Parents and student achievement

Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Amy Chua

New York: Penguin Press

Education Library:  HQ759 .C59 2011

The  adage, ‘Educate a man and you have a professional in the work force; educate a woman and you educate a family,’  has its proof in these books.

There has  has been a lot of media coverage about the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua over the weekend of January 15-17, 2011.  Book reviews, NPR, television news interviews have all described and interviewed Dr. Chua’s (a law professor at Yale) hard driving approach in instilling high performance for her two daughters, now ages 14 and 17.

I am presenting some of the academic books at McLure Education Library that relate to the topic of parents and student achievement.  These books are not all about privileged Ivy Leaguers.

 


Narrowing the Achievement Gap: Strategies for Educating Latino, Black, and Asian Students – 

Susan J. Paik, Herbert J. Walberg, editor; foreword by Edmund W. Gordon.

New York: Springer, 2007

Education Library  LC3731 .N27 2007

This book serves as a valuable professional tool by: Providing effective strategies from experienced scholars and professionals that can be used to improve academic achievement and well-being of minority students. Examining, collectively, three cultural groups in one concise, yet comprehensive book on themes related to diverse families, immigration issues, and teaching and learning. Conceptualizing opportunities and challenges in working with minority children in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind act, related state and local educational policies, and current social trends.

 

Understanding Minority Ethnic Achievement

Understanding Ethnic Minority Achievement: Race, Gender, Class and ‘Success.’

 

Louise Archer and Becky Francis.

London: Routledge  2007.

Education Library  LC3085.G7 A73 2007

This timely and authoritative book, written by British authors from a British point of view builds upon, and contributes to, ongoing debates about levels of achievement among minority ethnic pupils, working class pupils and more generally, the issue of boys’ underachievement.

 

Why Bright Kids get Poor Grades

Why bright kids get poor grades and what you can do about it : a six-step program for parents and teachers

 

Sylvia Rimm.

Scottsdale, AZ : Great Potential Press, c2008.

Education Library  LC4691 .R57 2008

Drawing on both clinical research and years of experience counseling families, Dr. Rimm has developed a ‘Trifocal Model’ to help parents and teachers work together to get students back on track. It is effective for a wide range of students, from preschool through college. This is more ‘how-to than scholarly, but draws on scholarly research and clinical experience.

 

 

Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay off Across the Generations?

Passing the torch : does higher education for the disadvantaged pay off across the generations?

 

Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin ; in collaboration with Thurston Domina and Tania Levey.

New York : Russell Sage Foundation, c2007.

Education Library  LC4069.6 .A87 2007

Not so much a how-to manual, but looks at the advantages of higher education to women and men, and subsequently their children. One chapter ‘How college changes a mother’s parenting and affects her children’s educational outcomes,’ is pertinent, as is the whole sociological profile of the book.

 

What Mothers Say About Special Education

What Mothers Say about Special Education: from the 1960’s to present.

Jan W. Valle.

New York:  Palgrave Macmillan

Education Library:    LC3981 .V24 2009

 

This book documents the experiences of 15 mothers whose children labeled learning disabled attended public schools during the last four decades. Despite the right of parents to participate in educational decision-making, these mothers describe the challenge of exercising that right. In candid and compelling narratives, mothers speak to the language of experts, conflicts in shared decision-making, devaluation of “mother knowledge,” and the influence of race, class, and gender. The constancy of issues suggests that this landmark legislation may, in fact, have engendered minimal changes in the lives of mothers and their children

What are the Youth Media Awards?

The Midwinter meeting of the American Library Association annually announces the winners of  outstanding books and media for children, sponsored by various committees of the section,  Association of Library Service for Children (ALSC).   This was formerly known as the announcement of the Newbery Medal, for ‘the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature’,  and Caldecott Medal winners for  the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the previous year.   The Awards Ceremony is now known as the Youth Media Awards, because of the addition of awards for other categories of book publishing and media.   The recent ALA meeting was in San Diego, CA, and the announcements made on January 11, 2011.

 

Briefly,  Moon over Manifest,” written by Clare Vanderpool, is the 2011 Newbery Medal winner. The book is published by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.   “A Sick Day for Amos McGee,” illustrated by Erin E. Stead, is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner. The book was written by Philip C. Stead, and is a Neal Porter Book, published by Roaring Brook Press, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing.  The UA Libraries does not have these books yet.  We do have the Newbery and Caldecott winning books in a special section of the Education School Library area in McLure.  For all the details, go to  http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/alayouthmediaawards.cfm 

 

School Improvement

Engaging the Disengaged: How Schools Can Help Struggling Students Succeed (Corwin Press) by Dr. Lois Brown Easton Dr. Easton directs the reader to the moral imperative of educating all students, specifically those students needing the most help. They are the “dis” kids: disinterested, disappointed, disenchanted, discredited, disenfranchised. This book describes practices and changes that educators have made to the culture of schools to better serve all learners, especially those who are disengaged. Easton’s book, Engaging the Disengaged, is an outstanding contribution with a potential to influence educational practices.

