Blogging for Books: Positive Discipline Tools for Teachers

Positive Discipline Tools for Teachers by Nelson and Gfoerer is an important resource for redirecting teaching behaviors from the traditional punishment based system and towards a method that allows for the student to be an active participant in the process. Though I am not a teacher, I am a parent and often struggle with the "right" way to discipline my girls in a way that does not stifle their curiosity and encourages them to remain creative, while still taking responsibility for their actions and understanding consequences. This book is an excellent guide to just that and has opened my eyes to the possibilities and different approaches to looking at problematic behavior, if you want to call it that. The real take home message is that every child has his/her own way of navigating the world and they should be encouraged to embrace that rather than become victim to our "one size fits all" methodology. It also recognizes that a child's behavior is not one aspect to who they are and expands the focus to the emotional and social aspects of who they are and how discipline plays a role with those dynamics. In all, an interesting and worth while read.

Blogging for Books: Finally Focused

Finally Focused is a guide about some of the factors that lead to ADD/ADHD behaviors and how natural remedies can help to manage those symptoms or the symptoms of medication. What I found most interesting about the book is the historical background about the syndrome. I had no idea that cases dated back to 1902, which, unsurprisingly, were thought to be a defect in moral character rather than biological/environmental. The most important aspect that the author focuses on is that ADD/ADHD is really a subset of behaviors that may have one or more cause, so there is no "one size fits all" solution. He uses his 30+ years of experience to outline cases that he has successfully treated. 

Though I found the book to be an interesting read, I did not find the data that he provided to be sufficient enough to persuade me that his methods are sound. For someone who had over 30 years of experience treating cases, it felt like he offered only a few case studies and no large scale trends to further understand his treatments. I do think it is worth reading for someone to get more information and perspective or feels like they may have "tried everything" to help their child or themselves when managing the difficulties presented in ADD/ADHD. 

Blogging for Books: In A Different Key

In A Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan and Caren Zucker is a comprehensive history about autism. Using biographical narrative the book explores the struggles regarding defining, diagnosing and treating autism as well as what that meant for human rights for those individuals. The stories are touching and hit to the core of compassion and intrigue.

I highly recommend this book how knows or loves anyone on the autism spectrum as a means to not only understand the condition, but also to understand how far the movement has come and still needs to go. 

Blogging for Books: The Acid Watcher Diet

The Acid Watcher Diet by Jonathan Aviv is a user friendly guide about the effects and treatment of acid reflux through diet modifications. The book starts by outlining what acid reflux is and the signs/symptoms to recognize that you have it as well as what the physical ramifications are of leaving it untreated. Aviv also discusses the different procedures that are available to confirm and diagnose it.

He then moves into the role of food in causing acid reflux and the different role of macronutrients in a balanced diet. He includes a handy chart for determining the different pHs of common foods and how they can be utilized to reduce inflammation in combination to the decisions that we make from day to day. This includes reducing particular behaviors that induce acid production, such as stress.

All of this information is followed by an easy to follow guide for a 28 day routine that is phased out into Healing and Maintenance as well as an exercise routine to support reaching a healthy weight as well as not aggravating the condition. The recipes included are easy to follow and most of the ingredients can be gathered at your average grocery store. This book is a good beginners guide or worth looking into for anyone battling acid reflux. 

Blogging for Books: "Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning"

Timothy Snyder's "Black Earth" is a haunting reminder of how fragile the balance of our society and how important it is that we remember these historical events. In a time when our country seems more divide than ever and the echo of intolerance can be felt in our daily lives, this texts provides a warning of how we can choose to avoid following in the footsteps of the Nazi movement.

The book begins by providing the historical framework for Hitler's rise to power and what his objectives were in "cleansing" the German culture while silently increasing the country's geographic footprint. He follows through the movement of the German power and how Hitler was instrumental in providing the background to the effort. Snyder then draws the parallels to the present and where our culture stands in terms of still being influenced by Hitler's teachings and the Nazi movements, including our views on intolerance and even areas of science.

This book is an important examination of the Holocaust and outlines the recipe for which Hitler was able to rise to power. There are times that this book felt repetitive or like it may have been missing additional information, but it was, overall, a solid read and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the history or looking to learn more.

