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The Courage to Teach
Exploring the Inner Landscape of A Teacher's Life
By Parker J. Palmer

Teachers choose their vocation for reasons of the heart, because they care deeply about their students and about their subject. But the demands of teaching cause too many educators to lose heart. Is it possible to take heart in teaching once more so that we can continue to do what good teachers always do -- give heart to our students?

In The Courage to Teach , Parker Palmer takes teachers on an inner journey toward reconnecting with their vocation and their students -- and recovering their passion for one of the most difficult and important of human endeavors.

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Earth in Mind
On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect
by David W. Orr (Author)
 

In Earth in Mind, noted environmental educator David W. Orr focuses not on problems in education, but on the problem of education. Much of what has gone wrong with the world, he argues, is the result of inadequate and misdirected education that:

• alienates us from life in the name of human domination

• causes students to worry about how to make a living before they know who they are

• overemphasizes success and careers

• separates feeling from intellect and the practical from the theoretical

• deadens the sense of wonder for the created world

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Ecological Literacy
Educating our Children for a Sustainable World (The Bioneers Series)
by Michael K. Stone (Editor), Zenobia Barlow (Editor)

From Booklist
Sustainability is increasingly becoming a buzzword, popping up in advertising campaigns and political promises. This welcome volume, collected by the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California, offers authoritative definitions of what sustainable living means and progressive theories for achieving it, beginning with the education of the young. The diverse selections, organized into loose thematic sections such as "Vision," are contributed by well-known leaders on the subject. Chef Alice Waters, who began a successful school-garden program, outlines the differences between fast-food and slow-food values, while educator Maurice Holt calls for a return to "the slow school," in which students are encouraged to think, feel, and understand concepts, not just memorize them. Pamela Michael, founder of River of Words, a unique nonprofit that encourages the integration of art and science in the classroom, contributes a stirring piece entitled "Helping Children Fall in Love with the Earth." Inspired, substantive, and visionary, these selections will help concerned readers focus their own discussions about sustainability and suggest new ways to implement its values in their own communities. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
 

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Ecological Literacy
Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World
By David Orr

"David Orr's Ecological Literacy outlines brillianly and succinctly the changes that must occur in our educational systems if we are to avoid ecological disasters."

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Greening the College Curriculum
A Guide to Environmental Teaching in the Liberal Arts
Edited by Jonathan Collett and Stephen Karakashian

Greening the College Curriculum provides the tools college and university faculty need to meet personal and institutional goals for integrating environmental issues into the curriculum. Leading educators from a wide range of fields, including anthropology, biology, economics, geography, history, literature, journalism, philosophy, political science, and religion, describe their experience introducing environmental issues into their teaching.

• a rationale for including material on the environment in the teaching of the basic concepts of each discipline

• guidelines for constructing a unit or a full course at the introductory level that makes use of environmental subjects

• sample plans for upper-level courses

• a compendium of annotated resources, both print and nonprint

Contributors to the volume include David Orr, David G. Campbell, Lisa Naughton, Emily Young, John Opie, Holmes Rolston III, Michael E. Kraft, Steven Rockefeller, and others

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Last Child in the Woods
Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
by Richard Louv (Author)

From Publishers Weekly
Today's kids are increasingly disconnected from the natural world, says child advocacy expert Louv (Childhood's Future; Fatherlove; etc.), even as research shows that "thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can... be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorder and other maladies." Instead of passing summer months hiking, swimming and telling stories around the campfire, children these days are more likely to attend computer camps or weight-loss camps: as a result, Louv says, they've come to think of nature as more of an abstraction than a reality. Indeed, a 2002 British study reported that eight-year-olds could identify Pokémon characters far more easily than they could name "otter, beetle, and oak tree." Gathering thoughts from parents, teachers, researchers, environmentalists and other concerned parties, Louv argues for a return to an awareness of and appreciation for the natural world. Not only can nature teach kids science and nurture their creativity, he says, nature needs its children: where else will its future stewards come from? Louv's book is a call to action, full of warnings—but also full of ideas for change. Agent, James Levine. (May 20)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
 

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Planet U
Sustaining the World, Reinventing the University
by Michael M'Gonigle (Author), Justine Starke (Author)

Planet U places the university at the forefront of the sustainability movement. Questioning the university's ability to equip society to deal with today's serious challenges such as economic growth, democratic citizenship and planetary survival, it calls for a new social movement to take a lead in reforming the university - the world's largest industry.

The book reviews the university's 900-year history from medieval religious philosopher, to Renaissance nation-builder, to its modern function as training grounds for the world's managerial class and the world's largest industry. It examines diverse campus initiatives across North America and Europe and their traditional concerns of green buildings, renewable energy and transportation demand management. But it also demonstrates the promise for social and ecological progress open to the "planetary university" once the university takes its place seriously and discovers its new mission: to create diverse models of local and global innovation centered around tough new questions about what universities - and their societies - can achieve:

• How might the university help move us to a post-automobile, energy-saving society?

• How might universities help refashion the city to be sustainable?

• How might universities be governed for sustainability?

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Teaching Virtues
Building Character Across the Curriculum
by Don Trent Jacobs (Author)

Here's how to teach character education in a way that will encourage your students' health and happiness at the same time as improving their learning experience. Teaching Virtues explains the current reality facing teachers--too much inspiration and not enough implementation--and responds with specific psychological and pedagogical strategies. Based upon the universal virtues present in the holistic American Indian view of ethics, the methods in this book enable educators to unify character and curriculum. A more ethical and more educated student is the result.

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