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When journalism was a respectable profession
Befroe the time of tabiod news, there was a man who felt that journalism should be taught in college so that the people who entered the field knew what they were doing. From that beginning at the University of Missouri,many other colleges have gone on to teach journalism. But it took the workof one man who believed that journalism was a respeceted profession to makethe rest of the world to believe that too. A fascinating read about WalterWilliams and how the School of Journalism came to be at one university andchanged the way journalist were thought of. ... Read more

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Gives an overview of the state of Missouri, including its history, notable sights, people, and recreations. ... Read more

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In 1987 Judge Russell Clark mandated tax increases to help pay for improvements to the Kansas City, Missouri, School District in an effort to lure white students and quality teachers back to the inner-city district. Yet even after increasing employee salaries and constructing elaborate facilities at a cost of more than $2 billion, the district remained overwhelmingly segregated and student achievement remained far below national averages.

Just eight years later the U.S. Supreme Court began reversing these initiatives, signifying a major retreat from Brown v. Board of Education. In Kansas City, African American families opposed to the district court's efforts organized a takeover of the school board and requested that the court case be closed. Joshua Dunn argues that Judge Clark's ruling was not the result of tyrannical "judicial activism" but was rather the logical outcome of previous contradictory Supreme Court doctrines. High Court decisions, Dunn explains, necessarily limit the policy choices available to lower court judges, introducing complications the Supreme Court would not anticipate. He demonstrates that the Kansas City case is a model lesson for the types of problems that develop for lower courts in any area in which the Supreme Court attempts to create significant change. Dunn's exploration of this landmark case deepens our understanding of when courts can and cannot successfully create and manage public policy. ... Read more

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Dealing candidly with matters usually considered taboo in academic discourse, Wolters argues that the Supreme Court acted correctly and in accordance with public sentiment in Brown but that it later took a wrong turn by equating desegregation with integration. Wolters explains that while Brown called for desegregation by requiring that schools deal with students on a racially nondiscriminatory basis, subsequent decisions Green, Swann, Keyes required actual integration through racial balancing. Wolters challenges statistics that support the results of racial balancing by describing how school desegregation and integration actually proceeded in several towns, cities, and counties. ... Read more

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A uniquely honest study of racial integration in schools
What caused the decline in American public education over the past 50 years?Countless books have been written on this subject.Most are politically correct drivel, some written by the same academics whose advocacy of social engineering for egalitarian and multicultural objectives helped cause the decline in the first place.A few - especially the authoritative histories of public education by Diane Ravitch - have shed a damming light on utopian pedagogical fads such as "the child centered classroom," "outcome based education," and the general hostility of the educational establishment towards a curriculum based on the transmission of knowledge, with the establishment favoring instead a curriculum based on "learning how to learn" and indoctrination in politically correct platitudes. These are indeed important causes of American educational decline.But perhaps THE most important cause, the forced racial integration of primary and secondary schools, especially programs like busing to achieve "racial balance," is seldom addressed in the literature about educational problems.Even Ravitch - unblinkingly honest on other reasons - largely (though not entirely) skirts the race issue.There are good reasons for the general silence, of course.Racial integration and its modern embodiment, the cult of diversity, have become sacrosanct, part of the American civic religion, whose moral goodness and entirely positive effects cannot be questioned by decent people.Anyone who does is, ipso facto, not decent, a racist who should be driven out of polite society and, if possible, professionally ruined.

Nevertheless, from time to time (albeit rarely), a brave soul DOES question the orthodoxy that racial integration has been an unalloyed good for American education.Raymond Wolters is one of these.An education scholar and university professor, he first described the negative effects of forced integration in his seminal work, THE BURDEN OF BROWN, which carefully described the experiences of several widely different school districts with racial integration in the years immediately following the Supreme Court's BROWN decision in 1954 which abolished legal segregation by race in public schools.

It wasn't a pretty picture then, and it gets worse in RACE & EDUCATION, which updates Wolters' study of school integration to 2007.The collapse in academic standards, the increase in violence, and the general decay which took place in many schools after they were racially integrated is described in detail.But the book is much more than a description of chaos.Wolters seeks to understand the reasoning of the integrationists as well as the court decisions which implemented their ideas.Much of RACE & EDUCATION is devoted to a study of the theories that psychologists and sociologists like Kenneth Clark and James S. Coleman used to justify forced integration and mass busing, their general idea being that lower class black children required the presence of a critical mass of middle class white students in their classrooms in order to reach their learning potential. In several places, Wolters (who strongly supports the Supreme Court's original BROWN decision) points out that these theories and court decisions violated BROWN (which had outlawed race discrimination in school enrollment) by REQUIRING race discrimination to "racially balance" schools.

