Book Review Mondays

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

Real Life: Preparing for the 7 Most Challenging Days of Your Life
by Phil McGraw

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

McGraw’s goal is, "to do two things: one, believe in yourself enough to know that these days might make you bend but not break...; and two, provide certain specific skill sets and mental and emotional strategies to make the most of our God-given gifts, traits, and characteristics." He could have subtitled the book, “coping skills for maintaining emotional balance.” The 7 most challenging days include: 1) the days between the peaks and the valleys, 2) the day your heart is shattered, 3) the day you realize you have lived your life as a sellout, 4) the day you realize you are in way over your head, 5) the day the body breaks down, 6) the day the mind breaks down, and 7) the day addiction takes over. Each section is totally independent of the others; thus, readers can select and choose those areas of the book most relevant to their lives. Each section of the book, too, contains exercises to identify your life status along with strategies to prepare for and/or deal with the seven great crises of life. As in all of his books, McGraw’s writing style is warm, comforting, and conversational. His stories are both interesting and captivating, and although many of his coping strategies are commonsense — if we would just sit down and think rationally about our problems or situations — they are helpful prompts and reminders. His writing is upbeat and encouraging as when he says, “But despite challenges like these, I’m optimistic. I believe that we can face mental illness and succeed in getting better” (p. 214). There are many people who can benefit from his style, approach, and suggestions.

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
by Steve Lopez

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Steve Lopez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote a series of stories about a homeless man in his mid 50s, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, whom he heard playing a violin with only two strings on a street corner In Los Angeles. This book chronicles the relationship between Lopez and Ayers through complexities, challenges, and rewards. It turned out that Ayers possessed orchestra-level talent on several stringed instruments and had actually trained at the Julliard School of Music in New York City. Ayers’ future career as a musician was destroyed by a psychotic breakdown in the early 1970s possibly prompted by the intensely competitive atmosphere of Julliard, the fact that he was a black student on a nearly all-white campus, and the onset of mental illness (later diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia). Ayers wound up in Los Angeles where he discovered the statue of Beethoven (his musical hero), and he began serenading passers-by on his two-stringed violin. Well, hearing classical music being played by a homeless man, Lopez thought he could generate a couple of stories from this experience, and his stories evolved into this excellent book. Lopez befriends Ayers and gives him assistance, time, money, as well as access to resources. You must remember as you read the book that Lopez is a journalist, because the book reads like a series of newspaper articles — well-written, engaging, and easy-to-comprehend, and the book sheds light on mental illness, social work, the plight of the poor and the lack of government support, as well as friendship and the human spirit. The movie, starring Robert Downy Jr. (as Steve Lopez), Jamie Fox (as Nathaniel Ayers) was directed by Joe Wright and released November, 2008. This memoir is a masterpiece for the way Lopez focuses on the perils of living of the streets, the difficulty in achieving recovery, and the disorientation that schizophrenia causes. On a more macro level, you begin to understand how music can shape our understanding of our environment, how we can grow internally when we openly face new circumstances, and how our priorities change as we age and mature. Anyone concerned about the plight of the homeless, working in mental health or human services will find this book worthwhile. Everyone else, too, will find it compelling, heartwarming, uplifting, and thought-provoking. I recommend it with no hesitation or reservation, and suggest that it will make a great gift as well.

-----

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.

Weekend Words

"As a rhetorician, I loved only words: I would raise up cathedrals of words beneath the blue gaze of the word sky. I would build for thousands of years." ---Jean-Paul Sartre

There are three ways all educators can teach “the spark”

by Richard L. Weaver II

I spent my entire 30-year professional career teaching and writing about “the spark.” By “the spark,” I am referring to the way educators have for engaging, exciting, and involving students in the process of learning. Although I had a few educators who taught “the spark” during my own educational career, none ever compared with the efforts I made. This may sound like bragging; however, it is simply a factual statement that I want to support in this essay.

There are three ways all educators have for teaching “the spark.” The first and most obvious way is for teachers to reveal enthusiasm and vitality in their own teaching. The second way is to use teaching techniques (including the use of activities and exercises) that involve students in the process. The third, and final, way is to adopt textbooks or use readings that appeal directly to students’ wants, needs, and interests.

Revealing enthusiasm and vitality is essential if teachers are to engage students. I ran a brief, informal study in a course that enrolled just over 300 students. I asked students an either/or question. Given a choice, would you rather have a teacher who knew his or her subject very well, but had a rather dull teaching style, or would you rather have a teacher who did not know his or her subject very well, but taught the material using a highly animated, dynamic teaching style? There was no contest. Students would rather have teachers who are animated and dynamic — enthusiasm and energy was the overwhelming winner.

As a caveat to what I discovered in my informal study above, it is important to note that often students cannot tell the difference between those teachers who know their subjects well and those who do not. Most students would likely prefer an energetic teaching style whatever the content and would probably claim teachers who demonstrate enthusiasm in the classroom know their material very well.

This informal study reveals two things. First, the delivery of ideas (for students) often is more important in conveying ideas, than the ideas themselves. Second, if teachers want to be considered competent (by students) in the classroom, the best and most effective way to influence them is likely to be connecting directly with them in a passionate and earnest manner.

What are delivery elements that convey passion and enthusiasm? Variety is the key. Teachers’ voices must never be dull and monotonous, rather they should be interesting, compelling, and full of life. Facial expressions must accompany interesting voices by revealing teachers’ feelings and emotions. A flat, expressionless voice, accompanied by an inexpressive, blank (vacant), or wooden face will surely have negative effects on students just as ineffective gestures and a lack of body movement.

