Dude

Dude, talk about awesome! Christopher Aslan's newest book, Dude, illustrated by Emily Mullock is another home-run hit. Dude is a pretty simple book with an even simpler concept, but the way it is carried out really makes Dude a book parents and kids are going to enjoy.

On each page, the Dude character is illustrated in a different situation, using the word "dude" to express his different feelings. We see everything from exhaustion and surprise, to awe and amazement. There are more than 25 different scenarios for Dude, and even more opportunities for you and your child to have fun saying "dude" in a rainbow of different ways.

My six year old son loves putting himself into the book, pretending to be Dude and then trying all the different voices Dude would use in each situation. My husband stands firm in his jealously in not having thought of this concept himself. Then, when I told my best friend about the book, she laughed and was amused and entertained by the idea. Simply put, this simple book brings so much to everyone!

This is the third book I've seen by Christopher Aslan and I already can't wait to see what he comes up with next. I think we are looking at another legendary children's author, to sit high with the likes of Dr. Seuss, Eric Carle and Sandra Boynton (just to name a few of our household favorites).

If you are interested in purchasing Dude by Christopher Aslan, visit Dude on Amazon.com to purchase your copy today!

You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making It in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates

Life lessons bound into a book. That's what You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making It in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates is all about. Sounds simple enough, but the trick is getting your graduate to read it! I suggest mom or dad read this book before handing it over to your high school or college graduate. Although this is something that needs to be in your child's hands, mom and dad or any other concerned elder could take the lessons in this book and slowly direct them to any child of any age.

Let's examine a topic directly from the book, "First Impressions." It immediately starts off with the "old saying" that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It's very true and most adults will tell you that 95% of the time, you are not able to change what is impressed in the first few moments of meeting someone. So how does Parrish manage to reiterate the importance of this particular life lesson? Like countless other topics his book, he's got a red bolded statement right there in the margin area: A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. Wow - not only is it true, but pretty simple! Certainly he's got other great things to say, right? Yes, he does! Parrish's statement grabs the reader and invites further reading. On the next page is a numbered list of ways to make a positive impression and/or reassure someone else's impression they've made upon you. Again, it is pretty simple and easy!

Even though this book is geared towards those starting out in life, it is still applicable to those still living their life, no matter how far gone that seemingly "bright future" is. Rarely is it ever too late to learn something new and then apply it to your current situation or even life in general. Chapter 3 of You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making It in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates is all about making dreams come true. It's a lot easier to accomplish and realize your dreams when you are starting off fresh and new in life, just out of college, and ready to take the bull by the horns. Parrish gives you all the tools you need to get it done. But there are many of us who had to live life a little before we were able to realize those dreams, and for those of us who are mid-life and still have dreams, we can still use the lessons Parrish shares.

For example, Parrish reminds us that when we don't like the situation we are in, we should change it. Of course, the older you are, the harder it is to do… but it is possible! Parrish uses the bold red note in the margin to remind us that we can make our dreams come true as long as we are dedicated to it through and through. Our own thoughts, however negative or positive they may be, are what a reality becomes. It is really easy to forget these lessons between all the ins and outs of day to day life, and us "old folk" need to be reminded of this. However, for those starting out in life, it can be something that feeds their attitude towards their future and make the difference between personal and professional success or something less than desired.

Parrish tackles just about every topic under the sun that can help a young adult become successful in life, and if they read it, I do believe they will truly have the positive reinforcement they need to be successful where they dream of success. For parents and older adults needing encouragement to renew their spirit and outlook towards the world, they too will find the encouragement they need to look forward to life as opposed to just living it one day at a time.

Hopefully I can keep these great lessons fresh in my memory to share with my children and when the time is right, hand You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making It in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates over to them to read. Simply put, this is the kind of book we all need on the family bookshelf!

A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy

I didn't really know what to expect from A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy, but seeing as how I've always enjoyed Philosophy and I love a great novel, I figured I had nothing to lose in trying this book on for size. Within the first couple of pages, I was hooked. Not only is Charlotte Grieg's storytelling very casual, almost as if a friend were conversing with you, but the story itself is relatable to just about any woman who has survived (most of) her twenties or even the 1970's.

Although the story takes place in 1970's Europe, it's quite relevant to modern times. This coming-of-age story deals not only with Susannah Jones' life as a philosophy student, but also as a young adult trying to find her rightful place in this crazy, ever-changing world. Being a mere 20 year old, Susannah faces the same anxieties related to her surroundings and friends that just about every 20-something faces.

Susannah finds herself pregnant during the time where women's liberation was abundant, and her inner battle leads her to a philosophical debate that ultimately rules her decision making. Susannah is thoughtful and cares deeply about making the right decision for herself, even though she sometimes lacks the ability to carry out her decisions. Susannah as a character is imperfect, and I believe that is what makes her so real and very genuine.

As I mentioned before, many twenty-something women and even those who still enjoy reminiscing upon those years, may find some familiarity with Susannah even if they aren't able to relate to her unplanned pregnancy. This is a surprisingly light read considering the philosophical topics offered by the book, and would be perfect for reading over a lazy day or weekend!

The Get Organized Answer Book

Dingy Desk? 50 lb. Purse? STILL Haven’t Done Your Taxes Cuz of All the Mess??
Clear Away the Clutter and Save $$ NOW!!

Spring has finally arrived and you can start fresh with new organizational skills that will pay off big time and last all year round. Jamie Novak, clutter-free queen and author of the newly released The Get Organized Answer Book: Practical Solutions for 275 Questions on Conquering Clutter, Sorting Stuff, and Finding More Time and Energy, can help you de-clutter your home and open yourself up to all the possibilities extra space and organization have to offer.

Jamie is a nationally recognized home inventory expert and professional organizer who says that about 80% of the clutter in every home or office is a result of disorganization, not lack of space. Her strategies, tips, and tools for success can help everyone conquer their messes, learn how to save money, and start living a much richer, more productive life today.

· Lack energy to organize? How to get motivated
· Is organizing pricey? How you can save BIG bucks and BIG room at the same time
· Fooled by all the freebies? How you can and should stop taking home free stuff
· Kids who love to clutter? How to get your children involved in the organizing process
· And much more!

Known as the “World’s Most Relatable Organizer,” Jamie Novak is the organizing expert for NBC’s iVillage and the author of two bestselling books, 1000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets and 1,000 Best Time Saving Strategies. Jamie and her organizing tips are frequently featured in national publications and programs that include Family Circle, Woman’s Day, American Baby, Parents, QVC, and HGTV's Mission Organization. For more info, including Jamie’s new video reel, visit http://jamienovak.com/MediaRoom.html

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal

For the off-beat book readers and lovers of literature, The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal supply much of what these types of readers are looking for - energy, imagination, and friendship. Although the characters are far from your garden-variety, everyday people, the story itself is unique and witty. If you enjoy storytelling and the artistry of epic literary works, The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is worth picking up and delving into.

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal
by Sean Dixon

“A heavily embroidered coming-of-age tale.... Energetic....Full of sound and fury.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Imaginative.” —Library Journal

“An unapologetically high-concept novel that is both giddy and reverential.” —Quill and Quire

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal by Sean Dixon is a mischievous rites of passage tale that takes place just as the Iraq war is exploding. The misfits and oddballs that make up the members of the Lacuna Cabal Montreal Young Women’s Book Club pride themselves on their good taste, intelligent discussions, and impeccable opinions. But what makes them different from other clubs is that they actually enact the books they are reading—until one of the books starts enacting their lives, so to speak.

