Reading Aloud: Picture Books

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By Leslie Grant, Graduate Assistant, McLure Education Library

Reading is one of the first things we learn in school and for good reason. Education in almost any subject relies on the ability to read. Strong readers are much more likely to succeeding in future academic endeavors, whether it be a standardized test or a college diploma. This might seem obvious, but for further proof, look at articles like “Reading Can Make You Smarter!” by Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich.

So how do we create good readers?

In his book, The Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease advocates (as you might have guessed from the title) for more time spent on read alouds. Reading out loud to children is one of the best ways to improve their reading and listening skills, as well as foster a love of books. Throughout the book, which I would highly recommend reading, Trelease discusses the importance of reading and reading aloud. Additionally, he shares tips and techniques for reading to kids of all ages. The last section includes his “treasury” of books well suited to reading aloud, including a brief description and age range.

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Here are a few suggestions of picture books good for reading aloud:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, Jr.; Illus. by Eric Carle (PZ8.3.M418 Br 1983bx)

Corduroy by Don Freeman (PZ7.F8747 Co 1990x)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (PZ7.S47 Wh)

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathan London; Illus. by Frank Remkiewicz (PZ7.L8432 Fro 1995x)

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff; Illus. by Felicia Bond (PZ7.N964 If 1989x)

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst; Illus. by Ray Cruz (PZ7.V816 Al 1984)

Miss Nelson is Missing! by Harry Allard and James Marshall (PZ7.A413 Mi)

If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss (PZ8.G276 If)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett; Illus. by Ron Barrett (PZ7.B2752 C)

These are just a few of my personal favorites, all of which are available here in the Education School Library downstairs. And don’t forget to browse through the oversized books, which are great for sharing with classes!

Books to Movies: Spring 2014

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By Leslie Grant, Graduate Assistant, McLure Education Library

We’ve reached that hectic part of the semester where every professor is trying to cram in one last paper or test (or both!) before spring break. Once you’ve turned in the paper and aced the midterm, reward yourself. Identify your junk food of choice and watch that movie you’re dying to see.

There are several new movies based on books coming out in theatres and on DVD. If you’re a book loyalist, you’ll want to read these first. Maybe you loved the movie and have been inspired to read the original. Or you can’t wait for the sequel to find out what happens next. Either way, you’re in luck. Here are a few we have at the library.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

On DVD: March 11

At the library: PZ7.Z837 Boo 2006

The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl living in Germany during World War II, and her relationship with her new foster home and the written word. This deeply touching work of historical fiction deserves a read for numerous reasons, including Zusak’s hauntingly beautiful prose and masterful storytelling, along with the many intricacies lost in its translation to film.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

On DVD: March 7

At the library: PZ7.C6837 Cat 2009

The second book in Collins’ bestselling Hunger Games trilogy, Catching Fire has Katniss Everdeen at odds with the Capital again during the 75th Annual Hunger Games. The movie is worth a watch if you’re a fan of action, dystopia, or Jennifer Lawrence. Brush up on your knowledge with a re-read in preparation for the release of Mockingjay. Part one comes to cinemas this November.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

In theatres: March 21

At the library: PZ7.R7375 Di 2011

If you’re looking for the next big series, look no further. Divergent capitalizes on the dystopian trend with the story of Tris Prior, who lives in a futuristic version of Chicago where people are divided into “factions” based on their defining characteristic. Tris must decide between a life of selflessness with her family or embracing her inner bravery by starting a new life, and she finds out what happens to people who believe they can do both. Roth’s stunning conclusion to the trilogy, Allegiant, was released last fall, so fans of the books eagerly await as it comes to the big screen later this month.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

On DVD: April 8 (Part 2)

In theatres: Dec 17 (Part 3)

At the library: PZ8.1.T576 Ho

For fantasy enthusiasts, a read through of Tolkien’s work is always in order. This Lord of the Rings prequel is a perfect choice with the release of parts two and three of The Hobbit this year, on DVD and in theatres, respectively. And if The Hobbit is too easy, you can always check out The Silmarillion as well for even more knowledge about the Tolkien universe.

Good luck with your assignments, and don’t forget to borrow one of these books while you’re in the library studying!

