Making community service a rich learning experience for students is the goal of a new paperback book published by the nonprofit group American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities and targeted at teachers, volunteer coordinators, and service-corps leaders.
Journal Reflection: A Resource Guide for Community Service Leaders and Educators Engaged in Service Learning explains how to initiate and sustain thoughtful journal-keeping while encouraging youngsters to be active and creative citizens.
Written by Suzanne Goldsmith, whose last book was A City Year: On the Streets and in the Neighborhoods With 12 Community Service Volunteers, the aarr project includes chapters on writing activities, accommodating special needs, and sustaining reflection for long periods.
The 92-page volume costs $20, with bulk rates available. For information, write Journal Reflection, American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities, 1146 19th St. N.W., Suite 250, Washington, D.C. 20036-3703. Or call (202) 785-7844.
HarperCollins Publishers has announced that it will sell Scott, Foresman & Co., the nation’s sixth-largest publisher of elementary and high school textbooks.
HarperCollins, which is owned by the media magnate Rupert Murdoch, purchased Scott, Foresman from Time Warner Inc. six years ago. Last year, the textbook publisher posted sales just shy of $200 million.
The proposed sale, Publishers Weekly reported last month, is part of a “strategic realignment” that will allow HarperCollins to focus on its general books and religious publications.
Scott, Foresman maintains publishing programs in reading, science, mathematics, and social studies, as well as an extensive college-textbook division.
It is expected that revenue from the sale will be used to expand HarperCollins’ mainstream titles.
A Minnesota-based educational organization has launched a newsletter to provide educators and parents with advice on how to improve student behavior, from reducing bullying to discouraging gang membership.
Published five times a year, Helping Schools Improve Behavior includes reviews of resources and training work shops as well as features on successful discipline, drug-prevention, and conflict-resolution projects in schools across the nation.
Information is available by calling (612) 255-6999 or writing Behavior Resources, P.O. Box 5120, St. Cloud, Minn. 56302-5120.
--Megan Drennan
