Final Test

The deafening noise in the Wankhede turns to silence so complete that you’d swear you can hear Tendulkar’s footsteps as he begins the walk back to the pavilion. It’s the end of an era, they said. No more switching off televisions when he got out; no more resounding chants of ‘Sa-chi-i-i-n, Sa-chin!’ In November 2013, Sachin Tendulkar played his final Test. Dilip D’Souza builds on close and detailed observation of those two and a half days, capturing all the hysteria it spawned, the love and adulation that showered from the rafters at the Wankhede, the choking emotion, and yes, there was a match on too, against the West Indies. Final Test discusses cricket from the old to the new, as Sachin takes to the pitch one final time.

APPEARING LIVE AT THE FINAL TEST is an intense hybrid of contemporary real-world drama and mythic science fiction about a black newsstand operator, his wife and three neighbors in a Brooklyn-like neighborhood, whose lives take a cosmic punch from a nuclear bomb threat that launches them on an eerie and spellbinding journey. "APPEARING LIVE AT THE FINAL TEST is an extremely well-written novel--a pleasure to read, a wild ride of depression at some points, exhilaration at others. John Teton has raised some serious concerns regarding the fate of civilizations, and our consciousness is raised with this thought-provoking work." Eric Chaisson, Author, COSMIC EVOLUTION Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Tufts University Director, Wright Center for Science Education "APPEARING LIVE AT THE FINAL TEST is a genre-breaking story unlike any other. Its scenes range from a scarily realistic depiction of an urban nuclear event to mind-stretching intergalactic travel,;all related in the author's savvy, wisecracking, original and sometimes hilarious hyperbolic voice." Craig A. Lambert, Ph.D.; Deputy Editor, HARVARD MAGAZINE Mr. Teton gives fictionalized treatment to "cosmic evolution," a complex and controversial theory which holds that evolution affects not just life on Earth, but extends back to the birth of the universe and continues to include changes in human civilization, culture, technology and beyond. The story benefits from a grounding in everyday human fears and troubles, along with mind-blowing scenes which venture into questions about creation and the role of human beings in it. The novel is chock-full of information about stars and the planets, and yet he clearly knows a thing or two about teenagers, old folks, sailing, marine biology, marriage, love, pop culture, terrorism, religious extremists and the media. Rhonda Parks Manville, SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS

An in-depth look at "the brave new world of school finance" (Education Week) and the latest struggle for equality in public education. Final Test describes a powerful new movement that has emerged across America in recent years to bridge the wide gap still separating the achievement of African American and Latino students from their white and Asian counterparts more than half a century after Brown v. Board. In the past fifteen years, scholars, judges, and advocates for poor children have begun to develop a progressive approach to education in which public policies and funding are based on calculations of "adequacy"what it actually takes in teachers, books, facilities, and other resources to educate each child. While Schrag explains the legal and legislative battles for reform with great insight and clarity, he also never loses sight of the human side of the story, "describing in poignant detail the impact of funding inequities on individual students and why 'money matters' in rectifying educational inadequacies" (Advocacy Center for Children's Educational Success with Standards). As the California Journal raved, "few writers can translate complex ideas into compelling nonfiction like Peter Schrag."

Max is used to being called Stupid. And he is used to everyone being scared of him. On account of his size and looking like his dad. Kevin is used to being called Dwarf. And he is used to everyone laughing at him. On account of his size and being some cripple kid. But greatness comes in all sizes, and together Max and Kevin become Freak The Mighty and walk high above the world. An inspiring, heartbreaking, multi-award winning international bestseller.

This book presents a comprehensive and detailed study of literacy practices and language use outside of the classroom by university students of Japanese. It investigates both tasks related to classes (e.g. homework and preparation for classes) and voluntary activities in the target language (e.g. watching TV and writing emails) and discusses how values, motivations and types of activities differ between the two contexts. It employs sociocultural perspectives to observe reading and writing activities within and under the influence of individual and social contexts, such as learner motives, peer networks and the language classroom, and contributes to the related research areas in the field of second language acquisition, such as motivation, autonomous language learning and language learning strategies. Crucially, the book not only documents out-of-class literacy activities, but also examines which teaching practices facilitate and promote such out-of-class language learning and use. It considers which literacy activities in the target language students undertake out-of-class, which factors encourage or discourage such out-of-class activity and how and with which tools they undertake these activities. As such the book provides guidance for classroom teaching and suggests that slight changes to teaching practices in the classroom may enhance autonomous learning outside the classroom.