And this book is The Epic of Gilgamesh—one of the earliest known works of literary fiction. As we know from the start, this epic poem begins “as an adventure story about a hero and his friend, but then somebody dies and everything changes and the hero goes on a long journey, in search of wisdom and the secret of eternal life.” Life imitates art, and our cast of characters set out on their own parallel journey to break their archetypes, discover their identities and places in the world, and grapple with the uncertainty of their futures.

The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal is a wildly ambitious novel that is infused with literary references from Margaret Atwood to Anne Carson to Michael Ondaatje. While the story has a surface veneer of playfulness with its raucous dark humor, underneath lies a deep exploration of human fragility and loneliness. Sean Dixon has succeeded in creating an original work that resolutely redefines the postmodern canon of literature by bringing it back to its core—the power of storytelling.

About the Author
Sean Dixon is a writer, occasional essayist, stage actor, and banjoist. His work has been published in The Globe and Mail, This Magazine, Canadian Theatre Review, and Brick, A Literary Journal. He gave up jobs as a shipper-receiver, a poster boy (of the putting up on billboards variety), and a prison driver to become a writer. He lives and plays banjo in Toronto and is currently working
on his next novel.

Wenda the Wacky Wiggler

Wenda the Wacky Wiggler is the tale of a very spirited child. Much like my very happy and active son, she is filled with such joy, it can't be contained and she just has to move, move, and move. Then, just like in real life, the grumpy adults, who have lost sight of the daily pleasures life brings, want to keep Wenda from dancing around and enjoying each day the way she knows best. Despite their best efforts to keep Wenda silent and still, the grumpy adults saw Wenda's excitement for life welled from deep within. They opened their eyes and let Wenda's infectious love for herself and her love for life seep within their own hearts, and before they knew it, they were enjoying themselves, their lives, and all the things they were now able to do with a positive attitude - all thanks to Wenda!

Wenda's tale is inspiring for the young, and reminds those of us who aren't so young anymore, that the world through the eyes of a child can make us feel light and happy. Christopher Aslan has really poured his heart into this tale, and you feel that from the moment the story begins. If you don't walk away from this joyful tale with a smile on your face, you weren't paying attention, and you need to start over from the beginning!

Not only is Wenda the Wacky Wiggler a tale that is bound to become a treasured classic, but Emily Mullcok's illustrations are energizing and compliment the positive flow of the story.

I look forward to seeing more books from Christopher Aslan, and the positive messages they bring to the young and old. He's becoming a favorite of mine and I believe every other family will feel the same. Invite Wenda into your home today and you will feel her joy, too!

Lilly and Lucy's Shadow

From page one, it is easy to fall in love with Lilly and Lucy. I see myself and memories from the past playing out through the pages of this beautifully illustrated book. I then see my twin girls as younger versions of Lilly and Lucy. Just like the girls in the book, my girls have danced and played with their shadows.

Some stories really give you a warm feeling when you read them, and this is one of those stories. Regardless of gender, the story is identifiable by all readers of all ages. Christopher Aslan's writing style makes reading aloud easy because of the rhythm and flow of the words. Toddlers and preschoolers will definitely enjoy not only the story itself, but the sound and the pictures that go along. Early readers will be able to read along and identify the action verbs, which is very helpful for children like my first grader, whom is learning to read longer words.

Lilly and Lucy's Shadow is a great addition to your family bookshelf. Between the writing and the artistry, it's got at least a little something for everyone in your home!

My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?

I really enjoy writing, and because I do a lot of it, I must make sure my grammar is spot-on. Plus, poor grammar is a pet peeve of mine and no matter how many times I grind my teeth over a poorly written sentence, I can't change the way others write. It makes it even harder for some since the rules of writing tend to change a little over time. For example, when I was in high school, you always, always added a comma at the end of a string of words, right before the word "and" (known as a serial comma). But now, the last comma isn't always necessary. So, when is it necessary? My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me?: Old School Ways to Improve Your English answers this and many more questions (including the big question posed in the title)!

For those of us addicted to proper grammar, and for those of you interested in being able to improve your writing, My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? provides the answers to questions you have with a relaxed and sometimes comedic approach. Even through my fogged mommy-brain, I am able to sit and read through My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? quite easily, which is more than I can say for some of my college level English textbooks!

Some of you may be wondering if I am one of those social networkers that reads and re-reads my Facebook status updates before I post. The answer is yes, I do. In fact, if I do see a grammatical error, I promptly delete it and start over or post again and explain my lack of accuracy by blaming it on my fogged mommy-brain! I suppose it would be a little too much for me to purchase My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? as secret pal gifts for those who don't worry about grammatically correct status updates, especially now after reviewing the book.

Surely, there must be many more of you out there stressing over the serial comma, and if you are, My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me? is a helpful piece of therapy! For those of you simply pondering the proper usage of various nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, or even the serial comma (and many more), My Grammar and I Or Should That Be Me?: Old School Ways to Improve Your English will provide you with a simple and easy to remember explanation for each question you may have.

If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• I Used to Know That
• i before e (except after c)

I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School

I am a stickler for fact based books. I still have all my college books for reference, and even though they are only collecting dust in the bottom of a spare closet, I've convinced myself I need to keep them. I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School, by Caroline Taggart, is the book that isn't collecting dust because it wraps so many different facts into one compact book! In fact, it as found a nice little home on my computer desk - far away from the dark depths of a closet!

Unless you are teaching a subject in school or are a super genius, there's just no way you are going to be able to remember everything you were taught. You will probably remember the difference between an adverb and an adjective, but will you remember what "diphthongs" are? In fact, I had to read that word twice because I couldn't recall anything having been called a diphthong!

I've studied a fair amount of literature and even though it was in college - my most recent studies - I still am unable to retain everything, even after writing research papers on the same topics! I just don't use the information every day and of course, much of what I had learned has disappeared from my mental database. But I sat back and flipped through the literature portion of I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School and it was amazing to see what memories were being triggered! From Shakespeare to J.R.R. Tolkien, each literary great has at least a small spotlight in I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School.

Whether you are a literary buff, a lover of science, or just interested in unlocking the memory back that's collecting a little bit of dust, I Used to Know That: Stuff You Forgot From School covers many other topics like Religion, History, Geography, Nature and more!

If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?
• i before e (except after c)

Know It All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge (Excerpt #2)

The following is an excerpt from Know It All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge by Susan Aldridge, Elizabeth King Humphrey and Julie Whitaker. You can read my review of this book here.

The Religions of the World

The map of world religions reflects the political and social history of humankind. Eternal quests for meaning, along with conquests, migration, trade, and evangelistic fervor have helped to shape the beliefs of nations and peoples alike.

Every human society has had some form of religious belief or practice. In simplest terms, religion is the belief that the world is inspired and directed by a superhuman power of some type.

Christianity, with some 2.1 billion followers, is the largest of the world's religions. Though it originally began in the Middle East, Christianity is no longer the dominant faith there. It is, however, the predominant religion in much of Europe and in North and South America.

Like some other religions, Christianity is divided into a number of different churches: In Russia, Orthodox Christianity is the leading religion. In South America, most Christians are Roman Catholics, and the same holds true in southern Europe.

Protestantism is more prevalent in both northern Europe and North America. With more than 1.5 billion adherents, Islam is the world's second most popular faith. Following the faith are most people of the Middle East and North Africa, a significant number in South and Southeast Asia, and long-standing minorities in the Balkans and eastern Europe. An influx of immigrants from former European colonies has seen the number of Muslims in Western Europe rise in recent decades.
Hinduism, the world's third largest religion, is prevalent in India, though large populations of Sikhs and Muslims can also be found on the Indian subcontinent.

Although Buddhism originated in India, the countries with the largest Buddhist populations are now China, Japan, and Southeast Asian states such as Vietnam and Thailand. Buddhism also has many followers in the Western world.

