School's Out examines the alternatives to failing public schools. It offers parents the means to give their children a real education that prepares them for life as adults. It includes examples and anecdotes from the writer's thirty-six years of teaching and counseling children in the public schools of San Francisco.

School's Out guides parents in planning and carrying out a sound educational program with references to print and electronic sources, teaching techniques, and psychological principles in mentoring their children.

School's Out examines the alternatives to failing public schools. It offers parents the means to give their children a real education that prepares them for life as adults. It includes examples and anecdotes from the writer's thirty-six years of teaching and counseling children in the public schools of San Francisco.

School's Out guides parents in planning and carrying out a sound educational program with references to print and electronic sources, teaching techniques, and psychological principles in mentoring their children.

School's Out examines the alternatives to failing public schools. It offers parents the means to give their children a real education that prepares them for life as adults. It includes examples and anecdotes from the writer's thirty-six years of teaching and counseling children in the public schools of San Francisco.

School's Out guides parents in planning and carrying out a sound educational program with references to print and electronic sources, teaching techniques, and psychological principles in mentoring their children.

Spencer Barnard, the father of five self-actualizing children, is a lifelong educator with experience as a classroom teacher, principal, district level administrator, educational publisher and college administrator. In this latter position he guided the development of an innovative master's degree program designed to advance the professional skills of K-12 teachers in the use of discovery-type learning experiences, enriched to accomodate students' differing learning styles and develop their higher order thinking skills. More than 1,000 in-service teachers have so far completed this program. Numerous classroom tests of discovery learning units developed by small teams of teachers in this program consistently showed improvements in students' attitudes and classroom performance levels. Barnard currently serves as Executive Director of the Discovery Learning Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the use of active learning methods in the nation's K-12 schools. He can be reached at this e-mail address: sbarnard@transteach.org.

Communication is the key to progress. We must learn to communicate with other species or perish. We are not alone in this universe and we should be able to express our ideas and aspirations to other species because we may not meet on equal terms.

Following his previous book, A Magic Life and Time Yoga, the author writes about communication and the philosophy of past, present, and future efforts to communicate. This is a non-technical book for the average reader who likes to think things out themselves.

City, state and federal policies have legislated mandatory testing, dominated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Additionally, a small school policy, implemented nationally in many localities, requires that large comprehensive high schools be replaced by small schools in which teachers would, family like, work intimately with students and their parents to ensure that every graduate will qualify for college entrance. To evaluate these well-intended public policies I offer an in-depth ethnographic case study enriched by historical documentation and cultural analysis.

Fremont High School is located in Oakland, California, just 10 minutes by car from the Mills College campus where I teach, but its inner-city realities are as distant as the barren surface of the moon. Immersed in the school for five years as a volunteer, and with the collaboration of Mills students every semester, I describe a deeply flawed and intensely frustrating process of policy design and implementation that repeatedly exhausted and demoralized Fremont teachers trapped in unintended Catch-22 scenarios.

City, state and federal policies have legislated mandatory testing, dominated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Additionally, a small school policy, implemented nationally in many localities, requires that large comprehensive high schools be replaced by small schools in which teachers would, family like, work intimately with students and their parents to ensure that every graduate will qualify for college entrance. To evaluate these well-intended public policies I offer an in-depth ethnographic case study enriched by historical documentation and cultural analysis.

Fremont High School is located in Oakland, California, just 10 minutes by car from the Mills College campus where I teach, but its inner-city realities are as distant as the barren surface of the moon. Immersed in the school for five years as a volunteer, and with the collaboration of Mills students every semester, I describe a deeply flawed and intensely frustrating process of policy design and implementation that repeatedly exhausted and demoralized Fremont teachers trapped in unintended Catch-22 scenarios.

Peace education can provide children with the tools necessary to deal with change and adversity throughout their lives. In today’s fast-paced, technology-rich world, it can be tempting to join the race and work to an end result at breakneck speeds. However, without slowing down and showing children what the world has to offer, children will not know the beauty the world holds, that which is worth protecting, nor will they be inclined to see the beauty and spirit of those around them. Peace education can be a lesson in the art of simplicity. It can also be a lesson in turning inward to find calm in the midst of chaos. Peace education, when presented in a well thought-out manner, can inspire children to be the future peacemakers of our world and ultimately lead this future generation toward the development of a peaceful planet.

Humankind has been working for and promoting peace since the beginning of history, and during this time many have agreed that the most effective and promising way to promote peace in the world is to begin with a child. In Pathways to Peace, author Kimberly Paquette presents a peace-based curriculum to provide children with the tools to construct and build a peaceful tomorrow through exposure to peaceful symbols, practices, and language.

Combining Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory and Montessori education, Pathways to Peace promotes peace and its practice in the classroom. Geared for three- to six-year-old students, this guide includes both theory and a curriculum where teachers can incorporate peace in all aspects of the classroom. The guide encompasses lessons for each of the multiple intelligences and can be adapted for use in schools, religious education programs, after-school programs, summer camps, and other areas.

Pathways to Peace presents a curriculum to allow peace to manifest itself in the hearts of children, who are the earth’s salvation. The mission of peace education is to show children the path that would lead the world toward true peace.

Scott Habeeb, Ray Moore and Alan Seibert have over 60 years of combined experience as teachers and administrators, and together have compiled a guidebook centered around a teaming approach that empowers teachers to better meet freshmen needs. Based on concepts behind their popular Freshman Transition workshops, the authors share ideas about why and how teaming teachers works and how it can benefit schools. Road maps provide guidance for teachers to learn specifically how to create a program built around key elements such as:

• Standardized expectations
• Learning skills
• Classroom leadership
• Parent/teacher contact

Educators everywhere will benefit from the practical advice, expert insight, and helpful tips that transform the ninth grade problem into The Ninth Grade Opportunity, ensuring a successful transition for every high school student.

Scott Habeeb, Ray Moore and Alan Seibert have over 60 years of combined experience as teachers and administrators, and together have compiled a guidebook centered around a teaming approach that empowers teachers to better meet freshmen needs. Based on concepts behind their popular Freshman Transition workshops, the authors share ideas about why and how teaming teachers works and how it can benefit schools. Road maps provide guidance for teachers to learn specifically how to create a program built around key elements such as:

• Standardized expectations
• Learning skills
• Classroom leadership
• Parent/teacher contact

Educators everywhere will benefit from the practical advice, expert insight, and helpful tips that transform the ninth grade problem into The Ninth Grade Opportunity, ensuring a successful transition for every high school student.