Blogging for Books: Punderdome

Blogging for Book: Punderdome

Summary: Punderdome is based on the television show, where players are presented with card that pair two seemingly unrelated topics and players race against the time to create as many puns as they can in order to be awarded the round.

Game is designed for 3 or more players/teams and comes with:

• 200 double sided cards (white and green)
• 2 Mystery Prize Envelopes with fill in sheets
• 2 80 page pads for drafting puns
• 1 instruction sheet and pun example cards

Players take time being the proctor and choosing a green and a white card to base puns on. Players have 90 seconds (with an opportunity to gain bonus time) to write down puns to present to the proctor, who then determines the winner. Winner of the round is awarded the set of pun cards and the winner of the gain will have collected 10 sets of cards. 

Review: This game is sure to be the center of your next get together and be the perfect conversation starter. Though it was a little slow to get started, it quickly because a blast and you will find yourself looking for puns in everyday situations. You do not need to be an English major to play this game and it is perfect for larger groups.

Blogging for Books: "Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice" by Adam Benforado

Summary:

The author Adam Benforado is an associate professor of law at Drexel University. He uses examples and case studies to explore perception and biological factors as they relate to the criminal justice system and inherent criminal behavior. Through these examples Benforado offers the reader different points of view regarding our every day bias, how they carried over into the legal system and how they bend the ability to render "fair" justice.

Review:

Does disgust have a role in whether someone receives fair treatment? Are there checks and balances to ensure ethical opportunities in determining innocence? Or is it all about getting the conviction, regardless of fault?  These are some of the questions explored by the author.

The examples that Benaforado used dissected the inherent flaws that exist in the legal system because it is does not exist in a vacuum apart from bias.He incorporates how socioeconomic factors, biology and perception all play a role in determining innocence and how these factors play into an individuals actual propensity to commit a crime. Meaning, for example, that poverty and living in a rough neighborhood is an implication of being guilty of something and how the system is tilted in that view.

As a Criminology graduate, many of the themes explored in this book are familiar to me and it read a lot like a classroom lecture. The points were easily understood and the concepts were carried throughout the text. However, I felt like there were parts that were repetitive and one-dimensional. Though many of the points were thought provoking and offered perspective there were also many areas of the book that were just regurgitations of the same historical references that come up in the average Criminology text... which, I guess, should be expected from a professor.

The element that I felt that it was missing was the "where do we go from here?" piece. I felt that this book was relevant, given the current Black Lives Matters movement, but it lacked the passion and outrage for the inbalance in our current social justice system. We see it every day played out int he media where race, affluence, and stature play a role in whether a person is viewed as innocent and how that becomes more pertinent than actual guilt.

I saw where the author was going with biology playing a role in a person's propensity to determine right from wrong, thus their likelihood to commit a crime, as well as how it is ingrained into the systemic flaws of our criminal justice system through bias and emotional responses such remorse, empathy or disgust, but I feel that each issue is so complex that each could have their own book and this was really just an introduction into those topics. This is not to say that I did not enjoy the book but, towards the end, it felt a little flat.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.

Blogging for Books: "The Gap of Time" by Jeanette Winterson

"The Gap of Time" is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale." Though the plot involves the complexities of modern living such as technology, surveillance, and social media the core of the book's issues (love, jealousy, loss, regret, forgiveness, abandonment, and sexuality) are the same.

Though I am not familiar with the play, it was not a problem because Winterson opens the book with summarizing the plot. However, the author does introduce dynamics to the charcters' personalities such as homosexuality, interracial relationships and spousal rape that were not present in the original play. These elements helped to bring a more vivid and relative color to the characters, which made them relatable. This character depth creates a new world where you are turning the pages to discover where the characters end up, even though their fate has already been sealed as it mirrors the original play.

I am not familiar with with Winterson's writing and, though I enjoyed where she took the characters, I felt that there were times that the syntax was confusing and it distracted from the story. I also felt that there times that the dialog from the ethnic characters was forced and heavily fell upon racial stereotypes. The story was full of rich symbolism and vivid detail that help to set the scenes.

In all, this a good quick read, that is perfect for a trip to the beach or day in. Any flaws that I found in the writing or side plots were over shadowed by the fact that plot was interesting and the characters were strong enough to shine through.

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.