A notable exception to the dominance of Islam throughout the Middle East is Israel. Large populations of Jews are also found across Europe and North America, the latter home to more than 40 percent of the world's Jews. In fact, New York City has the second largest population of Jews of any city in the world, after Tel Aviv.

The United States is unusual for a developed nation in that a greater than usual proportion of its population holds religious beliefs, most commonly Protestant Christianity.

South America is predominantly a Catholic Christian continent. This is a legacy of the Spanish and Portugese Conquistadors, who brought the continent under colonial rule.

Africans retain many traditional religious practices in some regions. Christianity arrived more than two millennia ago, and Islam is the dominant religion of North Africa and West Africa.

India is a country of many religions. Four in every five Indians are Hindu, but there are also significant numbers of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains.

Australia is primarily Christian; however, its indigenous religions, centered around a belief in the ancient "Dreamtime" of creation, are key to its culture.

The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

The above is an excerpt from the book Know It All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge
A Reader's Digest book published in association with Quid Publishing. Copyright © Quid Publishing 2008.

Author Bios
Susan Aldridge has been a freelance science and medical writer for more than 15 years and has contributed to a number of magazines and websites. She lives in London.

Elizabeth King Humphrey has been a contributing writer, editorial advisor, copy editor, and co-designer for several magazines, books, and PBS documentaries. She lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Julie Whitaker has a master’s degree in anthropology and American studies. Whitaker has contributed to many books, including several encyclopedias. She lives on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Healthiest Meals on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What Meals to Eat and Why

The following is an excerpt from the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why by acclaimed nutritionist Dr. Jonny Bowden (Fair Winds Press; 978-1-59233-318-9). This new book combines ingredients that promote long-term health to create meals that will literally save lives. Studies show that eating the vital ingredients featured here as part of a balanced diet can cut the risk of heart disease by three-quarters, boost overall heart health, and add years to your life.

Citrus-Stuffed Herbed TurkeyA bounty of protein and potassium
Safety First
The Food Safety and Inspection Service recently changed the recommendations for how high a temperature cooked poultry should be cooked to. Previously, experts recommended cooking whole turkeys to 180°F (82°C) and turkey breasts to 170°F (77°C). The new cooking recommendation is 165°F (74°C) for both. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast with a meat thermometer.
Ingredients

Brining Solution
You will need 2 to 3 gallons (8 to 12 L) of brining solution for an 18- to 20-pound (8- to 9-kg) turkey.
Per gallon (4 L) of water:
1 cup (300 g) sea salt or kosher (not table salt)
½ cup (170 g) raw honey
2 teaspoons (4 g) finely grated lemon peel, optional
2 teaspoons (4 g) orange peel, optional
½ tablespoon cardamom pods, optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme, optional
Turkey
1 18- to 20-pound (8- to 9-kg) free-range, not self-basting, turkey

8 sprigs each of fresh rosemary (young and tender, not woody), sage, and thyme (or other herbs of your choice), rinsed and lightly dried (should total 1¼ to 1½ cups or 55 to 90 g when coarsely chopped)
2 shallots, peeled and halved
1 whole head garlic, peeled and crushed
1 lemon
1 orange
4 tablespoons (½ stick, or 55 g) butter, softened
2 tablespoons (28 ml) extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper
½ cup (120 ml) sherry

Prep Time: Overnight to brine, overnight again for optional drying, and 30 minutes to prepare for cooking.

Cook Time: 3 hours and 45 minutes to 4 hours and 15 minutes, plus 20 minutes to rest before carving

Starting with 2 gallons (8 L) of water, mix the brining solution in your roasting pan by combining all ingredients in correct proportions and stirring until the salt and honey are dissolved.

Rinse the turkey in plain water and pat it dry. Place the turkey in a lobster pot or large stockpot. (You can also use a plastic bucket if you line it with 2 or 3 clean garbage bags.) Pour in the brining solution to cover the turkey. If you need more brine to completely immerse the turkey, mix up another gallon. Place the turkey in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Remove the turkey from the brine, rinse very well under running water to remove all the brine, and dry thoroughly, including the cavity.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, gas mark 6).

Stem and coarsely chop the herbs, setting aside about three-quarters of them (? to 1 cup or 40 to 60 g herbs). Mince the remaining one-quarter (about ½ or 30 g) and put into a medium bowl. Add the shallots and garlic.

Quarter but do not peel the lemon and orange and squeeze them gently to make a little juice, tossing the fruit and juice together with the herb mixture.

In a small bowl, using your hands, mix the butter with the oil until creamy. Moving carefully so as not to puncture the skin, work your hand between the turkey skin and the breast as far as you can go to create a pocket over both breasts. Smear half of the butter-oil mixture over the breasts, covering as much meat as you can reach. Place half of the reserved, coarsely chopped herbs in each pocket (on top of each breast). Do this carefully and when complete, gently reshape (from the outside) the herb "pouches" above each breast to look rounded and smooth. Salt and pepper the inside of both cavities and stuff them with the fruit and herb mixture. Tuck the wings behind the back, tuck the skin folds over the cavities to close, and truss the legs. Smear the entire bird with the remaining butter-olive oil mixture and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slowly pour the sherry inside of the breast pockets, working it around to the leg joints.

Place a V rack inside of a roasting pan and cover it with foil. Poke about 15 holes into the foil. Place the turkey on the V rack, breast side down. Bake for 45 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (170°C, gas mark 3). Turn the turkey bird breast side up, baste (you can supplement the juices with a few tablespoons of sherry if you wish), cover with foil, and continue to cook for 2½ to 3 hours more, depending on the size of the turkey.

Remove the foil to brown the breast and continue to cook for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the breast and innermost parts of thighs and wings register 165°F (74°C) on a meat thermometer. (When the turkey is done, the legs should roll loosely on the joint, and the leg juices should run clear.)

Let the turkey rest on a cutting board for about 20 minutes before carving.

Yield: For turkeys weighing more than 12 pounds, allow ½, to ¾ pound (225 to 340 g) per person, so an 18-pound (8-kg) turkey can serve between 24 to 36 people

The above is an excerpt from the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth About What You Should Eat and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
Published by Fair Winds Press; July 2008;$24.95US/$27.50CAN; 978-1-59233-318-9
Copyright © 2008 Johnny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.

Author BioJonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S, is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health. He's a board-certified nutrition specialist with a master's degree in psychology, a life coach, motivational speaker, and former personal trainer with six national certifications. His most recent book is the much-praised The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth. His book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising Truth about What You Should Eat and Why has been endorsed by a virtual who's who in the world of integrative medicine and nutrition, including Mehmet Oz, M.D., Christiane Northurp, M.D., and Barry Sears, Ph.D.
http://www.jonnybowden.com/

The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.

Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community - Article

The following is an article by Nancy H. Taylor, author of Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community

Ten Ways to Green Your Home and Family
By Nancy H. Taylor, author of Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community

We use a lot of energy in our daily lives, for heating, cooling, lighting, appliances and transportation. There are many ways to save energy and money by making a few simple changes.

1. Change your non-dimmable light bulbs from incandescent to compact fluorescents (CFLs). CFLs come in all shapes and sizes and even many shades of the color spectrum. So you do not have to have a white glare or even use the curly bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are going to be obsolete soon, so educate your kids about how much energy CFLs save. Because CFLs have a trace of mercury in the bulb, they must be disposed of at a recycling center.

2. Turn down the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees F. or 50 degrees C. If your water heater is not insulated, wrap an insulating blanket around it. If your water heater is gas, and not insulated, be sure to leave room for the air vent. Do not cover any venting pipes with a blanket.