Wolters also shows how academic theories about why (in his words) "the travail of integration" was necessary, changed over time as busing and racial integration failed to improve black academic achievement, especially in relation to whites.Since the achievement gap in standardized tests between black and white students was not significantly narrowed, the rationale for integration had to be shifted from academic benefits to the benefits of diversity.In the new multicultural America of the 21st century, black children and white children must "mingle" in school to learn how to work together as adults.Some integrationists, according to Wolters, celebrated the increase in interracial dating in some schools as sufficient reason to consider integration a success, apparently disregarding their previous concern with academic goals.

Finally, Wolters describes how federal courts have stepped back in recent years from racial balancing towards the original interpretation of the BROWN decision, as requiring a race blind attitude in all areas of education. This has caused an end to busing in some districts and a decline in "racially balanced" schools, over the protests of academics like Gary Orfield who remain strong advocates of even more integration. Wolters takes a cautiously hopeful view of the future, predicting that perhaps schools- no longer forced to spend so much time and resources on racial issues - will be able to focus on improving education in other ways.

I'm more pessimistic.The damage that racial integration has done to American schools is, in my view, even greater than described by Professor Wolters.Indeed, I believe he understates what is in fact a disaster, a kind of self-administered educational lobotomy that America has done to itself.For example, though Wolters, unlike most scholars, pays some attention to the negative effects integration had on white children, he could easily have devoted an entire chapter to this subject, while still maintaining a general focus on the effect integration had on black children.

Overall, though, this is a fine book, an honest book.Unfortunately, it (save for THE BURDEN OF BROWN) will probably remain a unique one.

... Read more

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James W. Moore says that just as Missouri is the "Show Me" state, this is a "show me" world, where talking a good game is not enough. Essentially, the world says to us, "If you're a Christian, then show me!" Moore contends that we, as Christians, must show the world that our faith is not only a way of believing but also a way of behaving - that it is not just something we celebrate on Sunday, but something we live out in the world every day. In his warm, conversational style Moore explores characteristics that must be visible in our daily lives if we are to be effective witnesses in this "show me" world - forgiveness, dedication, gratitude, love, compassion, a spirit of service, perseverance, strength, faith and vision. Only when these are evident in our lives will the world know that we are Christians. ... Read more

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great book
Our sunday school class is really enjoying this book. Once again, James W. Moore hasn't let us down. Very thought provoking.

Go ahead...show them your faith!
We are doing this as a small group Bible study. Our ages vary from 43 to 85 and we ALL love it. We have done many different studies over the last 3 years and by far this is our favorite! We are almost through with this one and have already decided to go ahead with another one from James Moore. ... Read more

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Whets the appetite for more information
"A Second Home: Missouri's Early Schools," by Sue Thomas, University of Missouri Press, Columbia, 2006.This 142 p. paperback is another in the Missouri Heritage Reader series, a collection on historical topics intended for new adult readers.This one looks at early education in Missouri in ten chapters.

The book begins with an introduction to the settlement of what became Missouri.The region is usually known as Upper Louisiana, Spanish Illinois, or the Illinois Country.It was originally settled by the French at St. Genevieve in about 1750 (near lead mines), and at St. Louis in 1764 (fur trading).St. Louis was settled in the belief that France would give up only its territory East of the Mississippi after their defeat by the British in the French and Indian War.The founders did not anticipate that the Louisiana Territory would be ceded to Spain in 1762.However, Spain administered the territory from New Orleans and had little presence in Upper Louisiana.The territory joined the US with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.Missouri became a state in 1821.

In the early days, education practices varied widely.Well educated French settlers owned books and typically hired tutors to teach their children.Pioneers who could read taught their children to read from the books available-often a Bible.Teachers were hired on the frontier when available-usually during the winter months.Churches taught reading and writing in their Sunday Schools.Some established parochial schools as early as 1818.The first private tuition school in St. Louis was opened in 1774.

The concept of free public education seems to have been present in Missouri from the earliest days, but conflicted with the traditional idea that parents are responsible for educating their children.Hence, "free" schools were termed pauper schools-intended for the poor.St. Genevieve Academy, chartered in 1807, had a provision to provide free education for Indians and the poor.

The second wave of immigrants in Missouri came down the Ohio River from Kentucky and Virginia.Daniel Boone is typical of this group.Southern land owners favored the formation of private academies and seminaries.Boarding schools for young ladies were reported in Missouri as early as 1820.

The first state constitution (1821) provided for one school or more for each 36-sq. mi. Congressional township "where the poor shall be taught gratis," but implementation was slow.The General Assembly created a "board of commissioners for literary matters," considered a first state board of education in 1835.Henry S. Geyer of St. Louis, a member of the state legislature, is considered the father of Missouri's public education system.His School Act of 1839 and a series of enactments through 1853, provided for the basic school system including township school districts and the University of Missouri.

