Originally supported by a bipartisan coalition, it purports to improve public schools by enforcing a system of standards and accountability through high-stakes testing. Many people supported it originally, despite doubts, because of its promise especially to improve the way schools serve poor children. By making federal funding contingent on accepting a system of tests and sanctions, it is radically affecting the life of schools around the country.But, argue the authors of this citizen's guide to the most important political issue in education, far from improving public schools and increasing the ability of the system to serve poor and minority children, the law is doing exactly the opposite. Here some of our most prominent, respected voices in education-including school innovator Deborah Meier, education activist Alfie Kohn, and founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools Theodore R. Sizer-come together to show us how, point by point, NCLB undermines the things it claims to improve: * How NCLB punishes rather than helps poor and minority kids and their schools * How NCLB helps further an agenda of privatization and an attack on public schools * How the focus on testing and test preparation dumbs down classrooms * And they put forward a richly articulated vision of alternatives.Educators and parents around the country are feeling the harshly counterproductive effects of NCLB. This book is an essential guide to understanding what's wrong and where we should go from here.

    No longer just for jellies and jam, mason jars are now being filled in the most creative and often super healthy ways, such as salads and casseroles. The easy-to-follow recipes in this book will show you how to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner in a mason jar. Oh, and dessert! Can’t forget dessert.Some of the recipes included in the book are:• Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats• Creamy Polenta with Bacon and Eggs• Spicy Watermelon and Cotija Salad• Roasted Butternut Squash and Kale Salad with Pepitas• Mexican Caesar Salad with greek yogurt dressing• Lazy Lasagna• Campers Sangria• Pie in a JarThe Mason Jar Cookbook will feature, in beautiful full-color photos, over 100 ways to create, carry, and consume food in the mason jar. Many of the recipes will include tips on serving and storage. Several will also include notes on substituting ingredients to include seasonal fruits and vegetables.Beautiful, convenient, easy, versatile and just plain cool. Just some of the many reasons why everyone should have mason jars in their life. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Good Books and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of cookbooks, including books on juicing, grilling, baking, frying, home brewing and winemaking, slow cookers, and cast iron cooking. We’ve been successful with books on gluten-free cooking, vegetarian and vegan cooking, paleo, raw foods, and more. Our list includes French cooking, Swedish cooking, Austrian and German cooking, Cajun cooking, as well as books on jerky, canning and preserving, peanut butter, meatballs, oil and vinegar, bone broth, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    As huge as the Pantheon of Rome and as heavy as the Statue of Liberty, this magnificent instrument is so precisely built that its seventeen-foot mirror was hand-polished to a tolerance of 2/1,000,000 of an inch. The telescope's construction drove some to the brink of madness, made others fearful that mortals might glimpse heaven, and transfixed an entire nation. Ronald Florence weaves into his account of the creation of "the perfect machine" a stirring chronicle of the birth of Big Science and a poignant rendering of an America mired in the depression yet reaching for the stars.

    Combining the goals that William Bennett enumerated as Secretary of Education, key excerpts from E. D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Sequence, and the latest research, it sets forth clear curricula and specific objectives for children from kindergarten through the eighth grade, including: -What children should be studying and the kind of work they should be doing -Important facts to learn and essential reading lists -When children should master specific math skills, spelling and grammar basics, and scientific facts -Test preparation, homework, and other areas that require parental involvement The Educated Child also examines timely issues such as school choice, sex education, character education, and the phonics/whole language debate. Perhaps most important, it encourages parents to become advocates for their children by learning what to look for in a good school, how to talk to educators, and how, when necessary, to push for needed changes. For parents concerned about their children's current education and future lives, it is the ultimate handbook.

    . . Go Be Kind. Go Be Kind isn’t just a journal or another how-to guide to getting what you want. It's a series of daily adventures that will help you rediscover the greatest human gift—kindness—connecting you with others, and helping you create a happier life.This life-changing book is filled with highly classified missions, treasure hunts, dream dates, left-handed writing, awkward moments, and daily adventures that are guaranteed to change your life. You will become best friends with total strangers. Some of the adventures can be done while you’re falling asleep at night. Some of them will open your eyes to things you've never seen before. And all of them are really easy.It might take 28 ½ days. It might take 11. Or you can take all the time you need (the adventure is up to you).Go Be Kind isn’t about random acts of kindness because kindness isn’t an act. Kindness is a state of being. Kindness is who we really are, if only we could stop for long enough to remember. It makes us loving. It makes us vulnerable. It makes us courageous. Kindness is the greatest adventure of all time. That adventure is about to change your life. And someone else's, too…Because once we start being kind, we realize that there is no faster way to happiness. It will change how you see the world, how you connect with other people, and how you connect with yourself.And it starts with you. All you have to do is change one life in order to change the world. You ready?Let’s do it. #gobekind

     Do you suffer from lower back pain after a long weekend ride? Do your shoes wear out on one side more than the other? Are you experiencing numbness in your hands, or knee pain? Phil Burt, Head Physiotherapist at British Cycling and Team Sky Consultant Physiotherapist, has worked with hundreds of cyclists to help them solve these and many other classic cycling niggles. In this book he outlines his methods to help you analyse your position and get the best from your bike. The right BIKE FIT can mean the difference between a good ride and a bad one, but a professional fit can cost more than you paid for your bike. The information is all here. Let Phil Burt guide you through your own BIKE FIT, to ensure your bike and body work in harmony. Packed with useful diagrams, step by step diagnostics and case studies, this is the must-read for any cyclist keen to get a performance advantage.