3. Arrange to have an energy audit for your home or apartment, which can be done through most utility companies or through an independent contractor. This audit will tell you where and how you are wasting energy, or areas that are lacking insulation. If you follow some of the suggestions, it is possible you can get a rebate from the utility and possibly a federal or state tax credit.

4. Get a programmable thermostat for your furnace or home heating system.
If your home or apartment is vacant all day, setting the heat to turn down while you are gone will save you money and energy. Also, turn the heat down at night. Adjust your air conditioner, so that it cools to a warmer temperature in the summer. Use shades to keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer. In the summer, open windows at night to let the cool night air in, then close windows and curtains to keep the house cool all day.

5. Teach your kids about turning off lights and the TV when they leave a room.
We are used to leaving appliances running even when we don’t need them. We forget that they are drawing energy, costing us money and creating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through their energy use. When you buy an appliance, be sure it is Energy Star rated; there are ratings for everything from air conditioners to Xerox machines!

6. Involve everyone in the family in using power strips. Any gadget that has a digital readout or transformer box on its power cord needs to be plugged into a power strip and then turned off when not in use. Computers, printers, DVD players, TVs, I-pods, phone chargers, adding machines, coffee makers, microwaves and just about any modern device all draw power even when they are turned off. If you plug the devices into a power strip and turn it off when not in use, you can save up to 10% on your energy bill.

7. Try to minimize the carbon-producing transportation patterns of your family. Do you take public Transportation? Do you carpool? Do you ride bikes other than for recreation? Do you combine with neighbors for shopping trips, meetings or events? How about airplane travel? Do you plan your trips ahead so you do not have to fly constantly for business? When you do have to fly, offset the carbon footprint of your trip by buying green tags. Try http://www.terrapass.com/ or http://www.nativeenergy.com/.

8. Food buying patterns use energy too. Most food travels 1500 miles from farm to fork. See if you can find food that was not transported from far away. Many stores carry local produce from neighboring farms. Read the labels on fruits and vegetables to see where they were grown. Buy in bulk. Avoid foods that use large amounts of packaging. Buy from the farmers market or Community Supported Agriculture when you can. Always take your own bag to the market, plastic is a petroleum product.

9. Water is another source of energy use; it needs to be heated for showers and washing dishes. Take shorter showers or put a shut-off valve on the shower to turn it off while soaping, shampooing or shaving. Put a water-saver nozzle on your showerhead and all faucets. Use cold water to wash your clothes and dry your clothes on a rack or a clothesline. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth, (a great way to teach kids about not wasting water) or while shaving.

10. Using potable water from the hose to water lawns and plants can deplete your water supply, especially if you are in a drought region of the country. If you live in a place where you could collect rainwater, catch it in a barrel and use it for watering plants and landscaping. If you are landscaping, plant drought resistant plants using a method called xeriscaping.

Now that you have begun to think about the amount of energy you use in your home or apartment, you can calculate your carbon footprint. This is a way to figure out how much carbon dioxide you or your household put in to the atmosphere on a yearly basis. It can be calculated just for your home, or it can include driving and flying as well.

Each carbon calculator is a bit different. Calculating our carbon dioxide emissions is still a rough science in the process of being refined. Try several sites to see which one you like the best. Some of my favorites are: http://www.nativeenergy.com/, http://www.terrapass.com/, http://www.b-e-f.org/, http://www.myfootprint.com/, or www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html.

After calculating your carbon footprint, you can choose to offset the amount of energy your home uses by purchasing green tags. Depending on the organization you choose, you could be funding a wind farm, solar panels for schools or methane generated from dairy cow waste. Your dollars contribute to developing and purchasing renewable energy. Using your money in this way makes us all less dependent on a fossil fuel economy.

Written by Nancy H. Taylor, author of Go Green: How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community, Gibbs Smith Publishers, Layton, Utah 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.nancyhtaylor.com/.

In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing - Article

The following is an article by Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing by Lee and Bob Woodruff.
Published by Random House February 2008;
$16.00US/$19.00CAN; 978-0-8129-7825-4

Handling a Crisis With Kids
By Lee Woodruff, author of In an Instant: A Family's Journey of Love and Healing

“Tell the truth,” we always say to our kids when faced with their little transgressions, white lies or downright omissions of the facts.

Yet when a bomb in Iraq critically injured my husband, and my children needed some answers, I found myself in the difficult position of deciding just what they needed to know, what to withhold, and how to tell them.

Naturally, every parent is the best judge of their own child and knows intrinsically how to speak to them. But rocking a child’s world with bad news or fearful information was new to me. I have learned a great deal on my journey during the past two years about dealing with difficulty and I wanted to share some of my wisdom.

1) When speaking to your children about difficult or uncertain situations, hold hope and realism in equal measure. My husband was in a coma that lasted 36 days and during that time there were many question marks. I vowed I would never lie to the kids or fill them with false hope. But when they would ask me what Daddy would be like, or how he would recover, I said, “We don’t know exactly what Daddy will be like but I believe in my heart he will be OK.”

I found a phrase that held out some hope while sparing them the intricate details and some of the possible outcomes for their Dad. Most importantly, I wanted to protect my kids from all of the bumps and sharp turns I myself was going through with the roller coaster medical situation.

2) I frequently asked my children how they were doing and sometimes they asked questions. It was important for them to know that I was always ready to listen and patiently answer their questions, even if I was feeling like I didn’t have one ounce of energy left in my body to do so.

3) I offered my kids the chance to talk to a psychiatrist, minister, someone other than me. They never took me up on the offer but I wanted them to know there were other outlets if they felt they couldn’t express their pain or fear in front of me. There were well aware of how much I had on my plate. I never forced the issue and always followed their lead.

4) Hide your fears. My kids took every cue from me and I knew it would be harder for them if they saw me breaking down or railing at the world or worse yet, terrified. I knew my children needed to see me as strong and in control, especially with parent out of the picture indefinitely. It’s ok to cry in front of them—you are human, but histrionics are not going to have any positive
effect.

5) Keep as much to the daily routine as possible. I was separated from my children for 5 weeks, seeing them on weekends. It was extremely hard to be away from them, but what I realized was that bringing them down to Washington to be with me would be the worst thing I could do. They needed to stick to their routine, see their friends, keep their after school activities in place—all of that was “normal” to them.

6) When the going is rough—help your kids live hour by hour. That was some of the best advice I got from someone else. At certain critical points in a crisis, even day-to-day is too long. Keep their focus off their fear of the future. I tried to stay in the present and help my children focus on their day, their homework and their busy schedules.

7) Sometimes it does help to visualize the future. At bedtime, when they might be especially sad or tense, I would have my kids picture us all together as a family that coming summer, or imagine how great it would feel when we got Dad back at the dinner table. I tired to help them find small moments that didn’t over promise too much.

And lastly – love, love, love—shower them with love. You can err by smothering, hovering and over-indulging, but I don’t believe there is any such thing as too much unconditional love.

Author
Lee Woodruff is a public relations executive and freelance writer.
For more information, please visit http://www.bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org/ or join the nonfiction e-newsletter by visiting http://www.rh-newsletters.com/.