One room rural schools teaching eight grades seem to have evolved in Missouri by about 1840.They relied on the Lancaster system under which older students taught younger students.The book continues with a discussion of the facilities of the rural schools.Textbooks became available in the 1850s.(The invention of the steam powered rotary printing press in 1833 probably made textbooks affordable.)The first high school in St. Louis was founded in 1853.

The problem of qualified teachers was addressed in the 1850s.By that time a teacher certification system was in place.Three levels of certificates were granted.Testing and certification was by the counties.Normal schools to train teachers were recommended to the legislature in 1858.Lincoln Institute was established in 1866.Kirksville (1867); Warrenburg (1871); Cape Girardeau (1873); Maryville (1905); and Springfield (1905).

The book does a reasonable job of whetting the appetite for more information.It summarizes quite well published information on education in Missouri.A three-page list of additional reading references is included.However, some gaps are apparent.There is little discussion of the development of public high schools throughout the state (which seems to have happened in the 1920s).There is no mention of the Morrill Act of 1862, which provided federal land grants for the establishment of technical and agricultural universities.In an act dated Feb 24, 1870, the state accepted its federal land grant to establish the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy at Rolla and the school of agriculture at the University of Missouri at Columbia.The University of Missouri had been founded by the Geyer Act in 1839, but received little support from the legislature.There is little mention of the many private colleges such as Central Wesleyan College in Warrenton, MO, or of the ladies academy that escaped destruction when Danville was burned in the Civil War.There is no mention of Missouri's two private military academies.Eckler school, founded in Montgomery County in 1870, is mentioned.

Students of education and state history will find this a useful introduction to the subject. Index.

Thoroughly engaging
Written by former elementary school teacher Sue Thomas, A Second Home: Missouri's Early Schools is a fascinating history of Missouri's early schools and their role in taming the frontier, from the first one-room schoolhouses to charity schools for poor and Indian children, "dame schools", denominational schools, subscription schools, and more up until the 1850s and the rise of state-sponsored public education. Chapters address not only the basic facts about the construction and organization of Missouri's first schools, but also daily life for the educators and the students, including the difficulties of balancing schooling with the seasonal pioneer necessities of clearing fields, harvesting crops and providing shelter. A handful of black-and-white photographs and illustrations embellish this well-researched and thoroughly engaging tour of yesteryear. ... Read more

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A 30-year veteran professor of educational foundations has once again joined forces with a professor of school administration to bring present and future teachers a book that focuses on the major themes and issues in professional education. Foundations of Education: Becoming a Teacher provides an overview of educational history, philosophy, curriculum, financial issues and political forces affecting professional education today. Focuses on what prospective teachers need to know about the context of the teacher in a public school, helping future teachers obtain a greater sense of reality about theory and practice. For present and future educational practitioners from preschool to grade 12. ... Read more

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The seventh edition of Organizational Behavior in Education relates the study of educational leadership to the challenge of how students can participate effectively in school reform. Readers are challenged to develop and act upon a game plan for implementing school reform from the first chapter. The seventh edition continues to examine such aspects of organizational behavior as organizational culture, leadership, motivation, change, conflict and decision-making while maintaining high standards of scholarship and a lucid, readily accessible writing style. For anyone interested in organizational behavior particular to the arena of education. ... Read more

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Good overview
Book provides in one place a number of organizational theories which results in a useful text for a graduate course on organizational theory as it applies to educational organizations

Not good
A consant rehashing of the same topics chapter after chapter...dry, uninteresting...yet had to read for class.Good luck w/ this one unless you are a believer in any number of Ed. theories. ... Read more

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This is a main text for an upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level introductory statistics course in departments of psychology, educational psychology, education and related areas. ... Read more

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A Poor Choice for Beginners
A difficult to read text.I have used it as a text for a statistics course I taught (it was not my choice).There are few illustrations, the text is not clearly written, and despite this being the 6th edition, there are still numerous errors in the solutions given for the problems at the end of each chapter.Further, no use of current statistical software is mentioned.Many students have been frustrated by this text -- there are better options out there. ... Read more

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With wit, homor and profound one-liners, Michael Giangreco and Kevin Ruelle will tranform your thinking as you take a "lighter" look at the often comical and occasionally harsh truths in the ever changing field of Special Education.Flying by the Seat of your Pants sheds a whimsical, thought-provoking glimpse into real-life situations frequently encountered by those within the special education system.This carefully crafted collection is a must have for teachers, parents and staff developers! ... Read more

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"Dangerous Donations is a well-written, superbly researched study that opens up important questions in American educational history in general and African American history in particular."-Diane Ravitch

