New Books for Education

Title: Student Relevance Matters:  Why Do I have to Know This Stuff?
Author:Mickey Kolis
Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield
Call Number: LB1570 .K626 2011Synopsis:
As a study of Fact-Based Instruction, this small book answers questions about the purpose for studying all areas of knowlege, including mathematics, science, language arts, and physical education.  It also provides ways to approach instruction from this method.

Title: Using the Brain to Spell: Effective Strategies for All Levels
Author: Sally E. burkhardt
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Call Number: LB1574 .B87 2011
Synopsis from publisher:

This book offers practical advice to teachers unsure of how to teach spelling. Filled with student-centered wisdom, Burkhardt grounds her methods in both theory and practice, providing logical rules and hands-on exercises to keep students actively engaged.

Title: Schoolhouse of Cards: An Inside Story of No Child Left Behind and Why America Needs a Real Education Revolution.
Author: Eugene Hickock
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Call Number: LB2806.22 .H52 2010
Synopsis from Publisher

As the Obama administration wrestles with the impending reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the continuing need for education reform, Eugene W. Hickok provides an insider's account of this historic legislation. A former key player in the Department of Education during the Bush administration, Hickok describes how Bush's education agenda took shape during the campaign and his first year in office, how it achieved bipartisan support in Congress, and how it was implemented. Hickok believes that, even though NCLB accomplished a few goals, it had flaws. In addition, he reveals that the tensions among individuals in the White House, on Capitol Hill, within the Department of Education, and organized and sustained resistance at the state and local levels undermined the law's implementation.

In a final chapter Hickok criticizes reform efforts by Presidents Bush and Obama as nipping at the margins, calling instead for a radical rethinking of public education in America. NCLB represented a milestone on the road to fundamental reform needed in American education but Hickok calls for far more transformative and imaginative change.

Title: Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It
Author: Russell Rumberger
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Call Number: LC146.6 .R86 2011
Synopsis from Book Jacket:
The vast majority of kids in the developed world finish high school—but not in the United States. More than a million kids drop out every year, around 7,000 a day, and the numbers are rising. Dropping Out offers a comprehensive overview by one of the country's leading experts, and provides answers to fundamental questions: Who drops out, and why? What happens to them when they do? How can we prevent at-risk kids from short-circuiting their futures?