Forgive Me - Article

The following is an article written by Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Forgive Me.Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pub Date: January 2008
ISBN: 978-0-345-49447-4 (0-345-49447-4)
Lessons from Mom
By Amanda Eyre Ward, author of Forgive Me
No matter what I write about, my novels always seem to have a strong mother character. Inevitably, this character is inspired by my own astonishing mother, Mary-Anne Westley. From a dorm pay phone, a hostel in Nairobi, a restaurant in Athens, or the bench at my neighborhood playground, I’ve talked with her every day of my life.
Once a writer and model for Vogue and Mademoiselle, my mother settled happily into the role of full-time mom for sixteen years. When she left my abusive father, she worked for the phone company and then a chemical gas company, trying to make vibrant copy out of dull facts and figures. She put me and my two sisters through college, commuting over an hour to work until her retirement last year. Money was tight, but Mom never faltered, always inspiring us with her graceful acceptance of the way things had turned out. Now that I am a mother myself, I’ve been able to put some of her rules into practice.
Rule Number One: When in doubt, throw a party.
When my mother left my father, she left behind a giant house and many fair-weather friends as well. In our new, smaller house (next door to Mom’s former golf caddy), we all felt a little lost. When Christmas rolled around, Mom refused to get gloomy. She planned her annual Christmas party, inviting not only the country-club set, but our new neighbors as well: Lou, who had a few cars on his front lawn; Jim, who we suspected was a drug dealer. The same bartender drove across town to our new address, and Mom placed the Harrington’s ham, meatballs, and cheese ball on the dining room table in the middle of our crummy new house. When we dimmed the lights and lit candles, it felt like home.
Rule Number Two: When times get tough, the tough go shopping.
My mother is always beautifully dressed; my sisters and I regularly steal her clothes. When she had to work on telephone lines due to a strike at her company, she came home with a DKNY denim pantsuit, which she paired with pearls each morning.
At one point, while I was in college, my mother lost her job. I knew she was nervous about paying the mortgage, so when she left a message saying she had fantastic news, I called back immediately.
“You got a job?” I asked.
“Oh, no,” she said cheerily, “but Manda, that sweater you loved went on sale at Bloomingdale’s! I bought it!”
Rule Number Three: Believe—and believe in—your children.
I didn’t always tell the truth to my mother. I lied about boyfriends, I lied about beer, and once I lied about cashing in my meal plan in college and spending the money on a trip to Florida. But my mother always believed me. I think now that the guilt I felt when I lied was worse than any punishment could have been. My mother always expected the best from me, and in the end, I never lied about anything that mattered. I hope I will remember that overlooking a dumb decision (I had to eat Ramen for the rest of the semester, and learned my lesson in spades) might be better than policing my child. My mother’s faith in me, and her absolute belief that I would become an honest person, has been the guiding force in my life.
Last but not least: Mothers deserve to be happy, too.
My mother did give up a great deal to raise me and my sisters. But she never stopped wanting happiness for herself. If she came to visit us at college, she wanted to go out dancing, too. When visiting me in graduate school in Montana, she wanted to go river-rafting and skinny dip in the hot springs. If I ask her to stay in the car with my sleeping baby while I run into Target, she says, “Absolutely! If you go buy me the New York Times to read while I’m stuck here.”
Most importantly, Mom wanted to fall in love, and the best part of the story is that she did. On my mother’s wedding day, she was just as difficult as any bride, complaining about the humidity and the hairdo, and just as radiant. She danced, threw her bouquet, and boarded a friend’s boat with her new husband. And then she sailed off into Long Island Sound, leaving her three daughters to watch her go.
Author Bio
Amanda Eyre Ward is the award-winning author of How to Be Lost and Sleep Toward Heaven. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family.
For more information, please visit http://www.amandaward.com/.

How Big Is Your God?: The Freedom to Experience the Divine

The following is an excerpt from the book How Big Is Your God?: The Freedom to Experience the Divine
by Paul Coutinho, SJ
Published by Loyola Press; October 2007;$18.95US; 978-0-8294-2481-2
Copyright © 2007 Paul Coutinho, SJ
The Enslaving Illusion of Love
Love is one of the greatest illusions that people have. This illusion of love is often the biggest obstacle to our relationship with God and to our greater and deeper experience of the Divine.
Reflect for a moment on the story of the couple who were so madly in love that every parent who had a teenage child would point to them and say, "If you want to know what love is, look at that couple." One day the man died. The woman was so devastated that on his tombstone she had engraved in bold letters, 'The light of my life is gone." People would go there to show their children that inscription and to talk about this ideal couple and how they loved each other. People also stopped by to console the woman, and one man stopped by often. He fell in love with the woman, and eventually she fell in love with him, and soon she wanted to get married again. But that tombstone was an embarrassment. They went to their pastor for advice. He said, "Let it be; don't worry. You have written, 'The light of my life is gone: Just add 'I have struck another match.'"
Abraham Lincoln once said that everyone is as happy as he or she chooses to be. Happiness, therefore, is an inner choice. When someone loves you, that person does not make you happy but makes you aware of the source of your happiness within you. Therefore, when someone you love rejects you, or goes away or dies, that person does not take your happiness with him or her.
When we cling to the love of another person or are dependent on it for our happiness, we become enslaved to that relationship. We fool ourselves by believing that our happiness comes from that person instead of from the river of divine life and because we are the beloved of God. Such a relationship is not a truly unconditional loving relationship. True love lets me freely be who I am.
God's most precious gifts are sometimes the very obstacles that stand in the way of our deepening our relationship with the Divine. Sometimes our relationships, even good ones, prevent us from moving to a higher spiritual level. Ramakrishna, one of the great Indian sages, tells this story:
There was a holy man who wandered the forests, always lost in the presence of God. Through his wanderings, he came to the city one day and found a young man, a wonderful man, and said to him, "Why are you wasting your time here? Come with me into the forest, and I will show you how to experience God, peace, and happiness." The young man said, "I can't do that. I have a wife who loves me dearly; she would be devastated if I went away. I have children who depend on me. They love me so much. Our family is so close to one another. There is so much love in this family. I cannot just leave them and go." The holy man said, "This is an illusion. It is a figment of your imagination. They don't love you the way you think they do. You don't love them the way you think you do." And the young man replied, "Of course I do." So the holy man said, "Let's test this."
The holy man suggested, "I will give you this little potion. When you go home, drink it, and you will fall down as if you are dead, but you will be aware of everything that is going on. I promise you that shortly I will come and revive you." The young man agreed. He went home, took that potion, and fell down as if he were dead. His wife was the first one to find him, and she began screaming and yelling and could not be consoled. "This husband of mine," she cried, "I love him so much. Why did God take him away so soon and so quickly?" His children also could not be consoled. All the neighbors were in the house trying to help the family. They were also talking about how much they loved this man. And the young man was thinking, I hope the holy man comes now, because he would then see for himself how much I am loved and cared for.
The holy man appeared. He asked, "What happened?" The wife said, 'This husband of mine -- l loved him so much and now he is gone, and I do not know what I am going to do without him." The children said the same thing. The neighbors were talking about him too. The holy man announced, "I can revive this man. I have this little potion. If I put it into his mouth, he will come back to life." And everyone stopped crying and looked forward in hope. "But there is one condition for this potion to work. One of you has to take half of it, and you will die. I am sure you love him very much and will have no problem doing this."
The wife spoke first. She said, "What is a home without a mother? This man does not know how to cook. This man will not be able to take care of the children." So, she said, she could not possibly take the potion. The children said, "Papa lived a good life. God will reward him. We are young and have our own lives to lead." The neighbors had their own families, so no one among them was willing to take the potion. The holy man revived the young man, and without turning back, the young man followed the holy man into the forest.
Now, I am not suggesting that you leave all your loved ones and go into the forest. What I am saying is that you should look at this great illusion of love for what it is. Don't give your loved ones and friends more importance, more value than they have. Jesus said, "Unless you hate your father and your mother and your brothers and sisters, you cannot be my disciple." I am not saying that you should stop loving your family. Jesus did not say that. Jesus said, "Love them with all your heart and all your soul. Love them like you love God. Love them like you love yourself." Love them, but know that you have to let go of them at the same time so that you will be able to follow God totally and unconditionally. This is something that we all need to think about. We all have to face this illusion in some manner, and the consequences of how we do so are very real.
When my mother died, all of us at home were worried about our father. He had spent forty-seven years married to my mother and was very devoted to her. We wondered if my father would die now that the love of his life was gone. But he didn't; he survived. He lived for twelve years after her death. Not only did he live, but he was fully alive. He was fully present to life. Of course he missed my mother. Of course he talked about my mother. But her death did not devastate him; it did not kill him.
When people die, we miss them and we cry for them, but if we truly loved them and freely enjoyed them, we cry because we're happy. The tears are tears of happiness, their lives were a gift to us and we remember the happy moments. Because we fully enjoyed them, we are free to let them go on the physical level and stay connected to them on the spiritual level.
This is true even in our relationship with the Divine. One of St. Ignatius's axioms is "Pray as if every thing depended on God and work as if everything depended on you." What St. Ignatius is saying is that we need to give ourselves fully to the task, in which God is laboring, and trust fully in the Divine. This reflects a childlike approach rather than a childish approach. In this relationship, we are free to be who we are, and God is free to be divine. This relationship is one of freeing love.
Copyright © 2007 Paul Coutinho, SJ
Author BioFr. Paul Coutinho, SJ is an internationally recognized Ignatian scholar and speaker who brings an Eastern influence to Western spirituality. A Jesuit from the Bombay province of India, he frequently leads retreats, gives spiritual direction, and trains people to lead the Spiritual Exercises. Fr. Coutinho holds masters degrees in both clinical psychology and religious studies, and he has a doctorate in historical theology from Saint Louis University. He currently divides his time between India and the United States.