Love Is In The Air – Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a book about Love

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valentine-heart

 

Books About Love: Valentine’s Day Recommendations

Blogpost by Leslie Grant, Graduate Assistant, McLure Education Library

 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

With February 14 rapidly approaching, love seems to be on everyone’s mind. You can’t walk through the grocery store or turn on the TV without being assaulted by red and pink hearts. If books are your one true love, then consider checking out some of these books from the library.

eleanor & park

Eleanor & Park

PZ7.R79613 Ele 2013

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

Rainbow Rowell’s honest story about two outsiders trying to survive high school in the eighties has taken the world of Young Adult fiction by storm. This story epitomizes the power and importance of young love. A 2014 Printz Honor book, Eleanor & Park would be a good Valentine’s read for fans of teen romance and good music.

  fault in our stars

The Fault in Our Stars

PZ7.G8233 Fau 2012

“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”

In this book, John Green tells the story of two teens who meet in a support group for cancer survivors. Green has quite a following, and you’ll know why after reading this witty and heartbreaking book. Plus, The Fault in Our Stars comes to the big screen this June, so why not read the book first? But don’t forget to bring tissues!

twilight

Twilight

PZ7.M57188 Tw 2005

“About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him-and I didn’t know how potent that part might be-that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

While Twilight receives a lot of criticism, don’t discount its popularity. The now ubiquitous love story of Bella Swan and teen vampire Edward Cullen is a perfect guilty pleasure for this holiday. To be read while eating an entire box of chocolates by yourself.

 on and only ivan

One and Only Ivan

PZ7.A6483 On 2012

“Right now I would give all the yogurt raisins in all the world for a heart made of ice.”

If friendship is more your style, then check out Katherine Applegate’s One and Only Ivan, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal. Ivan, a gorilla on display at the mall, must learn to care for his fellow animals in order to find a way to spare their newest addition, a baby elephant, from sharing the same sad existence. Inspired by the real life story of a gorilla who lived in a mall in Tacoma, Washington for 27 years.

 

All of these books are available at the McLure Education Library, so come by to find your perfect match. Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

valentine-heart

 

eBooks

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Compiled by Helga Vissscher, head McLure Education Library

 

Electronic Books come from many resources.  Most people regard the e-Book as an electronic copy of the traditional book published in paper.  Other items that populate the e-Book collection include published reports by research organizations and government entities.  Some ERIC Documents in microfiche are e-books; some reside in other databases, such as Lexis-Nexis, and Gale Virtual Reference Library. The largest general e-book resource is the database  ebrary: Academic Complete    Other agencies provide their books and reports within such agencies as the National Bureau of Economic Research.  Items from databases such as Dissertations and Theses  also show up as e-Books. 

E-books are easily divided by chapters, and can be downloaded as a complete book, or selected parts. This makes them ideal for linking to RESERVES for courses.  Please let the McLure Education Library staff know if you plan to do this, so additional access can be acquired. Most e-books allow for one user at a time.

Ebooks allow you to open the item at your computer for immediate viewing. Like e-journals, e-books are produced by a variety of publishers and vendors, so the platforms vary; they can be searched and accessed alongside the print books in SCOUT, then set the Source Type to ebooks. They can also be searched on the E-Resources search page, the same location where you search for electronic journals. Databases such as Gale Virtual Reference Library, Oxford Reference Online and Springer Link also offer books in electronic format.

12-minute video on how to use ebrary

2-page Quick Guide on how to use ebrary 

Here are some titles relating to Education Research for your perusal, which come from a variety of resources:

Education: Meeting America’s Needs? Gale Virtual Reference Library (database)   

Education: Meeting America's Needs?

Education: Meeting America’s Needs?

