Learning Circles


Book Description

The "Golden Age" Of Antibiotics Is Over Deadly new organisms, resistant to all known antibiotics, are emerging all over the planet and gaining ground FAST... It's over The truth is, the comfortable world as we have known it for the last 60 years is coming rapidly to an end. Bacteria are deadly and the short period of time where we were able to control them is vanishing fast. Because of their fantastic power of multiplication (doubling every 20 minutes or so), that new strain could be all over the Earth within months, or even weeks. You've heard of MRSA, everyone has heard of MRSA. But did you know that in 2009 an even more virulent new strain of MRSA emerged, that is FIVE TIMES more deadly and kills 50% of its victims? But it's not just MRSA. Now we have VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococcus), which is far more deadly than MRSA (100% fatal septicemia). Also we now have PRSP (penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae). It is reported that out of 100,000 hospitalizations for pneumonia, 40% are now due to this organism And don't forget, resistant syphilis is back on the loose. Syphilis (Lues) was one of the most feared of all diseases for centuries and kept young men and women in terror of the act of sexual union. Our old enemy TB is on the prowl too, with a new strain which is classed MDR (multiple-drug resistant). In Germany in the summer of 2011 A deadly new strain of E. Coli emerged, that is highly resistant to antibiotics and killed hundreds in Europe on it's unstoppable rampage. If you are not worried about this deteriorating position, you should be. False reliance on drugs and pharma medicine has proven to be a weak strategy: the game is LOST The Truth Is: You can't hold back bacteria. They are too overwhelmingly numerous and powerful. But there is GOOD news... In the days before antibiotics not everyone died of their infections. There were scores of great, workable non-drug solutions to infections. These remedies still work You need to get to know them, get re-acquainted with our folklore and natural heritage again and fast. You never know when the next outbreak will sweep your neighborhood. It's important to strengthen your immune defenses, of course. But you also need to go on a short education course of learning what your antibiotic-alternative options are. To make it easy for you, Dr. Keith has compiled a comprehensive report of all the suitable alternatives, with scientific studies to support them. You'll be amazed just how many humble home remedies and plant-based solutions have been studied scientifically and demonstrated to work effectively. PLUS, he has given you lots of very modern possibilities that were not even dreamed of in the era before antibiotics. This is the AUTHORITY report you have been waiting for. Dr. Keith is well known for demanding minimum scientific standards, not just myth, "wise woman stories" and ignorant conjecture.




The Learning Circle


Book Description

Looks at different creative activities and seat work for preschool teachers, focusing on teaching techniques, the creative setting, learning circle activities, and other topics.




Widening the Circle


Book Description

Widening the Circle is a passionate, even radical argument for creating school and classroom environments where all kids, including children labeled as “disabled” and “special needs,” are welcome on equal terms. In opposition to traditional models of special education, where teachers decide when a child is deemed “ready to compete” in “mainstream” classes, Mara Sapon-Shevin articulates a vision of full inclusion as a practical and moral goal. Inclusion, she argues, begins not with the assumption that students have to earn their way into the classroom with their behavior or skills, it begins with the right of every child to be in the mainstream of education, perhaps with modifications, adaptations, and support. Full inclusion requires teachers to think about all aspects of their classrooms—pedagogy, curriculum, and classroom climate. Crucially, Sapon-Shevin takes on arguments against full inclusion in a section of straight-talking answers to common questions. She agrees with critics that the rhetoric of inclusion has been used to justify eliminating services and “dumping” students with significant educational needs unceremoniously back into the mainstream with little or no support. If full inclusion is properly implemented, however, she argues, it not only clearly benefits those traditionally excluded but enhances the educations and lives of those considered mainstream in myriad ways. Through powerful storytelling and argument, Sapon-Shevin lays out the moral and educational case for not separating kids on the basis of difference.




Teach Smarter


Book Description

Discover new, practical methods for teaching literacy skills in your early childhood classroom. Has teaching early literacy skills become a stumbling block to getting your preschool students kindergarten ready? Break out of the tired “letter of the week” routine and learn how to transform your lessons with fun and effective techniques. Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers will equip teachers to infuse every aspect of their teaching with exciting hands-on literacy teaching methods that engage students and help them build authentic connections with books, so that 100% of their students will have a strong literacy foundation and will be fully prepared for success in kindergarten and beyond. Respected author Vanessa Levin, veteran early childhood educator and author of the “Pre-K Pages” blog, breaks down the research and translates it into realistic, actionable steps you can take to improve your teaching. Features specific examples of teaching techniques and activities that engage students in hands-on, experiential learning during circle time, centers, and small groups. Offers a simple, four-step system for teaching literacy skills, based on the foundational principles of early literacy teaching Demonstrates how to build your confidence in your ability to get 100% of your students ready for kindergarten, long before the end of the school year Understand the problems with traditional literacy teaching and identify gaps in your current teaching practice with this valuable resource.