On a college level there must be a difference between the heavy, academic researcher and those individuals who have chosen specifically to teach at the undergraduate level, and there must be ways for colleges and universities to award good teachers in a way that is fair and equitable when compared with rewards given to those who engage primarily in academic research.

A second important way teachers have for teaching “the spark” is to include significant, interesting, and relevant exercises and activities into their classrooms. I have published many articles that specifically address this issue. Some of the titles include: “Entertainment in the Classroom: Captivating Students Without Sacrificing Standards,” “Peer Evaluation,” “Role Playing,” “Mental Aerobics: Directed Discussion,” “Imaging As An Aid in Understanding,” “The Interactive Lecture,” “The Small Group in Large Classes,” “The Creative-Innovative-In-Depth-Dyadic-Encounter,” “Day One/The Wasted Day,” “Student-Centered Teaching,” “The Use of Exercises and Games,” “A Discussion-Oriented Examination Technique,” and “Introductory Group Exercises for Public Speaking.”

One of the most successful techniques I used everyday in my interpersonal-communication lecture course, with over 300 students per semester, I called “the half-sheet response.” I used it to get feedback from my students, to take attendance, to give quizzes, to take surveys, and to obtain relevant and interesting jokes and stories. These daily responses kept me, as the lecturer, in close touch with my students. They were engaging, interesting, relevant, and fun, and students looked forward to my connection with them, but not only that, they looked forward to my use of their comments as I adapted and adjusted to their insights and observations.

Anytime teachers can incorporate relevant and important activities and exercises into their curriculum they should seriously consider doing so. This may include field trips, excursions away from brick-and-mortar structures, and different formats for conveying information. Why? To help hold student attention. To offer variety and interest. To more directly engage them in the learning process. And, perhaps most important, to teach a valuable lesson, point, or idea in a unique and memorable manner.

The third way teachers have for teaching “the spark” is to adopt textbooks or other reading material that clearly and specifically appeal to students. In my over thirty textbooks (including all editions), and in over thirty years of writing them, one of my consistent and unchanging approaches is to make certain that readers will enjoy reading what I write. If they do not, there is little purpose in my writing and, what’s more, in having my colleagues adopt them. Looking back over the textbooks I was assigned to read throughout my educational career, I can remember only one of them (the one I used in my basic public-speaking course!), and not one of the textbooks I used throughout my entire career (19 years) could be considered memorable because of its readability, appealing examples, or valuable ancillary material.

My current textbook has not been successful just because of clear objectives, useful self-assessment tools, “Consider This,”“Another Point of View,” and “Working Together” boxes, “Strategic Flexibility” challenges, “Reality Checks,” and interesting pictures and vivid diagrams. It has been successful because the numerous examples relate to readers and it is extraordinarily readable.

There should be little doubt about how to teach “the spark.” Educators who want to supply the fuel that lights the spark of learning must reveal enthusiasm, make their curriculum engaging through relevant exercises and activities, and adopt reading material that is tied — in a wide variety of ways — to the wants, needs, and interests of those assigned to read it.

-----

In the essay, “Top Ten Ways to Involve Students in Decision Making,” the suggestions are specific and practical.

At InsideHigherEd, Elia Powers’ essay is called “Involved Parents, Satisfied Students” and one finding reported from the studies cited is: “The survey also found that students receive both academic and personal benefits from taking part in what it calls 'high impact' activities that require close interaction with their peers, faculty and other professionals. These include study abroad, internships or field placement, capstone projects, first-year seminars, learning communities and undergraduate research with faculty.”

-----

Copyright August, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

SMOERs: Words of Wisdom

Successful people are successful because they form the habits of doing those things that failures don’t like to do. —Albert Gray

Day #73 - Be cautious of the habits you form.

SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 10-Day sample: smoers.com

And Then Some News

Thursday’s essay is the second of three on “Teaching the Spark.” All three of these essays provide specific ways parents or teachers have for getting their children/students involved in education to such a degree that they begin to take responsibility for (become inherently interested in) their own learning. This essay focuses specifically on teachers, and it is entitled, “There are three ways all educators can teach ‘the spark.’”

Share your link. Have you written anything on teaching “the spark”? Are you a teacher who has accomplished this? Do you know another teacher who has? Can you share some insights about any of your own (or their) experiences with students? What would you like to tell people who want to get students involved in their own education? Any personal information you would like to share with them? Share your link with us. We’ll post it and move traffic in your direction. And, a big “thank you,” in advance, from AndThenSomeWorks.com, for sharing your link.

Click here to LINK your And Then Some story

Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
There are three ways all educators can teach “the spark”
by Richard L. Weaver II

Excerpt:

Revealing enthusiasm and vitality is essential if teachers are to engage students. I ran a brief, informal study in a course that enrolled just over 300 students. I asked students an either/or question. Given a choice, would you rather have a teacher who knew his or her subject very well, but had a rather dull teaching style, or would you rather have a teacher who did not know his or her subject very well, but taught the material using a highly animated, dynamic teaching style? There was no contest. Students would rather have teachers who are animated and dynamic — enthusiasm and energy was the overwhelming winner.

---

And Then Some Works - see you Thursday!!

