Something Within Me
Something Within Me. Jerret Engle (creator/producer), Emma Joan Morris (director).
This award-winning documentary film, which has aired on PBS, profiles St. Augustine's School of the Arts, a pioneering grade school in the heart of New York City's South Bronx. The film focuses on the school's unique curriculum, which uses the arts— and especially music—to help unleash the creative and intellectual potential of young people struggling to survive in one of the city's poorest neighborhoods.
Says principal Tom Pilecki, “The arts fuel the academic, and the academic fuels the arts,” and students “experience many different types of learning.”
“Our aim is not to really turn out great musicians per se,” explains teacher Alan Given. “It's character building—it's giving them the confidence to go on and know that they have the option to do anything they want to do.”
Available from Direct Cinema Limited, P.O. Box 10003, Santa Monica, CA 90410. (310) 396-4774. 1992. VHS. Color. 55 minutes. $95 (plus $5 shipping).
NAEP Writing Report Card
NAEP Writing Report Card, Educational Testing Service for the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education.
This is a report on a 1992 survey asking some 30,000 public and private school students to respond to a variety of writing tasks. The findings testify to the vast discrepancies in American students' command of the English language. For example: For all three grades surveyed—4th, 8th, and 12th—the lower-performing students were four or more years behind their higher performing peers. Home environment and parental education level were closely related to writing proficiency. So, too, but to a lesser degree, was gender: Females of all ages scored better than males. Not surprisingly, the longer students stayed glued to the TV, and the less they read, the more poorly they tended to write. Comparisons are also made by region, teaching and curriculum approaches, and many other variables. Examples of student essays are included.
Available from New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Or write to Education Information Branch, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20208-5641. (800) 424-1616. 222 pp. Paperbound. $14.
Free (and Almost Free) Things for Teachers
Free (and Almost Free) Things for Teachers, 4th Edition, Susan Osborn.
This is a potpourri of more than 250 items to stretch your budget and imagination. Most are $5 or less and primarily for elementary school teachers. You'll find posters on the First Amendment and on weather forecasting; fact sheets on teacher burnout; free talking books and Braille services; a Windows on Wildlife project; a study in shoemaking; stimulating ways to teach science; lesson plans for Earth Day or handball; low-cost trees, plants, and bulbs; and so on. Charmingly described and illustrated.
Available from Perigree Books, The Putnam Publishing Group, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. (212) 951-8400. 1993. 128 pp. Paperbound. $8.95 ($11.75 Canada).
Play Safe! Be Safe!
Play Safe! Be Safe!, Robert Cole and Paul Schwartzman, BIC Corporation.
This multimedia fire safety education program is designed to kindle awareness in 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds—those most vulnerable to accidental fires. A 20-minute video features advice from firefighter “Dan,” with flashcards to reinforce his message. Also in the package: an activity board with stickers (a smiling star for things safe for play, a Keep Away symbol for potentially dangerous items); a Teacher's Manual and Resource Book, with fire safety facts and cut-and-paste activities; and take-home reminders in English and Spanish.
Available from Children's Fire Safety Education Program, BIC Corporation, 500 BIC Drive, Milford, CT 06460. (203) 783-2110. 1994. Teacher's Manual, 50 pp., $9.95.
At Home in Our Schools
At Home in Our Schools: A Guide to Schoolwide Activities that Build Community, Child Development Project.
Activities—designed to foster supportive, caring classrooms and schools and to forge links with the larger community—include everything from murals to adopt-a-family projects to grandparents' days. All put a premium on personal responsibility; appreciation of differences; reflection; and inclusion, cooperation, and mutual help. What's out: activities that “exclude some students and their families, promote unnecessary competition, or create disappointment when children don't succeed or win.”
Available from the Developmental Studies Center, 2000 Embarcadero, Suite 305, Oakland, CA 94606-5300. (510) 533-0213. 1994. 136 pp. Paperbound. $14.95.
Guidelines for Comprehensive Early Childhood Programs
Guidelines for Comprehensive Early Childhood Programs, Arizona State Early Childhood Advisory Council and Children's Action Alliance.
Based on models developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and various states, these guidelines provide specific recommendations for developing quality education programs for young children. Guidelines address areas such as administration, classroom practices, and program evaluation.
Available from Michael Bell, Arizona Department of Education, 1535 W. Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85007. (602) 542-3052. 1993. 64 pp. Spiralbound. $2.58.
A Matter of Time
A Matter of Time: Risk and Opportunity in the Out-of-School Hours (Abridged version). Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development.
Community groups offer young adolescents safe havens from drugs and violence, alternatives to gangs and loneliness, mentoring relationships with trusted adults, and a chance to develop their skills and talents and serve their neighborhoods. This abridged 1992 Carnegie report explains how to create and strengthen such programs, and details six successful public and private examples.
Available from the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, Carnegie Corporation of New York, P.O. Box 753, Waldorf, MD 20604. (202) 429-7979 (Washington, D.C. office). 1994. 36 pp. Paperbound. Free. The full report (1992. 152 pp. Paperbound) is $13.
History Alive!
History Alive! Engaging All Learners in the Diverse Classroom, Bert Bower, Jim Lobdell, and Lee Swenson.
This treasury of ideas describes six teaching strategies and many examples of multiple-ability tasks to pique middle and high school students' interest in history. Students analyze Revolutionary War-era paintings and music, create multimedia presentations on life in the '20s, and compare the plight of Medieval serfs and today's homeless population, to cite just three activities.
Available from Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867. (800) 552-2259. 1994. 180 pp. Paperbound. $23.95.