 

Engaging the disengaged : how schools can help struggling students succeed / Lois Brown Easton.  Thousand Oaks, CA : Corwin Press, c2008.   Education Library:  LB2822.82  .E27 2008

Summer Reading

Most of us have an indelible experience of the first school where we had our first professional position. Ask me  (Helga) about Chanhassen Elementary School in Chanhassen, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. The books I am introducing in this blog tell the stories of first year teachers’ experiences. All have humor in them, with a touch of sadness in some stories. Given the fact that these have been written over the past 10 years, political comments are rampant, but that’s part of the charm.

Here are a few ‘first year teacher’ experiences from the McLure Education Library’s main collection, compiled by Helga Visscher:

Educating Esme:Diary of a Teacher’s First Year. Esme Raji Codell. Algonquin books of Chapel Hill, 2001.  LB 2844.1 N4 C63 1999.

Esme Codell, Ms Esme, is a 24 year old in her first year of teaching at a new public school in Chicago. She meets the challenges of teaching troubled inner city children with the enthusiasm of youth. She learns to deal with other teachers who lack her energy and imagination, and motivate students in her off-the wall methods. She calls math class ‘puzzler time,’ and social studies ‘time travel and world exploring.’ The diary style of this book offers humorous and poignant scenes.

 

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Ms Moffett’s first year : becoming a teacher in America.  Abby Goodnough. New York: Public Affairs, 2004.  LC 5133.N4 G66 2004.

This book began as a series of articles in the New York TImes. Donna Moffet, a 45 year old legal secretary changed her career to teaching in a program seeking ‘talented professionals’ from other careers to teach in New York public schools. The author comments that “only the ‘pathologically idealistic’ had any desire to teach in these schools. The third person description of events is not as entertaining as a personal diary, but a lot of background information about the school, and Ms Moffett’s experiences improve the understanding of the teacher’s motivation.

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My Freshman year: what a professor learned by becoming a student. Rebekah Nathan. Cornell University Press. 2005.   LB3605 .N34 2005

Cathy Small, an anthropologist writing under the pen name of Rebekah Nathan goes undercover as an undergraduate student at Northern Arizona University. Her plan is to figure out why students choose to just get by with minimal work. She learns that students actually have a desire to be challenged. Good reading for teachers and students trying to cope with a large university.

 

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The great expectations school: a rookie year in the new blackboard jungle, a memoir. Dan Brown. Arcade Publishing, 2007.  LB2844.1 N4 B775 2007.

Dan Brown describes his experiences with humor, and haunting descriptions of tragic situations. Part of the book is a tirade agaisnt the system, and part of it is a story of his personal growth and gaining maturity to deal with the unfairness of life’s situations. His experiences at P.S. 85 in the Bronx, New York City, where in his first year experience has a 4th grade classroom that is the school’s informal dumping ground.

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Relentless pursuit: a year in the trenches with Teach for America. Donna Foote. Alfred A. Knopf. 2008. LC 5133 .L67 F66 2008

Another journalist describes the Teach for America Program in the poor districts of Los Angeles.  Foote’s comment,’Teaching in a low-income school right out of college is a shock to the system,’ is true for all young teachers, not just those in the TFA program. The four idealistic teachers chronicled in this book offer a look at classroom experiences in LA.

Hello world!

Welcome to University Libraries – Public Blogs.

Welcome to the McLure Education Library Blog!  The librarians at the Education Library enjoy reading for pleasure. This blog serves as an ad hoc review site for books, and articles we’ve enjoyed. Most people don’t realize that in addition to thousands of research tomes and professional articles online and in print, the Education Library has a lot of material written on a popular level. These items relate to education, sports, and American culture. Some have been on the best-seller lists.  Here are the first two of   many books that interest me.  We’ll also use this blog to share articles of interest, or  web site or technology topics of interest to educators.  Enjoy reading, and share what you’ve read for pleasure.

From Helga Visscher:

 

51iQXUWYI6L__SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA115_I really enjoyed two books by Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea   LC 2330 .M67 2006

The inspiring story of a young  mountain climber, who promises to return and build a school, after an Afghani saves his life after a climbing accident.   Greg’s one-man attempt to improve schooling takes off when he learns to work with local people, after ‘three cups of tea,’   when people become friends. 

 

 

51M38VyUJ2L__SL500_AA300_Stones into SchoolsLC 2330 .M66 2009

This story continues the adventure of  Tea, where Greg has become more of an authority on schools, building, and has more resources behind him.  I found it less interesting, because he was not breaking new ground with the project.  His strong will and fortitude in accomplishing the building of new schools is an inspiration for all who can get blasé about the needs and purposes of education.