 

 

http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/fdlp930/readingfirst-final.pdf 

 

Higher Education in the 21st Century

Higher Education in the 21st Century

Higher Education in the 21st Century, NBER   

 

 

 

http://www.crcnetbase.com/ISBN/978-0-415-48000-0

 

 

Online Learning and Teaching inthe 21st Century

Online Learning and Teaching inthe 21st Century

Online Learning and Teaching in Higher Education  e-brary

 

 

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/alabama/docDetail.action?docID=10197006

 

Learning in Communities

Learning in Communities

Learning in communities.  Springer 

 

 

 

 

http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-84800-332-3/page/1

 

 Reading First implementation evaluation. U.S. Dept. of Education .  online Gov. Doc. ED 1.2:R 22/14 

Reading: first implementation Evaluation

Reading: first implementation Evaluation

http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/fdlp930/readingfirst-final.pdf 

 

 

 

 

50th Anniversaries: Children’s Literature Classics

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50th Anniversaries

Wrinkle in Time: By Madeleine L’Engle

Wolves of Willoughby Chase: By Joan Aiken

To Kill A Mockingbird: By Harper Lee

Blogpost by Benita Strnad, Curriculum Materials Librarian,  McLure Education Library

 

The book world celebrated the Golden Anniversaries of three very important works of Young Adult Literature in 2012.  In February the publishing firm of Farrar Straus & Giroux threw a big 50th birthday party for “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle.  This fall Doubleday celebrated the publication of “The Wolves of Willoughby Chase” by Joan Aiken.  Here in Alabama the 50th anniversary of the coming out of “To Kill a Mockingbird” passed without much fanfare.  All three of these books were landmark publications and brought fame, if not fortune, to their authors, and hours of pleasure to millions of readers over the years.  Each of them was iconic in their own way.  If you are looking for books to give to children and young adults in your lives in the next few weeks consider giving one of these three books. 

 

PZ7 .L5385 Wr 1962 Education School Library – Newbery

“A Wrinkle in Time” was a book that couldn’t find a publisher because it was so different.  L’Engle was studying, what was then, the revolutionary field of quantum physics while she was taking a ten week camping trip across the U. S. with her family in 1959.  She states that she saw landscapes that were totally alien to her and combined with the material she was reading she began to imagine a who new world.  The genre of science fiction was only in its infancy when L’Engle completed the book and started sending it to publishers.  They weren’t sure how this genre was going to be accepted by the public and so were leery of the manuscript when it arrived on their desks for several reasons.  It featured a female protagonist in an area that in the early 60’s was considered a male profession, it dealt with sophisticated scientific concepts that weren’t yet widely known, it dealt with evil in a very real way, which was not part of children’s literature, making it difficult for publishers to decide if it was a book for children or adults.   As a result, the book was rejected by 26 publishers before Farrar Straus & Giroux accepted it.  The year it was published it was awarded the Newbery award from the American Library Association, an edgy and somewhat radical departure from more mainstream titles that had won past awards.  The novel has stood the test of time and is still widely read and has been in continuous print since its publication.  Eventually, L’Engle published four other books about the Murry family that are known as the Time Quintet.

 

PZ7. A2695 Wo2 Education School Library Book

“Wolves of Willoughby Chase” was first published in Great Britian in 1963 and subsequently in the U. S.  The author, Joan Aiken, was the daughter of famed American poet Conrad Aiken, and was born and raised in Great Britain.  Like “Wrinkle in Time” this was book that had a hard time finding a publisher.  It defies genre categorization and sometimes is classed as supernatural fiction, alternative fiction, and fantasy fiction.  When it was published it was one of the first works for children that featured alternative history and geography.  Ultimately the book was the first in a series of 12 books that have come to be known as the “Wolves Chronicles.”  These books vary in length from 150 pages to 250 pages and fit into that nitch of readers in grades 4 through 6 or 7, who are past introductory chapter books and yet might not want to read a novel of greater length than 250 pages.  With time the “Wolves of Willoughby Chase” sort of faded from the view of teachers, parents, librarians, and readers, but with the renewed interest in fantasy and series books for children the book is back in the limelight.

 

PS 3562 .E353 T6 Hoole Special Collections and Gorgas

2012 is the Fiftieth anniversary of the film version of the book.  The movie is readily available in Netflix if you want to watch the film, but it might be a good idea to revisit the novel during this anniversary year.   Alabamians are mostly aware of Harper Lee’s masterpiece of a civil rights novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” as it has certainly become one of the pillars of American literature and its place as a classic is assured.  The myth and legend of the book has only been enhanced by the reclusive nature of the author and the fact that no other book by her has ever been published leaving her with a perfect record in the bestseller category.  Lee was well connected in the New York publishing literati of the era and so unlike the previous mentioned titles, she did not have much of a problem finding a publisher for her book.  After it was published it was well received by the critics and became an immediate bestseller.  It also won the Pulitzer Prize in the same year.  Unlike the other two titles this one was not a children’s novel.  It was published, and remains, an adult novel.  However, it is now required reading in many high schools and so has found a place in young adult literature.

