Graduation Gift Book Ideas

Here's Amazon's Best Graduation Book Gifts (my list)

http://www.topbooksguide.com/list.php?lnr=R8FVR619DQRR4

They left out one of my suggestions - Oh the Places You'll Go!

Professor goes from caves to classroom

By Genevieve Adams - Kentucky Kernel April 15, 2010

What is learned in the classroom is only half of one’s education.This is the mentality one UK professor tries to bring to her students. As a cave diver, teacher, adventure seeker and published author, Stephanie Schwabe seeks to not only teach her students about geology, but the wonders of the world they don’t see.
“I try and bring my experiences and the excitement that I feel for what I do to the students,” Schwabe said. “I want them to be excited about this amazing planet as I am. That is the main reason for teaching. It certainly isn’t for the money.”

Continue reading:

http://kykernel.com/2010/04/15/professor-goes-from-caves-to-classroom/

Name School After Role Model - A Teacher

From Canada...

Admirers of inspiring teacher seek new tribute

April 11, 2010

Joanne Shuttleworth jshuttleworth@guelphmercury.com

GUELPH — There’s a movement afoot to have the new public school under construction in Guelph’s south end named after Michael Elrick, the high school teacher who ran environmental leadership programs for the board and who died of lung cancer in November last year.

For Joanne Harris, there’s dignity, passion, grace, and a quest for excellence associated with Elrick’s name, making it a fitting name for the new school, she said.

“He had a broad reach,” said Harris, who teaches the co-op education program at Centennial CVI. “Mike was on the national kayaking team, he was passionate about the environment and he touched so many lives. Teachers at Centennial are telling me this is a brilliant idea.”

Continue Reading:

http://news.guelphmercury.com/News/article/619904

Ranked # 2 in Kindle Book Sales > Education > Classroom Management category (April 7-9, 2010)

Bestsellers in Classroom Management (April 9, 2010, 1:00pm)
Kindle Store > Education > Classroom Management (Updated hourly)
1. The Daily Five by Gail Boushey (75 customer reviews) 4 customer discussions Auto-delivered wirelessly Kindle Price: $7.99

2. Unlocking Your Rubber Room: 44 Off-the-Wall Lessons to Lighten and Transform Everyday Life by J.D. Perry Binder (10 customer reviews) Auto-delivered wirelessly Kindle Price: $7.95

Also #13 in the > Humor > Lawyers & Criminals category

I like the J.D. Perry Binder name above! A lawyer, criminal, and famous writer?

April 5-12, Featured Author of the Week

Everyone - From Monday-Friday, I'm the Featured Author for "I JustFinished" Books. This link has a Q&A section for readers at the bottom of the page:

http://www.ijustfinished.com/author/perry_binder/4

Enjoy! And have a great week.

Perry

Book Review: "This [book's] course of study can change your life"

Unlocking Your Rubber Room ISBN 978-1934938249
February 14, 2010

44 lessons by a former lawyer, teacher and motivational speaker offer keys to unlock the reader's "Rubber Room", a mindset that limits a person's happiness in life. Many of these lessons come from the realm of law, which also offer practical "advice" through anecdotes about "Law and Negotiation" ( section A). Remember, "It's good to be a Judge"; not so good to face one unprepared.

In the "Potpourri "section, Binder gives lessons abut "Law and Life", using positive attitude, laughter, and exaggeration. Lesson 22, Just Because You're an Expert, Doesn't Mean You're Right, relates an incident with a demeaning professor to point out that opinion is not fact, and attack is not a valid way to deal with people. Find a better way.

A close look at the justice system in America comprises the last section : Justice and Education. What do you do in the face of injustice? Make your choice between fear or anger. Consider consequences, and use your strengths. Anecdotes deal with facing your limits and overcoming them.

Then you take your final exam. You won't need a pencil, but a scream is mandatory.
If you have learned from these tales, you have indeed graduated, and Binder gives a graduation speech for the occasion. He relates a life changing incident that caused him to re-evaluate his life and "saved" him from himself.

Turn your life around. Get ready for the lessons Binder relates, and prepare for your graduation. This course of study can change your life.