Remembering Our Angels: Personal Stories of Healing from a Pregnancy Loss

No one knows the devastation and heartache of losing a baby more than a father or mother. Grieving parents often do not know where to turn and what to do with their grief in the aftermath of a pregnancy loss. In Remembering Our Angels: Personal Stories of Healing from a Pregnancy Loss, Hannah Stone has collected essays and stories from pregnancy loss awareness activists, doctors, grief counselors and grieving parents in the hope of offering a resource to grieving parents.

Know It All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge (Excerpt)

The following is an excerpt from Know It All: The Little Book of Essential Knowledge by Susan Aldridge, Elizabeth King Humphrey and Julie Whitaker. You can read my review of this book here.
Earth’s Climate: What Gives?
The Earth's average temperature has fluctuated greatly throughout its history. Today we worry about polar ice caps and glaciers melting more quickly than ever before. Still, there have been times in the past when ice and snow were virtually absent from the planet. Could we be headed for another iceless age?
The term ice age sometimes refers to periods when ice sheets were more extensive than usual. But these times are more accurately called glacials, and they occur within an ice age; the periods between glacials are called interglacials. We are now in an interglacial in what is probably the Earth's fourth great ice age. What has distinguished the last 200 years is the melting of ice at apparently unprecedented rates as the temperature of the Earth gradually grows warmer.
Climate Change
In the early nineteenth century the Swiss-German geologist Jean de Charpentier suggested that the Alpine glaciers he had been studying had at one time been far larger. Later a Swiss-American geologist, Louis Agassiz, built on Charpentier's notion and proposed that Earth at one time had been completely covered by ice.
Ice Ages Past . . .
Since then, scientific advances have contributed to our understanding of the Earth's ice ages, and it is now thought that the first major ice age occurred some 2 billion years ago. Another ice age, 850 to 630 million years ago -- probably the most severe -- may have covered the entire globe in ice, a frosty scenario known as "Snowball Earth."
The end of that ice age seems to have coincided with the evolution of a great many tiny organisms, although whether there is a causal link between these events and what they might be remains a matter of debate.
Then, between 400 and 300 million years ago, another ice age struck, and the planet was again plunged into a cold period, known as the Karoo Ice Age, named for the glacial till (sediment) found in the Karoo hills of South Africa.
. . . and Present
The current ice age began some 40,000,000 years ago, reaching its coldest period about 3,000,000 years ago. The last glacial period (often referred to inaccurately as an ice age) ended about 10,000 years ago, and the first human civilizations began to flourish shortly after. How global warming will affect Earth's cooling and warming cycles -- and, more urgently, sea level as glaciers and the polar ice caps melt -- is the pressing issue of our age.
The Global Greenhouse
Without the greenhouse effect, a natural process that heats the Earth's surface and atmosphere, our average temperature would be a frigid 0°F (–18°C) -- ensuring a permanent ice age, to say the least. The warmed globe radiates what is called "infrared radiation," most of which should travel through atmospheric layers to space. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s, more and more infrared radiation began to be absorbed by naturally occurring greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2). The increase of average concentrations of CO2, from about 280 parts per million in 1700 to about 380 parts per million in 2005 is the major cause of global warming.
In 2007 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) asserted that human activities -- including the use of fossil fuels -- was “very likely” the catalyst for global warming.
Some scientists estimate that the Earth's temperature will rise by as much as 9°F (5°C) by 2050, while others heatedly disagree. What isn't in dispute is that the world's ice is in a literal meltdown. For instance, the largest single block, the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf in the Arctic, lasted some 3,000 years before it started to crack in 2000; a mere two years later it was split through and is now breaking apart.
The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
The above is an excerpt from the book Know It All
A Reader's Digest book published in association with Quid Publishing. Copyright © Quid Publishing 2008.
Author Bios
Susan Aldridge has been a freelance science and medical writer for more than 15 years and has contributed to a number of magazines and websites. She lives in London.
Elizabeth King Humphrey has been a contributing writer, editorial advisor, copy editor, and co-designer for several magazines, books, and PBS documentaries. She lives in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Julie Whitaker has a master’s degree in anthropology and American studies. Whitaker has contributed to many books, including several encyclopedias. She lives on Vancouver Island, Canada.