 

All three of these novels, once published, were successful titles, winning an immediate following and with the passing of time each of these titles has become an accepted classic in children’s and young adult literature.  With the cooling temperatures outside, it is a good time to read, or in some cases reread, these 50th Anniversary titles.  All of them can be found in McLure Library and in Gorgas Library.  There are also copies at the Tuscaloosa Public Library.  They can be purchased at either Books-A-Million or Barnes & Noble.  (They would make great stocking stuffers!)

 

 

The Olympic Games

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The London Olympics begin July 27th.  There are many ways to look at the Olympic movement as a media, social and cultural phenomenon, as well as the largest world-wide athletic event.  Most books about an olympiad are written after it takes place.  At the McLure Education Library, we offer some reading to prepare you for watching the 2012 Olympics.

Helga Visscher, McLure Education Library

 

 

A Century of Olympic Posters

A Century of Olympic Posters

A century of Olympic posters, Margaret Timmers.

London : V&A, 2008

GV721.75 .T55 2008 Education Library  (book stacks)

Published in the run-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and amid the increasing hype of London 2012, this book displays the evolving iconography of the modern Olympics, from the 1900 Paris Games to the present day.

 

 

 Swifter, higher, stronger: a photographic history of the Summer Olympics,  by Sue Macy ; foreword by Bob Costas. Washington, D.C. : National Geographic, c2008.

Macy, a seasoned writer of sports history for children, opens with background on the games, then turns to broader themes, such as controversies and sportsmanship. Though her approach isn’t strictly chronological, one comes away with a strong sense of how defining Olympian moments can provide a springboard to world history. Macy concludes with almanac-like features, a general note on her research methods, and titles for further reading.

GV721.5 .M25 2008  Education School Library

 

 

 

 Berlin Games : how the Nazis stole the Olympic dream , Guy Walters.

New York : William Morrow, c2006

GV722 1936 .W35 2006  Education Library (book stacks)

In 1936, the Nazis hosted both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games in Germany. The Nazis used the politics of the Olympic Games to glorify the new Germany. Walters depicts how the Nazis hid the discrimination of the Jews, the political oppression of its opponents, the economic misery, and the military domination to give the world a false picture of the new Germany. Walters summarizes the complete details of these Olympics with all the world politics thrown in.

 

 

 Beyond the final score : the politics of sport in Asia,  Victor D. Cha

New York : Columbia University Press, c2009

GV649 .C43 2009  Education Library (book stacks)

Beyond the Final Score takes an original look at the 2008 Beijing games within the context of the politics of sport in Asia. Asian athletics are bound up with notions of national identity and nationalism.  For China, the Beijing Games introduced a liberalizing ethos that its authoritative regime could ignore only at its peril.

 

 

 

 Olympic dreams: China and sports, 1895-2008, Guogi Xu

This book is available full-text in ebrary Academic Complete. On Campus or Off Campus Access, CLICK HERE.

Drawing on newly available archival sources to analyze a hundred-year perspective on sports in China, Olympic Dreams explores why the country became obsessed with Western sports at the turn of the twentieth century, and how it relates to China’s search for a national and international identity.

 

 

Olympic media : inside the biggest show on television,  Andrew C. Billings.

London; New York : Routledge, 2008.

GV742.3 .B55 2008  Education Library (book stacks)

What Billings has accomplished in his examination of NBCs telecast of the Olympics is remarkable. He offers in-depth observations and analyses of the telecast by focusing on organizational processes, production influences, and viewer perceptions of this cultural (and often political) mega-event.

 

 

 

Watching  the Olympics:  politics, power and representation.  Edited by John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson.

London; New York: Routledge, 2012.

