Price: $18.95
ISBN: 1-09711983-3-0
Reviewed by Shellie Jeffries, Aquinas College
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