Lights are going out on drama teacher’s career

This week, I reflected on the teaching career of Jaime Escalante (pictured), the teacher who inspired his students in East Los Angeles, and others in the movie, "Stand and Deliver" (1988). Mr. Escalante passed away a few days ago. He was 79 years young.

In Mr. Escalante's honor, I am celebrating the teaching career of a lesser known teacher, Doug Smith. Smith is a high school drama teacher in California. (His former students include American Idol's Adam Lambert)

Smith's teaching philosophy: Love the art in yourself, not yourself in the art.

He is the focus in the following article:

Lights are going out on drama teacher’s career
By Blanca Gonzalez, UNION-TRIBUNE

The curtain will come down on Doug Smith’s teaching career this spring after more than 30 years of inspiring and guiding high school drama students, but for now, the show goes on.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/apr/03/lights-are-going-out-on-drama-teachers-career/

Quoted in AJC article: ‘Undercover Boss’ on CBS

CBS hasn’t had a new reality show hit in several years so when it green-lit “Undercover Boss,” the network only ordered nine episodes, a dutiful sign of caution.
...
“I think most workers think executives are aloof and don’t understand their problems,” said Perry Binder, an assistant professor for legal studies at the Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University. “They get a kick seeing them get down and dirty and hope if they see what they do each day, they can improve things.”

Continue reading:
Undercover Boss’ on CBS spotlights Stone Mountain Park & the Norcross company that runs it
March 25, 2010, by Rodney Ho
http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2010/03/25/undercover-boss-on-cbs-spotlights-stone-mountain-park-the-norcross-company-that-owns-it/

Move Elementary School out of Harm's Way

This is a follow up to my Saturday, January 23, 2010 post

I follow the Marsh Fork/Massey coal issue very closely -- in April, there will be a school board vote on needed funds to move this school.

In West Virginia, the Marsh Fork elementary school sits 400 yards downstream from a dam holding back billions of gallons of water/coal sludge. The West Virginia government has refused to build a new elementary school in a safer location. The community, afraid for its children's lives, began the organization Pennies of Promise to raise the funds themselves. In April 2010, the school board will vote on funding for a new school. Are you willing to lend your voice to support these kids?

My students have joined the Facebook page below, and I am reaching out to other schools in an effort to elevate media awareness and the importance of a new school.

The "Pennies of Promise" Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2256931294

Please pass this post on to others.

APRIL 7 UPDATE

Our prayers go out to all of the miners' families -- The Upper Big Branch mine near Whitesville, W. Va. is just 9 miles from Marsh Fork Elementary in Sundial, W. Va.

Marsh Fork Elementary School is the Media Staging Area for broadcast and print journalists for the latest information on the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. Video on this link. http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/90049972.html

WVU is collecting condolences for families of mine disaster http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2010/04/06/wvu-collecting-condolences-for-families-of-massey-energy-mine-disaster/

Keep Them Laughing to Keep Them Learning

Below is my university's Center for Teaching & Learning Newsletter (pdf)

CONTENTS:

New technologies spark student-teacher symbiosis

Teaching Today’s Students - Is it harder or just different?

Keep Them Laughing to Keep Them Learning - my article, originally in Atlanta Journal Constitution

I never dreamed of being a college professor.
Does anybody?

When my third grade teacher asked us about our dream job, Molly said, “Astronaut.” Evan, “An actor.” Perry: “Obtain a terminal degree and lecture on legal morasses.”

Whether you teach third grade or nuclear physics, every student wants a
good laugh. As teacher accountability objectives collide with shorter attention
spans, laughter is the secret ingredient to keep everyone on task.

CONTINUE READING (PDF)

http://www.gsu.edu/images/CTL/_CTLnewsletterSpring10.pdf

Students found their hearts in Joe Fran’s classroom

I enjoy reading these stories and passing them on:

By Cate Murway, Correspondent, Bristol Pilot News
We all have favorite teachers. Whether they taught us how to read, write or do arithmetic, encouraged us, challenged us or gave sound advice in times of confusion, all of us have one or two educators in mind when we are asked: “What is the best thing you learned, so far?”

...

“Teaching was a wonderful career for me and I loved it. The student taught me as much as I taught them. I taught them to love and be passionate.”

Continue Reading: http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2010/03/17/bristol_pilot/news/doc4ba126bba69a2897790441.txt