GV721.5 .W33 2012      (book stacks)

With particular focus on the London Games in 2012, the book casts a critical eye over the bidding process, Olympic finance, promises of legacy and development, and the consequences of hosting the Games for the civil rights and liberties of those living in their shadow.

Books on Bullying

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Books on Bullying

 

On April 15, 2012, the Tuscaloosa News informed its readers that the Tuscaloosa City School System has extended its efforts to prevent bullying.  In 2010 the system had already expanded its jurisdiction over students to any location off school property involving interference in a student’s educational opportunities.  Now, the system is taking further measures against bullying once again.  The director of student services for the Tuscaloosa City Schools has created a 35-40 member task force to address bullying consistently and systematically.  The anti-bullying task force will develop a system where bullying is treated the same at every school in the system with regard to disciplinary measures and how teachers and administrators should respond to such instances.

To further awareness of this topic, the McLure Education Library has created a bullying booklist focusing on how to prevent bullying in schools, including two books which focus on cyberbullying.

 

Banishing Bullying Behavior : Transforming the Culture of Pain, Rage, and Revenge

Authors: SuEllen Fried and Blanche Sosland

Publication Information: Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Education, c2009.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.3 .F748 2009

Fried and Sosland bring their combined experiences together to present a blueprint to reduce the pain, rage and revenge cycle of bullying. Their strategies have been captured from hands-on interaction with educators, parents and students. Their premise comes from the apocryphal village that is being ravaged by dysentery. Do you treat each person for their intestinal disorders or do you put in a sewer system? Do you work with each individual student or do you change a culture that hosts cruelty. Can you do both? The core of the book is the Student Empowerment Session that has been crafted and refined over fifteen years. This carefully organized, powerful system of questions has effected dramatic changes in children’s insights about their behavior. The book also explores topics which include cyberbullying, children with disabilities, ‘mean girls,’ teachers who are bullies, parents who refuse to accept that their children are bullies, and academic vs. social emotional learning concerns to help readers change the culture and banish bully behavior.

-Publisher’s Description

 

Bullies, Targets & Witnesses: Helping Children Break the Pain Chain

Authors: SuEllen Fried and Paula Fried.

Publication Information: New York: M. Evans and Co., c2003.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.32 .F74 2003

In this timely and thought provoking book, the authors explore the effects of bullying on children and provide suggestions to end the cycle of child-to-child violence. Filled with personal stories from children and packed with practical ideas for parents, teachers and students.

-Publisher’s Description

 

Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying

Authors: Sameer Hinduja, Justin W. Patchin.

Publication Information: Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, c2009.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.3 .H566 2009

“An important contribution to the burgeoning literature on cyberbullying and a valuable tool for concerned adults that will enhance the safety and well-being of young people as they navigate their increasingly technological worlds. Backed by years of research and enhanced by the authors’ perspectives from the worlds of criminology, juvenile justice, and computer science, this book offers educators, families, and youth service providers an array of useful information, ranging from the social and legal context to concrete strategies for responding to cyberbullying.”

Review by Scott Hirschfeld, Director of Curriculum, Anti-Defamation League

 

Bullying in Schools: And What to Do About It

Authors: Ken Rigby

Publication Information: Melbourne, Victoria: ACER, 1996.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.3 .R53 1996x

Offering ways in which to tackle bullying within a school context, this study provides: strategies to identify both bullies and victims; ways to diffuse potentially troublesome situations; methods of dealing with bullies that are not punitive and damaging but can help make the abuser more aware of how the victim feels; and ways to enhance the self-esteem of the victims. The book is based on Professor Rigby’s research at the University of South Australia on the responses of over 20,000 students to bullying in their schools.

-Publisher’s Description

 

Bullying, Peer Harassment, and Victimization in the Schools: The Next Generation of Prevention

Authors: Maurice J. Elias, Joseph E. Zins, editors.

Publication Information: New York: Haworth Press, c2003.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.3 .B82 2003

The problem of bullying, peer harassment, and victimization is a serious one in our schools. It greatly affects the climate for learning and productivity and the emotional health of students and staff. This book presents empirical data and theoretical and legal case reviews to show how pervasive and serious these problems are and how they threaten both academic achievement and mental health within many of our schools. Taking a longitudinal and developmental perspective, the authors begin to outline the next generation of research in this field that will shape knowledge and practice for the next few decades. For practitioners, the book is a call to action, particularly at the school-wide level, focusing on reducing the substantial social/emotional harm done to perpetrators, bystanders, and especially, victims.

