Administrators
From Vision to Practice: The Art of Educational Leadership, by Richard C. Wallace Jr. (Corwin Press Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91320; 218 pp., $22.95 paper). Written by and for superintendents, this book presents guidelines for the effective management of school districts and also discusses several successful programs from around the country.
Sexuality and the Schools: Handling the Critical Issues, by Joan L. Curcio et al. (Corwin Press Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91320; 58 pp., $11.95 paper). Sex education, one of the toughest and most controversial issues faced by educators, is discussed here in a straightforward yet compassionate manner.
Curriculum and Methods
The Art of Problem Solving: A Resource for the Mathematics Teacher, ed. by Alfred S. Posamentier & Wolfgang Schulz (Corwin Press Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 91320; 465 pp., $29.95 paper). This collection of essays by a wide range of math educators presents novel approaches to problem-solving in the classroom. Aimed at secondary school teachers, the book offers a fresh perspective on many topics, from algebra and geometry to statistics.
A Celebration of Bees: Helping Children To Write Poetry, by Barbara Juster Esbensen (Henry Holt and Co., 115 W. 18th St., New York, N.Y. 10011; 275 pp., $14.95 paper). This charming and valuable book is geared toward providing tools useful in guiding children toward imaginative and insightful poetry. Scattered through its pages are dozens of samples, many of them remarkable for their maturity and creativity.
Changing Our Minds: Negotiating English and Literacy, by Miles Myers (National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Ill. 61801-1096; 357 pp., $28.95 paper). Just as our new, technology-oriented society is constantly changing, the author of this book argues, so, too, must our definition of literacy. Contrary to public belief, he offers, America’s public schools have not failed to produce a literate society; rather, they have failed to produce a society literate by today’s rigorous standards.
Education Through Occupations in American High Schools: The Challenges of Implementing Curriculum Integration, ed. by W. Norton Grubb (Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, N.Y. 10027; 288 pp., $23.95 paper). Through an examination of the apparent disparity between subjects taught in the schools and the skills needed in adult life, this book argues for the integration of academic and vocational curricula.
The Foreign Language Classroom: Bridging Theory and Practice, ed. by Margaret Austin Haggstrom et al. (Garland Publishing Inc., 717 Fifth Ave., Suite 2500, New York, N.Y. 10022; 275 pp., $40 cloth). Written by teachers of foreign languages, the selections in this compilation outline and discuss varying theories of instruction and their practical applications in the classroom.
Educational Policy
Commissions, Reports, Reforms, and Educational Policy, ed. by Rick Ginsburg & David N. Plank (Greenwood Publishing Group Inc., P.O. Box 5007, Westport, Conn. 06881-5007; 280 pp., $59.95 cloth). In a collection of original essays, educators and policymakers weigh in on the effects of commissions on American education. The essays provide detailed analyses of some of the benchmark national reports of the modern reform era.
Welcome to Heights High: The Crippling Politics of Restructuring America’s Public Schools, by Diana Tittle (Ohio State University Press, 180 Pressey Hall, 1070 Carmack Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210; 348 pp., $18.95 paper). The author of this account writes from four years’ experience within a Cleveland high school, offering a firsthand look at the successes and failures of education reform in practice.
Handbooks and Reference
The Kindergarten Teacher’s Very Own Student Observation and Assessment Guide, by Judy Keshner (Modern Learning Press, P.O. Box 167, Rosemont, N.J. 08556; 103 pp., $17.95 paper). Designed for the new teacher, this guide provides an easy-to-follow structure for the evaluation of students. Included are charts and tables suitable for use in the classroom.
Peterson’s Sports Scholarships and College Athletic Programs, ed. by Ron Walker (Peterson’s, P.O. Box 2123, Princeton, N.J. 08543-2123; 859 pp., $24.95 paper). This exhaustive listing of varsity sports programs and scholarships includes information from 1,700 schools and is cross-referenced by state, sport, and conference division.
Peterson’s Summer Jobs for Students: Where the Jobs Are and How To Get Them, (Peterson’s, P.O. Box 2123, Princeton, N.J. 08543-2123; 358 pp., $13.95 paper). Over 20,000 seasonal positions are listed in this easily accessible guide, organized by state and indexed by type of employer and job description. Most of the openings covered are with overnight camps.
Your Reading: An Annotated Booklist for Middle School and Junior High, ed. by Barbara G. Samuels & G. Kylene Beers (National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 W. Kenyon Road, Urbana, Ill. 61801-1096; 381 pp., paper). This reference includes more than 1,200 titles for young adults published during 1993 and 1994. A wide range of categories are covered, ranging from science and nature to mysteries and current events.
Research and Monographs
The Essential Connection: Using Evaluation To Identify Programs Worth Replicating, by Kathryn Furano et al. (Replication and Program Strategies Inc., 1 Commerce Square, 2005 Market St., Suite 900, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103; 40 pp., $10 paper). This work, aimed at funders and policymakers, examines evaluative strategies designed to identify effective social programs that are good candidates for duplication in other areas.
Promising Practices: A Study of 10 School-to-Career Programs, by Hilary Kopp, et al. (Jobs For the Future, 1 Bowdoin Square, Boston, Mass., 02114; 172 pp., paper). This report provides a detailed look at the progress of the school-to-work movement in the United States through the experiences of 10 participating schools.
Vermont Interdependent Services Team Approach (vista): A Guide to Coordinating Educational Support Services, by Michael F. Giangreco (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., P.O. Box 10624, Baltimore, Md. 21285-0624; 158 pp., $26 spiral). Based on the vista approach to collaborative teamwork, this guidebook outlines the effective coordination of educational support services for students with disabilities.
Parents
Helping Your Child Succeed at School, by I. John Gasson (Warwick Publishing, 1424 Highland Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90027; 208 pp., $14.95 paper). In a question-and-answer format, this book addresses ways in which parents can become actively involved in providing a positive educational experience for their child.
Schooling, Welfare, and Parental Responsibility, by Michael G. Wyness (The Falmer Press, Taylor & Francis Inc., 1990 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, Pa. 19007; 164 pp., $24.95 paper). This book provides a detailed analysis of the complex roles of the parent and the teacher in education today. Through research and interviews, it explores the concept and definition of parental responsibility as understood by those on both sides of the classroom door.
Should I Go to the Teacher? Developing a Cooperative Relationship With Your Child’s School Community, by Susan M. Benjamin & Susan Sanchez (Heinemann, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, N.H. 03801-3912; 151 pp., $12 paper). The authors of this guide offer extensive advice on opening effective communication with teachers and administrators in a variety of situations.
Science and Technology
National Science Education Standards, ed. by the National Research Council (National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418; 262 pp., $19.95 paper). While what it means to be language literate is fairly clear-cut, the concept of scientific literacy is more complex. Science, it is here argued, is best learned through hands-on inquiry. The book offers baseline skills for each grade level and describes effective teaching techniques for achieving them.
Technology Education in the Classroom: Understanding the Designed World, by Senta A. Raizen et al. (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104; 249 pp., $32.95 cloth). The classroom scenarios presented throughout this book illustrate the ways in which students can receive direct experience in designing and building systems with applications in the physical world.
--David Field