    Now, Vitamix has created a gorgeous companion cookbook to help you enjoy the benefits of a whole foods diet. Here are more than 200 simple, scrumptious, easy-to-prepare recipes that use a blender—most taking less than thirty minutes.The chefs at Vitamix believe that the only way to make lasting, healthy changes to your diet is to enjoy the food you eat. With The Vitamix Cookbook they’ve created mouthwatering food you’ll want everyday: breakfast and brunch, including smoothies, breakfast mains (muffins, breads and scones), pancakes, waffles, egg dishes soups and sides (amazingly, the Vitamix heats the soup while blending it, making it table ready in less than ten minutes!) entrees, including wraps and sandwiches, burgers, pizza, pasta, poultry, meat and seafood sauces and dressings drinks, including nut milks, juices, and even cocktails desserts, including sorbets, ice creams, milkshakes and baked desserts Throughout The Vitamix Cookbook, you’ll find helpful sidebars with inspiring stories of people who have improved their health using their Vitamix, as well as tips for a nutritious whole foods diet.

    

    And when his Oprah appearance shot the book onto the New York Times bestseller list, he kept the heat on. We can expect the same tenacious commitment to promoting his follow-up book, The Excellent 11.The Excellent 11 contains eleven sections, with each one focusing on a theme directly related to teaching and raising children. Ron Clark draws from his own experience to give advice, telling personal stories that demonstrate the significance of each theme within the learning environment--an environment that extends beyond the classroom and into the larger world. Using themes ranging from Adventure, Ingenuity, and Humor to Dedication, Creativity, and Love, Clark provides a road map for both parents and teachers who want to enrich their children's learning experiences.

    Their proven strategies direct families past every roadblock, whether selective eating, different parenting styles, special needs, or medical issues such as sensory disorders. In Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater, they offer clear guidance for every stage of a child’s development, from birth to elementary school:Steps to encourage self-feeding, and the importance of letting little ones get messyTips on how to ditch unhealthy kids’ menus and kids’ mealsRecipes designed especially for young taste budsHelpful insights on the sensory system, managing mealtime behaviors, healthy eating around the world—and much more.The authors also highlight seven qualities of good parenting—being joyful, compassionate, brave, patient, consistent, proactive, and mindful—and show how valuable they are at mealtimes and beyond.

    It reveals how children adapt to and are influenced by different parenting styles and how safeguarding their emotional development is the key to creating a more peaceful, harmonious, and sustainable world.Practical advice for raising a well-adjusted child includes tips on:Supporting your child's developing emotional intelligenceUnderstanding how your childhood has influenced your own emotional make-upHelping you achieve your full parenting potentialParenting for a Peaceful World is for parents, child health professionals, teachers, and adults seeking to heal and grow.Robin Grille is an internationally renowned author, speaker, educator, psychologist, and psychotherapist specializing in child development, parenting issues, and family relationships.

    Just open the door and step outside. A fun, hands on approach to getting involved in nature, The Kids' Outdoor Adventure Book is a year-round how-to activity guidebook for getting kids outdoors and exploring nature, be it catching fireflies in the cool summer evenings; making birdfeeders in the fall from peanut butter, pine cones, and seed; building a snowman in 3 feet of fresh winter snow; or playing duck, duck, goose with friends in a meadow on a warm spring day. The Kids' Outdoor Adventure Book includes 448 things to do in nature for kids of all ages--more than one activity for every single day of the year. Each of the year's four seasons includes fifty checklist items, fifty challenge items, three each of projects, destinations, garden recipes, and outdoor games. Throughout the book, you'll also find fascinating facts, useful tips and tricks, and plenty of additional resources to turn to. Complete with whimsical, vibrant illustrations, this book is a must for parents and their kids.

    Open your students' minds to the wonders of philosophy. Allow them to grapple with the questions philosophers have discussed since the ancient Greeks. Questions include: "Who are your friends?," "Can computers think?," "Can something logical not make sense?," and "Can you think about nothing?" Young minds will find these questions to be both entertaining and informative. If you have ever wondered about questions like these, you are well on the way to becoming a philosopher! "Philosophy for Kids" offers young people (ages 10 and up) the opportunity to become acquainted with the wonders of philosophy. Packed with exciting activities arranged around the topics of values, knowledge, reality, and critical thinking, this book can be used individually or by the whole class. Each activity allows kids to increase their understanding of philosophical concepts and issues and enjoy themselves at the same time. In addition to learning about a challenging subject, students philosophizing in a classroom setting, as well as the casual reader of "Philosophy for Kids," will sharpen the ability to think critically about these and similar questions. Experiencing the enjoyment of philosophical thought enhances a young person's appreciation for the importance of reasoning throughout the traditional curriculum of subjects. The book includes activities, teaching tips, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading. Grades 4-12

    Healy, Ph.D., examines how television, video games, and other components of popular culture compromise our children's ability to concentrate and to absorb and analyze information. Drawing on neuropsychological research and an analysis of current educational practices, Healy presents in clear, understandable language: -- How growing brains are physically shaped by experience -- Why television programs -- even supposedly educational shows like Sesame Street -- develop "habits of mind" that place children at a disadvantage in school -- Why increasing numbers of children are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder -- How parents and teachers can make a critical difference by making children good learners from the day they are born

    The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook not only covers basic academic subjects--the three R's--but also addresses interests that are off the beaten path of public school curricula, such as paleontology and meteorology. Thorough and up-to-date, this invaluable resource reviews all possible learning tools: Arranged by subject, including " Philosophy, " " Life Skills, " and " Electronic Media, " the sourcebook's organization and succinct and insightful entries make it a breeze to use. Icons next to the entries denote the format and intended age group of each resource. Whether readers are looking for the best way to explain relativity or Egyptian mummification, The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook opens the door to a whole new universe for teaching and learning. BooksVideosMagazinesCatalogsTimelinesKitsHands-on activities Board gamesCD-ROMsEducational Web sites