Book Review Mondays

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

Appetite for Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash of the Record Industry in the Digital Age
by Steve Knopper

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Knopper, a reporter for Rolling Stone, has written a 301-page chronicle of the rise and fall of the recording industry. If you are a music collector, afficionado, or just an interested listener, you will find this book fascinating. The book is entertaining because of all the specific examples, anecdotes, and detail about the personalities of recording-industry executives. His word-portraits of executives are elaborate, intricate, and explicit. It is extremely well-written and easy to follow and understand. In addition, it is jam-packed with wonderful, riveting information. There are 27 pages of copious notes. Knopper’s prologue covers the years 1979-82; chapter 1 covers 1983-86; chapter 2 covers 1984-89; chapters 3 and 4 cover 1998-2001; chapter 5 covers 2002-2003; and chapter 6 covers 2003-2007. Knopper’s focus is on the destruction of the recording industry; little time is spent on the future except to say that the future is in digital recordings. I highly recommend this book and only regret that it wasn’t longer!

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement
by Sally G. McMillen

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Having recently visited Seneca Falls, New York, and the National Woman’s Rights Museum along the Genessee Canal, and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton home in Seneca Falls, both located in the Finger Lakes District of New York, gave me a special feel for the information in this fine book. Just to show you the kind of book it is, there are 44 pages of “Notes” at the back of the book, that are incredibly detailed and specific. For further insight into the kind of book it is, McMillen is the Mary Reynolds Babcock Professor of History and Department Chair at Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina. This book is a thorough, comprehensive, well-documented examination that “focuses on the principal players and some of the seminal events that occurred in the years just prior to Seneca Falls and in the decades that followed. Four remarkable women [Lucretia Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Susan B. Anthony] were central to the nineteenth-century women’s movement. They provide the framework for this book” (pp. 4-5). The background of how McMillen became interested in women’s issues, discussed in the “Introduction” to the book (pp. 6-7), provides a fascinating exploration not just to the etymology of this book, but to how a professor is born, as well. The structure of McMillen’s book is chronological in which she first offers an overview of American women’s world before Seneca Falls, and then examines reform efforts during the antebellum period. Seneca Falls itself is the subject of chapter 3, then she looks at the nascent women’s rights movement of the 1850s. The next chapter (5) examines the impact of the Civil War on the women’s movement, and her final chapter in this 310-page book, covers the years up to 1890, when two women’s rights organizations fought on several fronts. McMillen ends her “Introduction” by saying, “This book ends with the two organizations reuniting in 1890 and a second generation of women taking over. While suffrage was not yet a reality, the seeds planted at Seneca Falls in 1848 had grown into a national women’s movement that ultimately uplifted the lives of half this nation’s population” (p. 8). If you want to read and fully understand the origins of the women’s rights movement, you will find this book compelling, extraordinary, accessible, and readable.

-----

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.

Essay Response - From Richard Weaver's Sister

This is a direct quotation from my sister after she read my Thursday essay, "Teaching the Spark" (08-20-09):

"I remember that all during my 'growing up' years I hated to read. I admired those who enjoyed it. I had to pretend I was enjoying it. Now however, in my adult life, mostly my retirement years, I am enjoying every minute I spend reading. I watched our mother read day after day and admired that she had that "thing" to occupy her time. She was bed ridden for four years. But one day she explained it to me. She said 'it takes me to a different place, a different world, with different people and different ways of life.' I absolutely never looked at it that way. I always saw it as a chore. Now, when I finish a book, I actually MISS it. I long for my characters to continue on with their lives and fill mine with those moments of interest and concern. Now I see. Now I understand. Sad to be 65 before you 'get it.' To give that gift of reading to a child seems now to be so essential yet I missed it. I didn't "get it". Now I do, thankfully."

Weekend Words

"A tiny little word can be a clap of thunder." ---Proverbial

Teaching “the spark” — instilling the value of education, learning, and knowledge

by Richard L. Weaver II

After my sister read And Then Some: Essays to Entertain, Motivate, and Inspire - Book I, she wrote me an e-mail that read, in part, “I have never had that thirst that you got and have had all your life. I am so glad you got that bug and just kept pushing toward your goals. I never had any goals and never had any great urge to get further than I was at the time. I just am, so to speak.”

Her comment made me stop and question: what can be done to ignite “the spark”? How can children be motivated not just to continue learning — although that is very important — but how can children become excited about the whole process of learning? If students feel learning new things is fun (that they are enjoying not just what they are learning, but the whole process of learning as well as the environment in which learning is taking place) they are more likely to acquire the thirst.

If acquisition of the thirst for knowledge was entirely genetic, my sister would more than likely have acquired it just as I did. So, there must be more. I do not know if there was a difference between the way my parents treated me as I grew up and the way they treated my younger sister, but I know two things. First, I acquired my thirst before I entered school. Second, each of our four children acquired the thirst.

Parents must begin training their children during the first year of their lives and continue teaching them through all of their developing years. By encouraging them to ask questions and answering all of their questions, you demonstrate that education, knowledge, and learning new things are the most important things in their lives. When they don’t question, question them, so that they learn the value of finding answers to everything that interests them in any way. Never tire of their constant questioning. It establishes an open, receptive, and responsive environment.

Make their earliest memories daily readings from interesting books at their level. This can occur while children are still in the womb. The soft sounds of mothers and fathers reading, if started while children are unborn, make it a natural, comfortable, acceptable feeling when it occurs once they are born.

Regularly and often give children their own books — even before they can read. Have them begin a lifetime habit of looking at books, interpreting pictures, and responding to what they see. Ask them questions about what is pictured, and make book reading an interactive and enjoyable experience they look forward to. When they choose to read, never deny them that pleasure, thus, taking advantage of their curiosity, interest, and desire.

Make daily reading a regular experience. Set aside specific times during the day when you can sit with your children, talk with them, read to them, or let them read to you, so that they become familiar with the joy of learning, the pleasure of acquiring new information, and the true delight in finding out new things. By being with them, you reinforce their interests and the importance of this time together.