-From the Editors

 

Bullying, Victimization, and Peer Harassment: A Handbook of Prevention and Intervention

Authors: Joseph E. Zins, Maurice J. Elias, Charles A. Maher, editors.

Publication Information: New York: Haworth Press, c2007.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: LB3013.3 .B83 2007

Teasing, shunning, and bullying can have serious detrimental effects on both victim and perpetrator. Bullying, Victimization, and Peer Harassment: A Handbook of Prevention and Intervention comprehensively gathers emerging research, theory, and effective practice on this subject into one invaluable source. This thorough review of a wide spectrum of innovative, evidence-based practices targets the complex problems of victimization, peer harassment, and bullying in our schools. Interventions range from individuals and their peers to broad, systems-level change within schools and communities. The challenge of prevention is also explored, using the latest studies as a practical foundation. Suggestions are provided detailing effective strategies to make changes in the culture within schools while offering directions for future research and practice.

-Publisher’s Description

 

Cyber Bullying : Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies

Authors: Samuel C. McQuade III, James P. Colt, Nancy B.B. Meyer.

Publication Information: Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2009.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: HV6773 .M395 2009

Because just about anyone can be the victim of cyber bullying, and because it often goes unreported, there are precious few resources available to victims, parents, teachers, and others interested in combating this new form of bullying. This book provides, however, a thoroughly developed, well-researched analysis of cyber bullying – what it is, how it is carried out, who is affected, and what can and should be done to prevent and control its occurrence in society. The book captures the sensational, technological, and horrific aspects of cyber bullying while balancing these with discussion from perspectives about social computing, various academic disciplines, possibilities for public policy and legislation formulation, education, and crime prevention strategies. Using case examples throughout, readers will come away with a new sense of indignation for the victims and a better understanding of the growing problem and how to combat it.

-Publisher’s Description

 

Preventing and Treating Bullying and Victimization

Authors: Eric M. Vernberg and Bridget K. Biggs, editors.

Publication Information: New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Location: Education Library

Call Number: BF637 .B85 P74 2010

Research evidence on bully-victim problems has accumulated rapidly in recent years. From this, there is little doubt that prolonged involvement in bullying, as a perpetrator, victim, or, not uncommonly, as both a perpetrator and target of bullying, conveys risk for many aspects of development. As in many emerging areas of psychological science, diverse research efforts evolved more or less independently, producing a very large and rich body of knowledge, but making it difficult to gain a comprehensive, integrated view of the overall evidence base. Preventing and Treating Bullying and Victimization looks across the sometimes disparate perspectives from school, clinical, and developmental researchers and professionals with an eye towards describing and integrating current knowledge into a guide for evidence-based practices and further research. The authors offer new directions for understanding this complex problem and for enhancing intervention approaches.

-Publisher’s Description

Recent Additions to the McLure Library Collection, March 2012

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 These titles are some recent additions to the McLure Library.  Rebecca Tischler, SLIS Graduate Assistant has written these reviews.  These books will be on the New Book shelf in the Current Periodicals Room, and then will go to the regular book stacks at the end of March.

Through the Schoolhouse Door

Through the Schoolhouse Door, Paddy Bowman and Lynne Hamer, editors. Utah State University Press, 2011. Education Library: LB1583.8 .T47 2011

Classrooms can be some of the most diverse places in the United Sates with so many cultures and ethnicities that are thrown together.  For years, folklorists and educators have been trying to sustain learning beyond the school classrooms as well as better connect the students to their communities by expanding the curriculum through engagement with local knowledge and informal cultural arts.  This volume offers a collection of experiences from school programs and the analysis of an expert group of folklorists and educators sharing ideas and experiences on how to make this happen.  A must read for any future teacher or educator.