Eric Anderson and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., offer a new examination of the impact of northern philanthropy on southern black education, giving special attention to the "Ogden movement," the General Education Board, the Rosenwald Fund, and the Episcopal American Church Institute for Negroes. They present significant reinterpretations of key figures in African American education, including Booker T. Washington, William H. Baldwin, Jr., George Foster Peabody, and Thomas Jesse Jones. ... Read more

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"Nelson tells his story very well. His writing is clear, interesting, thoughtful and often quite lively."-Richard S. Kirkendall

In March 1929 hundreds of students at the University of Missouri received a questionnaire that asked their opinions of marriage, family, and sexual issues. Several questions were regarded as too intimate for university students, especially females. The so-called Sex Questionnaire, the product of a sociology class project, soon fell into the hands of the university's president, dean of women, and the local press, which deemed it "A Filthy Questionnaire." Nelson places the episode within the history and development of the University of Missouri as well as the "culture war" in America during the Jazz Age. He argues that the decade was marked by both change and the persistence of tradition. ... Read more

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Is Missouri unusually violent ?
Dick Steward's excellent book Duels and the Roots of Violence in Missouri
is a well-researched, scholarly analysis of a little-known subject. He is to be applauded for his efforts in examining the duel in Missouri.Yet one is troubled by his subtext in which he suggests that the United States is a uniquely violent culture. For Steward Missouri was a tranquil and peaceful place under the rule of both the French and the Spanish. But as soon as Thomas Jefferson completed the Lousiana Purchase "Those Europeans living in Missouri at the time of her transfer to the United States must have been surprised by the speed with which new forms of violence took hold." (P.12)

Thoughout his book, Steward repeatedly uses the duel as a way of defining Missouri and American addiction to violence. Steward admits that there were actually very few formal duels in the history of Missouri. He also admits that formal duels were mainly the crime of the elites. And while linking violence to the backwoods spirit of Missouri, he sees duels as a product of the towns. As a result, he links Missouri's history of dueling to the number of murders in St. Louis and Kansas City in the 1990s. The legacy of the duel is responsible for the violence in our modern cities. "Violence, shorn of honor, has become our civic karma." (p.207)

Nonetheless, Steward's book is well-researched and well-written. His investigation of the subject of dueling is very valuable. His weakness is his attempt to turn an historical anomoly which disappeared in the Nineteenth Century into a condemnation of a Twenty-first Century problem. Standing with one foot in the distant past and the other in the future to come, Steward is like to fall between the two.

Duels and the Roots of Violence in Missouri
Dr. Steward explores the code duello as it developed in Missouri. Were the roots of violence in Missouri persuaded by the South's chivalry, or by the individuality of the new frontiersmen in the area?As Steward so eloquently describes, the new form of violence was a combination of the two, and the roots can still be prevlently seen today. ... Read more

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thought provoking
Students have the chance to read, discuss, write, and/or role play these character ed. situations. The many different setting (community, school, home, among friends) help students to generalize the solutions to their own lives. They can work independently or in groups. These activities can be use with individuals, classes, or small groups. I have used them successfully for years.

not too impressed
as a high school guidance counselors these are good topics but the activities are boring and repeitive.You'll need to add alot on your own to keep the kids interested. ... Read more

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This volume offers a coherent vision of what it means to be scientifically literate, describing what all students regardless of background or circumstance should understand and be able to do in science as a result of their learning experience. The standards reflect the principles that learning science is an inquiry-based process, that science in schools should reflect the intellectual traditions of contemporary science, and that all Americans have a role in science reform. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Handy reference to coincide with website
Each time I need to reference one of the NSES, I pull up the website AND have this book open. The website's search feature quickly locates particular standards and their implementation, but is somewhat eye-tiring to read from. The book is difficult to navigate quickly, but easy on the eyes. Whichever pages and passages the site lists, I find in the bound book. As more states align science curriculum with each other, these standards are becoming, well, the standards. The book is easy to carry along and read those 'teacher tips' sections while waiting in line, for an appointment, or that train to go by.

Excellent Resource - Highly Recommended!
"National Science Education Standards" is an outstanding, well laid out resource for those interested in science education. We needed this excellent book for my daughter's senior project (establishing an advance science club) and found it to be a comprehensive tome of knowledge, somewhat overkill for our needs.

This book covers the standards that should be used to measure student science knowledge and therefore the level of teaching in the schools (taken with a large sampling of students, of course).

Highly Recommended!

CFH

superb book
This book gave a comprehensive overview of the issues facing national science standards.Not only did it go over the history of standards, but it delved into the complex issues of teacher participation, communitysupport, and school support equipment. I really enjoyed the organizationof the book.it was divided into very coherent and logical arrangement,which enabled easy understanding of the complex issues even to afirst-timer like me! ... Read more