Spend whatever time it takes to become a teacher of your children. Remember, you have the primary responsibility of teaching them. Accept this both as an opportunity and as a challenge. The habits you instill are the habits they will carry throughout their lifetime. Not only do you need to answer their questions, but you need to admit that you do not have the answer to some of them. Using online dictionaries, Google, encyclopedias, and other resources, you can teach them that all of their questions have answers, and they can be found quickly and efficiently. The more often this is demonstrated for them, the quicker they will acquire both the interest and the need to find answers on their own.

Just as you read to your children and have them read to you, you must demonstrate that reading is important to you as well — independently of them. They must see you reading books, magazines, and newspapers. You are the first and most important model for the behavior they will imitate as they mature. If you do not model appropriate behavior and habits, you can not expect them to adopt the behavior and habits you want them to. The theory “do as I say not as I do” is not effective when teaching children. Closely monitor both their reading and viewing materials during their growing years. Monitor their personal friendships as well because friends can have an enormous influence on their willingness to read books, seek knowledge, and learn more.

Use time together at the dining-room table to bring up subjects for discussion. Not only can you ask, “How was your day?,” but ask, as well, about the most important things they learned that day. Talk about contemporary events, subjects raised in news reports, things they heard about in school or from friends. No subject should be forbidden or off-limits. Remember, again, you are their first and most valuable teacher, and it is more important that you raise controversial subjects and discuss them openly rather than allow friends and others to offer their answers.

Never use their access to books, trips to the library, or other learning opportunities as penalties or punishments for misbehavior. Learning and knowledge acquisition must always be front and center, protected, and even cherished as something held in high esteem and never sacrificed under any conditions.

Time to do their homework and free time to read for fun and enjoyment should become a regular and expected part of every day just as regular jobs and responsibilities around the home. Children must never become too busy with other things so that they sacrifice any aspect of their education. More important than time to play? Yes. More important than time with friends? Yes. More important than playing video games? Yes. More important than anything else in their young lives. Everything must be secondary to the importance of laying the foundation of learning, education, and wisdom. These are the roots of success. These are the underpinings of education. These are the bedrock for all other accomplishments. These are the fuel that create “the spark.”

By planning ahead for their future lives — whatever career they select — you can demonstrate the clear and important role that knowledge and learning play. Also, you can show how important it is to raising a family of their own, creating a happy home of their own, and, too, instilling in the hearts of their own children the principles and values of education, learning, and knowledge.
-----
Darlene Zagata at AC:AssociatedContent:Education, in an essay entitled, “Teaching Begins at Home,” has great suggestions that underscore what is written in the essay above. Her essay is worthwhile.

At the website AllSands, there is a wonderful essay entitled, “Education Begins at Home,” in which specific suggestions are offered readers for learning “At Home,” “In the Community,” and “In School.”
-----

Copyright August, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

SMOERs: Words of Wisdom

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore. —Andre Gide

Day #72 - Live life as a daring adventure

SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 10-Day sample: smoers.com

And Then Some News

Thursday’s essay is the first of three on “Teaching the Spark.” All three of these essays provide specific ways parents and teachers have for getting their children/students involved in education to such a degree that they begin to take responsibility for (become inherently interested in) their own learning. The first of the three essays is entitled, "Teaching 'the spark' — instilling the value of education, learning, and knowledge."

Share your link. Have you written anything on teaching “the spark”? Are you a parent or teacher who has accomplished this? Do you know someone who has? Can you share some insights about any of your own (or their) experiences with children or students? What would you like to tell people who want to get children or students involved in their own education? Any personal information you would like to share with them? Share your link with us. We’ll post it and move traffic in your direction. And, a big “thank you,” in advance, from AndThenSomeWorks.com, for sharing your link.

Click here to LINK your And Then Some story

Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:

Teaching “the spark” — instilling the value of education, learning, and knowledge

by Richard L. Weaver II

Excerpt:

Just as you read to your children and have them read to you, you must demonstrate that reading is important to you as well — independently of them. They must see you reading books, magazines, and newspapers. You are the first and most important model for the behavior they will imitate as they mature. If you do not model appropriate behavior and habits, you can not expect them to adopt the behavior and habits you want them to. The theory “do as I say not as I do” is not effective when teaching children. Closely monitor both their reading and viewing materials during their growing years. Monitor their personal friendships as well because friends can have an enormous influence on their willingness to read books, seek knowledge, and learn more.

---

And Then Some Works - see you Thursday!!

Book Review Mondays

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates Worldclass Performers from Everybody Else
by Geoff Colvin

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

The question Colvin chases in this book is, “What does great performance require?” This is what one reviewer said of this book: “...Colvin does make a powerful case that hard MINDFUL work can make up for what you might lack in the genes department and leaves little excuse, except laziness and self choice, for not being the person you want to be and for that alone its worth reading.” Colvin’s final paragraph of the book reads: “[The evidence] shows that the price of top-level achievement is extraordinarily high. Perhaps it’s inevitable that not many people will choose to pay it. But the evidence shows also that by understanding how a few become great, anyone can become better. Above all, what the evidence shouts most loudly is striking, liberating news; that great performance is not reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.” Colvin offers 10 pages of notes. A music teacher reviewed the book and said this: “A must read for parents AND students or anyone who wants the truth told about how to be excellent in any field!! WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL!! Buy this book!!!” Colvin and Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers, make the same point (and use much of the same evidence) “That it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become a master in any field.”