Appreciative Living


Book Description

Appreciative Living provides and in-depth overview of the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, and includes a simple 3-step process for applying the principles as well as daily exercises.




From Children's Interests to Children's Thinking


Book Description

Learn how to connect your curriculum planning to children's interests and thinking. With this book, educators will discover a systematic way for using documentation to design curriculum that emerges from children's inquiries, what they wonder, and what they want to understand. Get strategies for designing a classroom environment at the start of the year to facilitate emergent inquiry curriculum. Each chapter guides teachers to document and reflect on their thinking through each of the five phases of a cycle of inquiry process, including observing, interpreting the meaning of the play they see, and developing questions to engage children.




Building a Discipling Culture


Book Description

"Much ink and many pages have been devoted to all of the missional issues facing the Western church today. As our culture becomes more post-Christian with each passing day, we are all realizing that what has worked in the past is no longer working, that we are far less effective for the Kingdom than we were even 10 years ago. But we would suggest it isn’t because we don’t know what the Great Commission states or the imperatives of the Gospel, or that our church services just aren’t getting it done. It’s because we are in the midst of a discipleship crisis in the Western church. The people sitting in our pews are rarely becoming like the people we read about in Scripture. They may come to a worship service, join a small group or even tithe, but their lives just don’t seem to look like Jesus’ life. The truth of the matter is that we don’t have a missional problem or leadership problem in the Western church. We have a discipleship problem. If we make disciples like Jesus made them, we’ll never have a problem finding leaders or seeing new people coming to faith. The central issue is that we have no idea how to make disciples who can do the things that Jesus did for the reasons Jesus did them. Building a Discipling Culture is the product of more than 25 years of hands-on discipleship practice in a post-Christian context that has turned into a worldwide discipling movement, dealing specifically with how to make the types of missional disciples Jesus spoke of. We all want to make disciples. Most of us are unsure how to do it. Dallas Willard put it this way: 'Every church needs to be able to answer two questions. One, do we have a plan for making disciples? Two, does our plan work?' For most of our church communities, we have a plan, but the plan isn’t working. If you find yourself in this situation, this book is for you." -- Publisher's description.




The Circle Way


Book Description

Meetings in the round have become the preferred tool for moving individual commitment into group action. This book lays out the structure of circle conversation, based on the original work of the authors who have standardized the essential elements that constitute circle practice.




The Breathing Circle


Book Description

These simple, enjoyable techniques promote physical well-being and social confidence and are invaluable for supporting early language and literacy skills. The Breathing Circle can be used at home or in the classroom with young children aged from 18 months up to around seven years.




Relationship-Rich Education


Book Description

A mentor, advisor, or even a friend? Making connections in college makes all the difference. What single factor makes for an excellent college education? As it turns out, it's pretty simple: human relationships. Decades of research demonstrate the transformative potential and the lasting legacies of a relationship-rich college experience. Critics suggest that to build connections with peers, faculty, staff, and other mentors is expensive and only an option at elite institutions where instructors have the luxury of time with students. But in this revelatory book brimming with the voices of students, faculty, and staff from across the country, Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert argue that relationship-rich environments can and should exist for all students at all types of institutions. In Relationship-Rich Education, Felten and Lambert demonstrate that for relationships to be central in undergraduate education, colleges and universities do not require immense resources, privileged students, or specially qualified faculty and staff. All students learn best in an environment characterized by high expectation and high support, and all faculty and staff can learn to teach and work in ways that enable relationship-based education. Emphasizing the centrality of the classroom experience to fostering quality relationships, Felten and Lambert focus on students' influence in shaping the learning environment for their peers, as well as the key difference a single, well-timed conversation can make in a student's life. They also stress that relationship-rich education is particularly important for first-generation college students, who bring significant capacities to college but often face long-standing inequities and barriers to attaining their educational aspirations. Drawing on nearly 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff at 29 higher education institutions across the country, Relationship-Rich Education provides readers with practical advice on how they can develop and sustain powerful relationship-based learning in their own contexts. Ultimately, the book is an invitation—and a challenge—for faculty, administrators, and student life staff to move relationships from the periphery to the center of undergraduate education.