The Global Achievement Gap - Article #2

The following is an article written by Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap. You can read my review of this book here.
Education Accountability Version 2.0: A Letter to the Next President
By Tony Wagner,
Author of The Global Achievement Gap
Dear Mr. President:
Your education platform was filled with noble generalities. I suppose you thought you couldn't get more specific because the No Child Left Behind Law is increasingly unpopular and unworkable, and there is no agreement about how to fix it. It is an issue that doesn't lend itself to sound bites. To fix NCLB, you must first understand the skills that matter most in the 21st century and the ways in which the NCLB law is actually getting in the way of more meaningful accountability. And then you must invest in accountability "version 2.0."
Problem: Too few students are graduating from high school. The ones who do lack the essential skills they need for college, careers, and citizenship.
Nearly one third of our students do not graduate from high school. This problem is not more widely known because states are not held accountable for improving their graduation rates. Additionally, states use different formulas for calculating their districts' high school graduation rates, and almost all of them significantly overstate the numbers of students who graduate. Florida, for example, claims a seventy percent graduation rate, but the reality is closer to fifty-five percent.
The majority of the students who do graduate from our nation's public high schools are unprepared for college and the workplace. In the 21st century, the skills needed for careers, college, and citizenship have converged: Critical thinking, creative problem-solving, collaboration, and effective communication have become far more important than mere memorization and factual recall. However, at the high school level, states continue to test low level content knowledge and factual recall through multiple choice tests, and a passing score in even the most "rigorous" of these tests, such as the Massachusetts MCAS test, does not mean students are career and college-ready. Forty percent of the students who pass MCAS need remediation in college. Nationally, one out of every two students who starts college never completes a degree, and the main reason for this poor completion rate is students' lack of college-level skills, not lack of subject content knowledge. Similarity, employers complain that most new employees lack proficiency in the "new basic" skills outlined above.
Solution: The Department of Education should hold schools and districts accountable for their graduation rates and assess the skills that matter most.
The Department of Education should require all school districts and states in the U.S. to report their high school graduation rates according to a common formula. To ensure that schools teach the skills that matter most, the Department of Education should "audit" school districts' performance by testing representative sample populations of students with assessments that measure the most important skills. For example, the College and Work Readiness Assessment measures high school students' analytic reasoning, critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing skills and compares them to the scores of freshmen in 250 colleges. (http://www.cae.org/). Scores from tests like these will tell us whether our country is making progress in increasing the percentages of students who leave high school "college and work ready." Scores of subgroups of students would be reported, as they are under the current law, to ensure that districts teach all students new skills.
To create greater accountability, the Department of Education should issue and widely publicize an annual "report card" for every school district in the country. This short document would simply report the percent of students who graduate and the percent who graduate college-ready by subgroup. Transparency is a far more powerful way to create greater accountability than are the largely meaningless threats in the current law. States would then have the responsibility to develop strategies for helping their under-performing districts to improve.
Problem: The accountability measurements for Adequate Yearly Progress incents states and districts to create a boring, dumbed-down, test prep curriculum, and there is no common standard for "proficient."
One major problem with the NCLB law is the unrealistic expectation that every school will improve the number of students who score "proficient" by a certain percent every year until 100 percent of the students in the nation are proficient by 2014. This expectation leads to two widespread practices: 1) Many states, like Mississippi and Wisconsin, create easy tests where the standard of "proficiency" is such a low bar that most students can pass; 2) To ensure that more students pass state tests, districts require teachers to teach the test content and give frequent practice tests, leaving no time for more interesting or enriching learning opportunities. Increasingly in this country, what gets tested is all that gets taught.
The second major problem with the law is that it allows the standard of "proficiency" to be set by each state. So there are, in fact, fifty different standards of proficiency in this country. For example, students in Mississippi, who have traditionally been among the least literate in this country, are more "proficient" in reading than students in Minnesota, according to the two states' test scores. Because the states' standards vary so widely, their test scores tell us absolutely nothing about what students really know and can do.
Solution: Create a national high school writing test, benchmark districts' and states' yearly progress to a common international standard, and make the unit of accountability the district, rather than individual students.
Lack of writing skills is the number one complaint of both employers and college teachers. However, many states are no longer testing writing because they are not required to, and writing tests are expensive and time-consuming to score. To the extent that some states, like Massachusetts, test students' writing, it is by requiring high school students merely to write a five paragraph essay. The solution is for the federal government to administer a two hour writing exam to demographic sample populations of eleventh graders in all states, as is done in many European countries. The essay question for the writing exam would be based on a major event or document in American History. For example: "Discuss the causes of the civil war and the ways in which these causes continue to influence current events in this country;" Or, "Which
of the first ten amendments (which would be reproduced on the test) do you think is most important for a strong democracy and why."
The second solution to the lack of common standards is to use the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test results as the benchmark for progress in states' education improvement efforts. American students are significantly outperformed by students in most other industrial nations, in part because the PISA tests require very little recall of information and much more application of knowledge to new problems. These are the skills that matter most in the real world, but they are not ones our students learn in their multiple choice world. The incentive for states to improve their education outcomes is economic. States and school communities that have very low PISA scores, which would be widely publicized by the Department of Education, will not attract or keep businesses that demand all employees have 21st century skills.
Finally, in order for states to be able to afford much higher quality tests, like the CWRA and PISA, they should no longer be required to test every student every year. State and district accountability can achieved by testing sample populations of students every year -- a kind of educational audit. To do well on such tests, districts and schools would need to create local assessments for every student that were aligned with the new state and national tests. Each
teacher would be regularly assessing all of his or her students to ensure that students who might be among those randomly chosen for the state and national tests would be well-prepared.
Accountability 2.0 would focus schools and districts on preparing students for meaningful assessments which measure the skills that matter most in the 21st century. To prepare for these new tests, all students would be taught how to write, reason, analyze, pose thoughtful questions and solve problems. In short, they would learn the skills they need for college, careers, and citizenship, and they would be engaged in challenging and interesting work in their classes. Doing anything less that a version 2.0 of our accountability system puts our students' and our country's future at stake.
©2008 Tony Wagner
Author BioTony Wagner is the co director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His most recent book, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach The New Survival Skills Our Kids Need -- And What We Can Do About It, has just been published by Basic Books. Tony can be reached through his website: www.schoolchange.org

The Global Achievement Gap - Article

The following is an article written by Tony Wagner, author of The Global Achievement Gap. You can read my review of this book here.
What Do Your Children Need to Know to Succeed in Today’s World?
And What Can You Do to Help Them At School and At Home?By Tony Wagner,
Author of The Global Achievement Gap
The world is changing at an extraordinary pace. Twenty-five years ago, most young people who mastered the "3 r's" of reading, writing, and arithmetic and had a high school diploma were likely to be able to get and keep a decent job. Not so today. In research for my new book, I've come to understand that there are seven "survival skills" all young people need to master for success in today's world. The skills needed for careers, college, and citizenship have converged. Students who leave high school without them are far less likely to get a good job, succeed in college, or be an active and informed in our democratic society.
All Kids, New Skills
Here are the Seven Survival Skills, as described by some of the people whom I interviewed:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
"The idea that a company's senior leaders have all the answers and can solve problems by themselves has gone completely by the wayside . . . The person who's close to the work has to have strong analytic skills. You have to be rigorous: test your assumptions, don't take things at face value, don't go in with preconceived ideas that you're trying to prove." -- Ellen Kumata, consultant to Fortune 200 companies
Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
"The biggest problem we have in the company as a whole is finding people capable of exerting leadership across the board . . . Our mantra is that you lead by influence, rather than authority." -- Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Cisco
Agility and Adaptability
"I've been here four years, and we've done fundamental reorganization every year because of changes in the business . . . I can guarantee the job I hire someone to do will change or may not exist in the future, so this is why adaptability and learning skills are more important than technical skills." -- Clay Parker, President of Chemical Management Division of BOC Edwards
Initiative and Entrepreneurship
"For our production and crafts staff, the hourly workers, we need self-directed people . . . who can find creative solutions to some very tough, challenging problems." -- Mark Maddox, Human Resources Manager at Unilever Foods North America
Effective Oral and Written Communication
"The biggest skill people are missing is the ability to communicate: both written and oral presentations. It's a huge problem for us." -- Annmarie Neal, Vice President for Talent Management at Cisco Systems
Accessing and Analyzing Information
"There is so much information available that it is almost too much, and if people aren't prepared to process the information effectively, it almost freezes them in their steps." -- Mike Summers, Vice President for Global Talent Management at Dell
Curiosity and Imagination
"Our old idea is that work is defined by employers and that employees have to do whatever the employer wants . . . but actually, you would like him to come up with an interpretation that you like -- he's adding something personal -- a creative element." -- Michael Jung, Senior Consultant at McKinsey and Company
New Learning and Roles for Parents in the Community
The problem we face as parents is that these are not the skills currently being taught and tested -- even in our "good" suburban schools. In America today, I've discovered that there is only one curriculum in most of our schools: "test prep." What gets taught is only what gets tested. And because almost all of the tests students take -- from state tests for No Child Left Behind to Advanced Placement exams -- require a great deal of memorization and factual recall, these are the only skills being taught in most classrooms. As a consequence, one out of every two students who start college never completes a degree, and employers report that young people today are ill-prepared for the 21st century workplace.
The impact you can have on teacher or school or district may be limited as one individual. I believe parents and concerned community members must work together to become effective advocates for teaching and testing the skills that matter most.
In the last chapter of my book, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach The New Survival Skills Our Children Need -- And What We Can Do About It, I suggest that parents and community members must first understand some of the ways the world has changed and how schools need to differently prepare our students for success. Book groups, PTA meetings, and discussions in our churches and synagogues all provide opportunities for the kind of adult learning we need in order to be prepared to ask school board members, educators, and policy makers some important questions like:
• What do you think are the most important skills our high school graduates need today to succeed?
• How are you teaching and assessing these skills?
• How are you gauging the success of our schools -- by test scores or by the numbers of students who go to college and succeed there, as well as by how well prepared students are for work? Have you talked to employers and recent graduates of our schools to see if our students graduate with the skills they need?
New Ways to Support Our Children At Home
Many business leaders and educators alike worry about this generation's "lack of work ethic." However, I've come to understand that the "net generation" is not unmotivated, but rather very differently motivated. Growing up tethered to the internet as most are, today's teens crave connection with others and learning through discovery. They are accustomed to multitasking in a multimedia world and so find most work in schools to be pointless and boring. But, as parents, we worry about our children's futures and so push them to succeed in school. We look at their grades and fret about whether they will get into a "good" college. We push them to do more of the "right" things for their college application, and we hope that they will have a lucrative career some day.
All of these concerns are understandable, but the young adults whom I interviewed -- when I asked what advice they'd give parents -- told me that much of this parental worrying and pressure is actually counterproductive.
Andrew Bruck, a Princeton graduate and currently enrolled at Stanford Law School told me that "parents need to respect the extraordinary capacity of students. Our generation wants to do things. It's important to nurture children's creativity. There's so much pressure to succeed and to go to a brand-name school. There's no need for parents to pile on the stress."
A young woman in a focus group I conducted at a New England college agreed, saying "Parents need to support children in their dreams -- even if it's wanting to be an artist." Another in the group chimed in: "Parents shouldn't worry so much about how their children are doing in school. They should find out more about what their extracurricular interests are." Bruck's high school experience certainly confirmed the importance of extracurricular activities in students' lives. He told me that he learned more about writing and managing deadlines and leadership from his experience as editor of his high school's newspaper than he did from any of his classes.
Matt Kulick, a Cornell grad who now works a Google, had perhaps the best advice for parents when he said "A lot of my friends never had a good idea of what they liked or wanted to do because their parents said 'you're going to be a doctor' or . . . And it doesn't help to tell your kids to do more homework or to always ask them what grade they got. Parents need to find out what their kids like . . . My parents motivated me to do well -- not to get A's but to give my best effort. They trusted me."
Being an advocate in your community for 21st century teaching and learning, and trusting your children as they explore their interests. Easy to say, but hard to do. As parents we, too, need to continue to develop our mastery of the Seven Survival Skills -- and to be models for our children -- as we grow and learn together.