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

P.S.: Further thoughts from a lifetime of listening
by Studs Terkel

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

If you like Studs Terkel, you will like this 226-page book which reveals pages of previously unpublished writings — interviews, short essays, and the transcript of his 1962 Prix Italia award-winning documentary, Born to Live. Fourteen percent of the book is a fascinating interview with James Baldwin. Also, that transcript just mentioned takes up another 12% of the book. If you have previously read one of his 16 previously published works, then you know exactly what to expect, and you won’t be disappointed. Although the book is an easy, comfortable read, and with the exception of the James Baldwin interview, the book doesn’t have the same edge as his books: Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do, or Will the Circle be Unbroken? Reflections on Death, Rebirth, and Hunger for a Faith, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression, or The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream. This book is an easy read (a couple of days), and it is Terkel through-and-through, but (with the exception of the Baldwin interview) I didn’t find it nearly as interesting or engaging as some of his previous books.

-----

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.

Weekend Words

"I never wanted to be a writer. I loved words, but I was not a word-user, rather a word-watcher, in the way that some people are bird-watchers. I loved languages but I knew by now that I would never speak the languages that I read. I was one for whom the spoken and the written word are themselves different languages." ---Iris Murdoch

I most remember my tough teachers

by Richard L. Weaver II

When I talk to fourth- and fifth-grade students about writing, I tell them about tough teachers. Here are the exact notes I use when I speak to them. I capitalize, underline, and use boldface so I can read the notes from some distance and just catch the essence of an idea I want to discuss. “ACCEPT AND APPRECIATE TOUGH TEACHERS who have high standards and expect you to live up to or exceed their standards. TOUGH TEACHERS can be the most help to you in developing your skills. WHAT IS A TOUGH TEACHER?

1. Tough teachers include writing assignments in their classes.
2. Tough teachers expect a lot of their students.
3. Tough teachers take the time to read and critique what their students write.
4. Tough teachers do not let their students slide by.
5. Tough teachers will give you exactly what you deserve on their assignments. When you perform well, you will know it, and you will be rewarded for it.”

I haven’t had many tough teachers, but those I had made an indelible impression. Most of my schooling took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I have to say that all my teachers were first rate; thus, when I single out a number for special attention, they went beyond “first-rate” to exceptional. The second thing I must say — as a caveat, I suppose — is that I was a very good student, and I loved learning. I was deeply engaged in all my courses, and I knew, early on, that if I truly wanted to be a doctor (established in a career-project required in a ninth-grade social-studies class), I would have to do well in school. But “doing well” was never a direct or motivating concern, since “doing well” came naturally from my love of learning.

I can’t remember a single teacher who I can say was deficient in any way. So, when I single out teachers who inspired me by their toughness, they don’t necessarily stand head and shoulders above the rest, they simply made their impression by their toughness.

The first English teacher who I considered tough was Mr. Granville. He was a very slight, small gentleman who demonstrated great respect for his students and their abilities. His toughness came from his demands for his writing assignments. It was an Advanced English course, but he was fastidious to a “t” in looking for proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. He caught every dangling preposition, incomplete sentence, poorly formed paragraph, and switches in person of pronouns.

In biology, my course with Mr. Barclay proved to me that I wanted to pursue science. Now, I have to admit that I enjoy art, and I can draw well without a great deal of effort. Mr. Barclay asked us to draw in our notebooks, images of what we were studying so that we could attach labels to the various parts. I liked the exactness he demanded in both the drawings and labeling. Also, Mr. Barclay ran his classes with discipline. He knew what he wanted, demanded attention, and taught his students a wealth of information as a result.

Mr. Reese introduced me to physics. I had never had a similar course, nor did I know anything about it before his class. Because physics is about the science that treats matter and energy and the laws governing their reciprocal interplay, I appreciated the need for precise observation, experimental control, and exact measurement. Through Mr. Reese, I developed a new understanding of the basics of mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity, and magnetism. His classes were full of experiments, close observation, and accurate measurement, and I loved the care he took in overseeing our work and prompting us to look more closely or observe more accurately.

At the website, Free Republic, in an essay entitled, “Tough teachers inspire fear, tears, gratitude,” reprinted from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Patti Ghezzi cites her first example of a teacher named Dan Rawlins. She writes, “Rawlins, a former Emory University professor now teaching biology at Gwinnett County's Brookwood High School, is so ruthless in his grading, so unyielding to cries for mercy, students who have never gotten a grade lower than an A-minus struggle just to pass.” Now, I have to admit, I have never had a teacher so ruthless or unyielding; however, as a professor directing a large, basic, speech-communication course at Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio), for some students, I developed such a reputation.

For those students who had heard of and believed in stories of my ruthlessness and unyielding nature, they chose to take the required course under the pass/fail option as opposed to taking it for a grade.

What I found in all the courses I taught is the necessity for laying out course requirements clearly and specifically at the beginning of the course. This, I found, was the best way to avoid problems students encountered once into the course or once they were given their first grade. In a large (1,000 students per term), beginning, required, speech-communication course, many students thought it should be an “easy A.” We (my teaching assistants using my standards) did not grade on effort but on demonstrated ability and achievement. Students had to earn what they received. Many students, of course, objected; they wanted to be handed their “pass” or their “A.”

Just an interesting aside, in another large course I taught (300 students per term), I made it clear in large letters on the syllabus and during the first-day introduction of the course, that attendance at every class/lecture was mandatory — no exceptions. It proved, on a continuing basis, to quickly eliminate all those who elected the course as a lark, an easy A, or did not plan to attend. It was a successful deterrent to the lazy, uninterested, and uncommitted.