 

 

Enhancing Learning Through college Employment

Enhancing Student Learning through College Employment, Brett Perozzi, editor. Association of College Unions International, 2009. Education Library: LB3611 .E54 2009

College degrees are more important than ever, but unfortunately, they are also more expensive than ever.  More and more students have found that they need to have a job in order to go to college.  Most critics believe that this detracts from the college learning process, but this book provides examples of how working during college can enrich the undergraduate experience.  A student’s job can become part of the learning experience if handled right.  For teachers, it also offers helpful tips on the assessment of student learning in both the design of the student employment experience and in the evaluation of its end results.

 

 

Cyberbullying Prevention and Rsponse

Cyberbullying Prevention and Response: Expert Perspectives, Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja. Routledge, 2012. Education Library: LB3013.3 .C94 2012

For those who find, or will find themselves dealing with children, this book is an important resource.  As the incidence and severity of cyberbullying has risen in the past few years, the experts gathered to try and figure out how to diffuse these types of situations.  This book is a collection of essays from experts around the country offering an explanation of the concept of cyberbullying as well as what can be meaningfully done about it.  This exploration of the critical issues surrounding cyberbullying is written in an accessible manner even though it is informed by research.

 

 

 

Professors Behaving Badly

Professors Behaving Badly: Faculty Misconduct in Graduate Education, John M. Braxton, Eve Proper, and Alan E. Bayer. The John Hopkins University Press, 2011. Education Library: LB1778 .B74 2011

For those who have had experience with a difficult faculty member (everyone), they’ll find this book imminently relatable.  This book discusses examples of faculty misconduct (Ch.1, which contains the anecdotal examples the authors gathered), and how to avoid them. Using data collected through faculty surveys, the authors describe behaviors associated with graduate teaching which are considered inappropriate and in violation of good teaching practices, as well as behavior norms that should be followed.

Misery Memoirs and Teachers, by Benita Strnad, Curriculum Materials Librarian

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Memoirs have become a hot genre in the last few years.  A recent article I read claimed that memoirs comprised the largest title list in the non-fiction area of publishing, and it is growing.  The reason:  people are reading them.

Celebrity memoirs have always been popular.  Recent memoirs written by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews were well written and reached Best Seller status.  Even “tell all” memoirs like My Booky Wook:  A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up by Russell Brand and My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands by comedian and celebrity host Chelsea Handler are extremely popular.  (Both of those books were best sellers and helped to make their authors famous.)  In this type of memoir the author seems to be out to attract buyers with the use of the outrageously suggestive title.

Memoirs are not autobiographies.  Memoirs are how the author remembers his or her life.  They don’t have to be fact checked or footnoted with supporting documents.  In a memoir the facts don’t matter except in how they fit into the memories that the author is recording.   Since memoirs aren’t fact checked they tend to be vague and disputable.  It is for this reason that I don’t usually read memoirs.

There is a sub class of memoirs that those in the book world call “misery memoirs”.  They never interested me because they seem to have been written by author’s who are having a contest to see who can write about the most miserable horrible life ever lived.  If the details of the life aren’t horrendous enough some authors have even gone so far as to make up details and get away with their lying because it is a memoir and not an autobiography.  (Remember the James Frey/Oprah Winfrey controversy?)  When a book starts out with “When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.” The reader knows what is coming is pure misery, and probably asks why they should spend time reading such a book?  It is with that irascible series of sentences that Frank McCourt begins the first of his three memoirs, Angela’s Ashes.

Two things happened that caused me to take a second look at McCourt and his books.  I had long had in my possession a recorded version of “Angela’s Ashes” on cassette tape.  (That should be some indication of how long I had that book in my possession and put off listening to it.)  Then I read a short article about late blooming literary figures and learned that the oldest person to receive a Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography was Frank McCourt.  He was 66 when Angela’s Ashes was published.  This piqued my interest and I began to wonder about the book and the author even though the first book was more than 15 years old when I read that article.  I remembered that the book had a big impact when it was published.  People talked about it and the author had been a guest on CSPANN2 programs more than once.  Finally, this summer, on one of my trips back to Kansas, an event for which I am inside a car for nineteen hours, I hauled that copy off my copious book shelves and listened to it.  To my surprise, I liked it.  I do admit that the author had a tendency to be melodramatic and crying about “poor, poor pitiful me and my family” far too much, which lead more than one critic to blame him for starting the epidemic of “misery memoirs.”  Given my prejudices were so inclined in the other direction, I soon found myself engulfed in McCourt’s world.  On that trip home I found myself anxious to get back in the car just so I could listen to more of the book.