©2008 Tony Wagner
Author Bio
Tony Wagner is the co director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His most recent book, The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach The New Survival Skills Our Kids Need -- And What We Can Do About It, has just been published by Basic Books. Tony can be reached through his website: www.schoolchange.org

i before e (except after c)

While in high school and college, I found some very ingenious ways to memorize those desperately needed tidbits of information for tests and reoccurring topics. Those mnemonic strategies are still with me today. In Judy Parkinson’s book i before e (except after c), countless mnemonic strategies are presented in ways the young and old can appreciate.

Parkinson starts with the first trick of memorization we learn in life, our ABCs. She actually provides a little history with this mnemonic learning tool, along with many others in i before e (except after c). Who knew there were so many different ways to memorize topics of the English Language?

Not only are English Language mnemonics used, but there are examples for memorizing a myriad of facts. One in particular I wish I had known in my science classes was for converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. But it is coming in handy now that I have Canadian friends that refer to degrees Celsius when talking about the weather! I just remember:

Celsius to Fahrenheit:
Multiple C by 9
Divide the answer then by 5
Next, all you need to do, is to add 32.

We’ve all used mnemonics whether we realize it or not. Or perhaps you didn’t realize that old saying “Righty-tighty, Lefty-loosey” is an example of mnemonics. Either way, we all benefit from these simple and fun ways of memorizing rules, proverbs, facts, people, places and things! Judy Parkinson makes mnemonics fun for everyone of every age in i before e (except after c), which by the way, is something I say to myself each and every time I have to spell the word “receipt!”

More Book Information:

I Before E (Except After C)
Old-School Ways to Remember Stuff
By Judy Parkinson
Published by Reader's Digest
April 2008;$14.95US; 978-0-7621-0917-3

Description

Hundreds of Memory Tricks You Learned in the Classroom

"Thirty days hath September..." How many times have your relied on that old maxim to figure out a calendar?

Or how about "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the notes on the treble clef?

These ingenious, practical memory techniques abound in I BEFORE E (EXCEPT AFTER C) with its hundreds of curious sayings. In this clever -- and often hilarious -- collection, you'll find engaging mnemonics, arranged in easy-to-find categories that include:

• Geographically Speaking
• Time and the Calendar
• Think of a Number
• The Sky at Night and by Day
• Guarenteed to amuse and inform, this little book is a perfect gift for students of all ages.

Author Bio
Judy Parkinson is a graduate of Bristol University. She is a producer of documentaries, music videos, and commercials, and won a Clio award for a Greenpeace ad. Parkinson has published four books and has contributed to a show of life drawings at the Salon des Arts, Kensington.

Reviews
“Parkinson’s book is a welcome throwback, an indispensible guide that can be used for general knowledge revision, or whenever that simple nugget of information proves elusive.”
-The Good Book Guide

“Remember all those awesome acronyms and nifty mnemonics you learned in school, to stop stuff going in one ear and out the other? No? Well, never mind—a new book called i before e (except after c) is here to re-educate the educated.”
-The Sun
If you like this book, you may also be interested in reading reviews on these other books:

• My Grammar and I... Or Should That Be Me?
• I Used to Know That

Sharks and Other Sea Monsters

Whether you are interested in learning about sharks and sea monsters or you simply enjoy a good pop-up book, Robert Sabuda & Matthew Reinhart's Sharks and Other Sea Monsters is a must-have! Robert Sabuda and Matthew Reinhart are both well known for their children's books and masterminded pop-ups. These authors aren't just great children's writers, they are paper engineers! The imagination and creativity put into Sharks and Other Sea Monsters is no match to the pop-ups we saw when we were kids! These pop-ups are high-tech creations for the new millennia!
Sharks and Other Sea Monsters begins by illustrating and identifying the origin of early sea "monsters" reported since the first sailors set to the sea. Each page is dedicated to individual sea life and includes astoundingly intricate and colorful pop-ups. At the center of the book is an exciting and very realistic pop-up relication of a modern day shark. Some of the smaller pop-ups on the Shark page include a 250 million year old shark and even a life-sized megalodon tooth, a type of shark that is long extinct and was more than 50 feet long, weighing over 50 tons.
The book continues on with reptiles, long-necked sea lizards and even marine mammals and birds. It uses simple explanations with scientific words and pronunciations so that readers of any age can easily understand the history of large and ancient sea life. From fossils of prehistoric life to the ancestors of a common-day crocodile, this book has it all. Plus, there isn't just one pop-up per page. There are large, medium and small pop-ups on each page. It's a pop-up lover's dreams!
Sharks and Other Sea Monsters stands up to the sub-title of Encyclopedia Prehistorica, making it a must have addition for any collection of reference books. The pop-ups are so complex, it could be examined over and over again and still be a complete amazement as to how the pop-ups all come together. From age five to ninety five, everyone will enjoy this remarkable creation for generations to come.