I have often written of the toughest teacher I encountered in my entire academic career — Dr. Robert Gunderson — director of my Ph.D. dissertation. I write often about him because he was, basically, the man who taught me how to write. Also, I write about him because of his persistent presence whenever I write. Coming from the University of Michigan, I actually sought him out at Indiana University specifically because he was known as a tough teacher.

One of the quotes Ghezzi cites at the end of her article is by a student who had a tough teacher: "You were the most intellectually influential teacher of my life." I have found the same to be true of the tough teachers in my life. There were a few others, but only a few. But, when I look back over a career of 20 years in school, I know that the choices I made, the progress I displayed, the skills I developed, and the knowledge I acquired was influenced most by my tough teachers

-----

At theOriononline, Lindsay Casale writes about her experience with a tough teacher in her essay, “Tough teachers offer life lessons.”

At courierpress.com, Tom Lovett writes another testimonial. Lovett’s final words, after several examples, were, “Yeah, they may be tough. Yeah, they may be feared, but they're the instructors who treat you like adults. They're the ones who see their job as preparing you for life in the "real world." And they take that responsibility seriously. That lesson alone is worth the challenge.”

----

Copyright August, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

SMOERs: Words of Wisdom

Do not squander time for that is the stuff life is made of. —Benjamin Franklin

Day #70 - Do not squander time.

SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 10-Day sample: smoers.com

And Then Some News

Thursday’s essay is the first of several on education — to begin the new fall term. The first essay, “I most remember my tough teachers,” is personal, but I wrote it after giving lectures on writing to 4th and 5th graders and talking to them about tough teachers. The next three lectures (after this one) are all linked to “teaching the spark.”

Share your link. Have you written anything on teachers? Tough teachers? Are you a tough teacher? Are you a student, past student, or teacher who has experienced tough teachers? Do you know someone who has? Can you share some insights about any of your own (or their) experiences with tough teaching? What would you like to tell people who have to deal with tough teachers? Any personal information you would like to share with them? Share your link with us. We’ll post it and move traffic in your direction. And, a big “thank you,” in advance, from AndThenSomeWorks.com, for sharing your link.

Click here to LINK your And Then Some story

Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview:
I most remember my tough teachers
by Richard L. Weaver II

Excerpt:

I haven’t had many tough teachers, but those I had made an indelible impression. Most of my schooling took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I have to say that all my teachers were first rate; thus, when I single out a number for special attention, they went beyond “first-rate” to exceptional. The second thing I must say — as a caveat, I suppose — is that I was a very good student, and I loved learning. I was deeply engaged in all my courses, and I knew, early on, that if I truly wanted to be a doctor (established in a career-project required in a ninth-grade social-studies class), I would have to do well in school. But “doing well” was never a direct or motivating concern, since “doing well” came naturally from my love of learning.

---

And Then Some Works - see you Thursday!!

Book Review Mondays

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

The Essestial Laws of Fearless Living: Find the Power to Never Feel Powerless Again
by Guy Finley

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

Finley calls attention to and helps people eliminate the fear and stress in their lives no matter how happy, fulfilled, and successful they are. For example, he discusses the fear and stress that comes from thinking and worrying about yesterdays gone by, tomorrows that have not yet come, and circumstances that our minds make up out of thin air (like thinking we are the center of everyone’ conversations, or that people are looking at us in a funny way.) In this collection of 41 essays, Finley’s goal is to "gently lead the reader in step-by-step sections into higher levels of self-understanding." He accomplishes this by using parables, humor, and poetic writing The book is full of practical strategies that can be applied daily. Basically, Finley has written a book full of spiritual truths designed to lead you in your spiritual growth. There is no question that this is a self-help, self-development, self-growth book.

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

Plain Secrets: An Outsider among the Amish
by Joe Mackall

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

You must understand at the outset of this terrific book, that it does not necessarily relate to all Amish sects (there are many), nor does it reflect the views of many toward the Amish. Rather, this is one person’s experience (based on over 16 years of living next door to them) with one family of a very conservative sect (the Swartzentruber Amish community of Ashland County, Ohio). Also, it is important to know that Mackall is a professor of English and journalism at Ashland University, co-editor of the journal River Teeth, a writer for NPR’s Morning Edition, the Washington Post, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Why is this important? First, it adds a level of credibility to the insights and observations in the book. Second, it assures you that you are in for a very good read. With four pages of notes, this 202-page (of text) book is full of useful information. For example, you will learn how basic values can guide a life, what a true work ethic looks like in practice, how that same work ethic can bring benefits to both body and spirit, how a community takes care of its own, and what true forgiveness is. The book is not just instructive but engaging as well. You can pick up this book thinking you will read a chapter or two a day and quickly discover yourself so engrossed that you finish it in less time than you thought. It is that good! You will discover what happens to Amish youth who decide to flee the sect, how Amish children die because of inadequate health care, and how Amish families operate on a day-to-day basis. This is a book full of insights, warmth, and reflections, and I strongly recommend it as a choice for book clubs and book circles because it will stimulate discussion, cause intense reflection, and challenge the beliefs and values you live by. Mackall, in this extremely well-written, transparent, and skillfully narrated book ends the book with this paragraph: “Despite how conflicted I am about aspects of the Swartzentruber Amish way of life, I can still recognize beauty and truth when I see it. And the beauty and truth of it is this: That to these plain people, in these times and in all others, the values that reign supreme are community, acceptance, and faith, which can, with prayer and a little luck, lead to peace” (p. 200). Without a doubt, this will be one of the best reads you have experienced in a long time.

-----

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.