The second event was a discussion I had with a graduate student who had returned to UA to learn to be a teacher and was enrolled in the “fifth year program” in the College of Education.  This group of students is required to participate in a book discussion group that meets once a month.  They read books about education and educational issues as well as biographies and memoirs.  He stated that he really enjoyed this discussion group and when I inquired about what had been his favorite book, he replied that he liked the teacher memoirs the best.  Maybe it was time for me to read one for myself?

The book works on several levels.  It is written in the voice of a child.  At first it consists of short choppy segments and as the author matures the length and quality of the writing improves.  Then there was the voice.  The recorded version was read by the author and I am sure that part of the charm of the book was found in that Irish brogue whose thickness was mitigated by fifty years of living in the U. S.   It leant a degree of freshness and authenticity to the book.  I was not the only person to like “Angela’s Ashes.”  It was so well received that it was a best seller and stayed on the New York Times list for almost two years, and in 1997 it won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Eventually McCourt wrote a series of three memoirs that chronicled his life.  I ended up reading, or listening to, all three of them.  They are tied together but each could be read alone.  The first was “Angela’s Ashes” published in 1996 and details his childhood in New York City where he was born in 1930 to Irish immigrant parents.  In 1936 the family moved back to Limerick, Ireland where he lived until 1949.  The second book is titled “’Tis: A Memoir” published in 2000, and tells about his life after his return and re-immigration to the land of his birth, the U. S. A.  In this book the reader learns about how McCourt came to be a teacher using the G.I. Bill and his wits.  Basically he talked his way into New York University where he earned his English degree and met the qualifications for a teaching certificate in New York State.  The third book is titled “Teacher Man” published in 2005 and recounts his career as a teacher.

In many ways I found “Teacher Man,” to be the most interesting of the three books.  It is not a memoir, but it is not pedagogy either.  It is about teaching – learning to teach, teaching, and what teaching meant to the author.  Teaching was who he was, and without it he was lessened.  For the author teaching was a noble profession and he stated so many times.  All he ever wanted to be was a teacher.  And a teacher he was.

McCourt taught in the New York City school system for 28 years and was named New York State Teacher of the Year and received the United Federation of Teachers John Dewey Award for Excellence in Education. All-in-all, it is quite a career for a man who never graduated from high school.  McCourt died in 2007 at the age of 78.

All three of the memoirs by Frank McCourt are in the UA libraries.  “Angela’s Ashes” and “Teacher Man” are at McLure Library and “’Tis” is at Gorgas Library.  All three of the books are also at Tuscaloosa Public Library and that library has “Angela’s Ashes” and “’Tis” in the recorded versions.  Both are read by the author and there is no doubt that his voice is an asset in the recorded versions.

Frank was not the only McCourt to write his memoirs.  All of his surviving brothers have written something and three out of the four of them have written a memoir.  That is lots of material coming from one family.  It is also interesting to note that for most of his life Frank was not the famous McCourt.  That was his brother Malachy.  Malachy was and still is a New York City celebrity, sometimes actor, and well known personality.  Malachy has also written two memoirs.  “A Monk Swimming” in 1998 and “Singing My Hymn Song” in 2000.  Both of these books are at Gorgas Library.

If you would like to check these books out just come to McLure library and get them or call 348-6055 let us put them on the hold shelf for you.  They should provide hours of pleasant reading and perhaps help those of us who are teachers to remember why we teach and how hard it was to get to be a good teacher.  It is interesting to note that McCourt never thought of himself as an outstanding teacher.  He said more than once that it took him five years in the classroom to learn the rudiments of teaching and that it took him the rest of his 30 year career to learn to teach.  Even at the end of his teaching career he was still learning and writing his memoirs was part of that learning.

Even though these books are founding blocks in the “misery memoirs” genre and the first one is now more than fifteen years old, they might be just the thing for the teacher who is wondering if teaching is worth it.  For a series of “misery memoirs” I found these books surprisingly uplifting.  Perhaps you will as well.

Frank McCourt, 2007