Weekend Words

"Words that open our eyes to the world are always the easiest to remember." ---Ryszard Kapuscinski

Venice, Italy — A city of fantasy, freedom, joy, and pleasure

by Richard L. Weaver II

Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979) was an American art collector. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is one of the most important museums in Italy for European and American art of the first half of the 20th century. Having lived in Venice and dying in Padua, Italy, at the age of 81, she spoke with knowledge when she said, “Venice is not only a city of fantasy and freedom. It is also a city of joy and pleasure.”

We extended our two-week Mediterranean cruise to have an extra day in Venice, and just that brief experience proved the truth of Guggenheim’s comment.

Our ship docked in the northern part of the city, and during the morning I had a chance to watch the water taxies move in and out of a port area just ahead of where we were docked. It looked active and vibrant with as many as 10-15 boats entering and leaving at the same time — just a hint of what we would see on the canals within the city.

With a population of about 275,000, Venice is situated on 117 small islands within a shallow Venetian lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. There are 150 canals, and the small islands are connected by about 400 bridges. It was Napoleon Bonaparte who conquered Venice on May 12, 1797, and caused the Republic to lose its independence after 1070 years. The French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of Venetian history, because it was during the Settecento (1700s) that Venice became the most elegant and refined city in Europe greatly influencing art, architecture, and literature.

Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on October 12, 1797, and Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon’s Kingdom of Italy but returned to Austria following Napoleon’s defeat in 1814. It wasn’t until 1866, following the Seven Weeks War, that Venice became part of Italy, although after 1797 the city fell into a serious decline with many of the old palaces and other buildings abandoned and falling into disrepair.

The bus trip from the ship to Hotel Soiftel was brief since the hotel was located in the northern part of the city as well. With a railroad causeway built in the 19th century and an automobile causeway built in the 20th, along with a parking lot, at the northern end of the islands, these offered the only land entrance. From there, the canals function as roads. Venice is Europe’s largest car-free area.

Most Venetians travel by motorized waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the islands. There are many private boats, but the classical Venetian boat, the gondola, is now mostly used for tourists, weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies. The price of a gondola ride was published in our Celebrity Today, a daily newspaper published by our cruise line and placed on our beds by our room attendant every evening when the beds are turned down. According to the newspaper, a ride costs $80 euros for one-half hour which is about $120 dollars. If you want a singer as well, you must be willing to pay about double that cost for the same amount of time.

While trying to obtain a non-smoking room at the hotel, we asked for a map, and the concierge provided a very good one and even marked a walking tour from the hotel to Saint Mark’s Cathedral.

There were a number of highlights of Venice we uncovered on our walking tour. The first was the number and kinds of decorative masks sold from stores but especially from numerous street vendors. They are used for the Carnival of Venice which dates from 1268. The subversive nature of the festival is reflected in the many laws created over the centuries attempting to restrict celebrations and, often, banning the wearing of masks.

Masks have always been a central feature of the Venetian carnival. Traditionally, people are allowed to wear them from St. Stephen’s Day, December 26th — the start of the carnival season (two weeks before Ash Wednesday) — until midnight of Shrove Tuesday, which is the same day as Mardi Gras or, in Chicago, Paczki Day. When Austrians took control of the city on January 18, 1798, and Venice fell into decline, it effectively brought carnival celebrations to a halt for almost two centuries. The fascist government outlawed Carnival in the 1930s. It wasn’t until a modern mask shop was founded in the 1980s that Carnival enjoyed a revival. Although most masks sold in the tourist shops in Venice have nothing to do with the original Venetian masks, as a tourist I can report that they are spectacular, colorful, engaging, and omnipresent.

On our walk from the hotel to St. Mark’s Basilica and St. Mark’s Square, we simply followed the flow of tourists along the cobblestone walkways. Also, there were yellow signs at each intersection pointing the way. In a hurry to get to the destination, not possessing many euros, and wanting food we didn’t have to wait long for, we had lunch at a very crowded McDonald’s along the way.

As we walked to St. Mark’s we crossed the popular Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal, but the crush of people made it difficult to see into the windows of the stores lining both sides of the bridge, and it made our experience there less than ideal.

There is no doubt that St. Mark’s Basilica and Square are impressive. There were two bands playing on either side of the Square, one in the shade and the other in the sun. Nobody was sitting in the sun, but a number of people sat and relaxed in the shade. We saw the replicas of the four horses stolen from the Hippodrome in Istanbul (Constantinople when they were stolen) standing outside the Basilica, but what caught and held our attention were the thousands of pigeons being fed with feed bought in the square. When being fed, they sit on people’s arms and head, and gather in large flocks around those throwing out bird feed.

Venice was truly unique, and the view from our hotel room underscored why we stayed an additional day. You could see the rooftops, true, but we looked down on an ancient square anchored by an old cathedral, along a quaint canal, and frequented by businesspeople, families, and young lovers. To end our extra day, we enjoyed delicious pizza at a local restaurant, capped by an ice cream cone eaten along one of the canals near our hotel. They highlighted our brief stay in the city of fantasy, freedom, joy, and pleasure.

-----

At the website Italyguides:Venice, there is the standard tourist information as well as at least 25 very attractive photographs.

At tripadvisor.com, the description reveals exactly what we did in Venice: “Venice makes you a believer in fairy tales. Cars are banned, so the only way to get around the 1,500-year-old city is by foot or by water. From these vantage points, you'll be awed by the magical beauty. La Serenissima, ‘the most serene one,’ is filled with palaces and art, fine shopping and excellent food. Relax in Piazza San Marco, visit the basilicas, drink a bellini at Harry's Bar and wander the alleyways and bridges.”

-----

Copyright August, 2009 - And Then Some Publishing L.L.C.

SMOERs: Words of Wisdom

The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion. —Lowell

Day #69 - Recognize the value in differences of opinion.

SMOERs: Self-Motivation, Optimism, Encouragement Rules! - Daily Reminders for Outstanding Living
An everyday guide full of quotations to uplift your spirits.
Free 10-Day sample: smoers.com

And Then Some News

Thursday’s essay is the tenth and final one in the ten-part series about our Mediterranean cruise. It is entitled, “Venice, Italy - A city of fantasy, freedom, joy, and pleasure.”

1. “Cruising is incredibly self-indulgent” (06-04-09)
2. “Barcelona and the French Riviera (Nice and Eze): Minds Stretched in New Directions” (06-11-09)
3. “Livorno, Civitavecchia, and Tuscania: So much history it boggles the mind” (06-18-09)
4. “The Sistine Chapel, Saint Peter’s, and the Colosseum - Our tour of Rome” (06-25-09)
5. “The Port of Napoli - Our tour of Pompei and our warning about Naples” (07-02-09)
6. “Piraeus & Athens: Learning so much, and yet so much to learn” (07-16-09)
7. “Istanbul, Turkey: A city that demands a return - Essay I” (07-16-09)
8. “Istanbul, Turkey: A city that demands a return - Essay II” (07-23-09)
9. “Mykonos & Santorini: Nothing you could expect or imagine! (07-30-09)

Each of the essays offers a little history, our experiences on the excursions, as well as additional insights and observations.

This week we have a surprise bonus for those of you who have followed our Mediterranean excursions. Under the icon “Travel” on the andthensomeworks.com website, we have an additional essay entitled, “World Geography and then some!,” which is really an eleventh essay about our Mediterranean cruise. For those of you who know your geography, you'll LOVE this essay.

The series will cover additional cruise stops in Santorini and Mikanos (Greece), as well as Venice. The essays will offer a little history, our experiences on the excursions, as well as additional insights and observations.

Share your link. Have you written anything on Mediterranean cruising? Have you visited Venice? Do you know someone who has? Can you share some insights about any of your own touring or excursion experiences with readers? What would you like to tell people who want to cruise the Mediterranean? Places to go? Things to see? Any personal information you would like to share with them? Share your link with us. We’ll post it and move traffic in your direction. And, a big “thank you,” in advance, from AndThenSomeWorks.com, for sharing your link.

Click here to LINK your And Then Some story

Thursday's And Then Some Essay preview
Venice, Italy - A city of fantasy, freedom, joy, and pleasure
by Richard L. Weaver II

Excerpt:

Most Venetians travel by motorized waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the islands. There are many private boats, but the classical Venetian boat, the gondola, is now mostly used for tourists, weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies. The price of a gondola ride was published in our Celebrity Today, a daily newspaper published by our cruise line and placed on our beds by our room attendant every evening when the beds are turned down. According to the newspaper, a ride costs $80 euros for one-half hour which is about $120 dollars. If you want a singer as well, you must be willing to pay about double that cost for the same amount of time.

---

And Then Some Works - see you Thursday!!

Book Review Mondays

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
by John Izzo

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

If you want a book full of interesting anecdotes and personal examples, this 178-page book will be most satisfying. Izzo interviewed over 200 people from the ages 60 to 106, and the five secrets are: 1) Be true to yourself, 2) Leave no regrets, 3) Become love, 4) Live the moment, and 5) Give more than you take. Although the five secrets come as no surprise to many, there are a number of insights that will challenge you to think about your life. The book is divided into four sections. The first section covers the methodology, the second discusses the five secrets, the third covers how to put the secrets into practice, and the fourth offers the list of questions asked in each of the 3-hour interviews, along with the names of those interviewed. Basically, Izzo offers readers a plea to embrace life in every daily encounter, in every one of life’s experiences, and with every emotion expressed.

-----

More information at Amazon.com No obligation to buy Click below:

The Darwin Awards: Next Evolution
by Wendy Northcutt

Book Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

This 291-page (small) book) should take you a couple of amusing hours to read. Although there are 100 essays, divided into eight chapters or categories, each essay, ranging in length from one paragraph to as many as ten or so, describes the pure idiocy of a human lunatic. You just cannot believe that humans can be so incredibly stupid, and yet I found them mesmerizing and captivating none-the-less. Chapter 9, called “FAQ,” provides some excellent additional information. One question I had as I read through these essays is why are most all of them executed by males? There are only 11 stories featuring a femme fatale. Why aren’t more females represented in Northcutt’s examples? It is one of the FAQ (frequently asked questions). A concerned reader asks it: “Nearly all Darwin Award nominees are male. I am aware that males are responsible for aggressive and irrational phenomena like wars, organized religion, drunken driving, et cetera, but pure statistics lead me to believe that more females should be candidates. Is a feminist conspiracy at work in the selection of the candidates?” Northcutt responds: “I call’em as I see ‘em. I choose as many women as I can — but I can’t use material I don’t have. Most of the idiots nominated for this ignominious award are male” (pp. 263-64). I loved this book, and I think you will, too. It will make a great gift — whether you choose to give it to an idiot, your closest friend, a family member, or, perhaps, they are all one and the same!

-----

Through our reading, researching, and writing, And Then Some Publishing (and our extended family of readers) mine volumes of books representing a wide variety of tastes. We use the books in our writing, test and try suggested techniques, and we read for enjoyment as well. We wouldn't spend the time reviewing the books if we didn't get something out of it. Read more reviews on other fantastic books at our BookWorksRules.com website.