My Principal Lives Next Door

Bennie finds out that having his principle live next door is really not as bad as he thought it would be.

Most people are unaware of just how many children there are with special needs. Perhaps the worst part about this is that most of these children do not seem any different from any other kid outwardly. In this book, the author explores her first hand experience with children whose friends, family, and neighbors have no idea just what is going on in the minds of a child with special needs. By having the children write about their own first-hand experiences in their own voice, the author is shedding light on what is for most people, still a taboo and unknown subject. So, come. Meet the boy next door. He’s just like you and me, only a little different.

When Life Shows Up is a book about how, when you least expect it events happen in your life that are out of your control. How do you deal with these unforeseen tragedies or occurrences? Do you just pimp God and say a foxhole prayer, please God get me out of this? Or do you prepare yourself for the inevitable and when life does show up you are ready mentally, physically, and spiritually? This book continues where his book Behind the Glass left off, the saga of Dr. Maysons false arrest, unfair trial, and conviction. It also outlines seven spiritual disciplines that will prepare you for anything that life can throw at you. It is essential for Christians, professionals, moms, dads, and anyone else who wants to be prepared for life, when it shows up, because it will!

From the spring day in 1962 when Willis Merrill and his pet raccoon arrive in Maywood, Indiana, they are nothing but trouble for Lydia Carson. Lydia nicknames Willis "Ratboy" and wonders why he can't be more like his handsome older brother, Elliot. Life gets more complicated when Lydia alienates Elliot by insulting Willis and comes to a standoff with her mother. In her struggle to make amends with all, Lydia finds an ally in Willis and discovers the good in herself. In her sharp, fresh voice, the author captures the flavor of a small town in Middle America and the hearts of its populace as she tells a powerful story about the resiliency - and flexibility -of family.

Memories can be broadly classified into three categories—Happy, Unpleasant and Indifferent. Human response to routine activities is common in nature and very predictable. These easily pass into oblivion. Good and bad memories get scripted in our mind in indelible ink. Of these two, we love to discard the unhappy ones and dwell with the pleasant memories. My memory is a combination of both. Recounting them accurately and in perfect chronological order is a rather difficult task. The nature of events constituting one’s life history may be similar, but not identical. At the fag end of life, when I look down memory lane, I have a faint ray of hope that my story might not be simple boredom and may be able to evoke some interest at least. My childhood memory spins around my grandmother who had a dual personality. Other characters who impressed me were other members of the joint family. As regards school and college life, I tried to highlight the need for adopting a value system. Particularly, I was impressed by the teachings of my school principal, which helped me grow into a balanced personality. People whose association contributed to shaping my personality also find a place in the book.

Those who've heard T. R. Reid's weekly commentary on National Public Radio or read his far-flung reporting in National Geographic or The Washington Post know him to be trenchant, funny, and cutting-edge, but also erudite and deeply grounded in whatever subject he's discussing. In Confucius Lives Next Door he brings all these attributes to the fore as he examines why Japan, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries enjoy the low crime rates, stable families, excellent education, and civil harmony that remain so elusive in the West. Reid, who has spent twenty-five years studying Asia and was for five years The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, uses his family's experience overseas--including mishaps and misapprehensions--to look at Asia's "social miracle" and its origin in the ethical values outlined by the Chinese sage Confucius 2,500 years ago. When Reid, his wife, and their three children moved from America to Japan, the family quickly became accustomed to the surface differences between the two countries. In Japan, streets don't have names, pizza comes with seaweed sprinkled on top, and businesswomen in designer suits and Ferragamo shoes go home to small concrete houses whose washing machines are outdoors because there's no room inside. But over time Reid came to appreciate the deep cultural differences, helped largely by his courtly white-haired neighbor Mr. Matsuda, who personified ancient Confucian values that are still dominant in Japan. Respect, responsibility, hard work--these and other principles are evident in Reid's witty, perfectly captured portraits, from that of the school his young daughters attend, in which the students maintain order and scrub the floors, to his depiction of the corporate ceremony that welcomes new employees and reinforces group unity. And Reid also examines the drawbacks of living in such a society, such as the ostracism of those who don't fit in and the acceptance of routine political bribery. Much Western ink has been spilled trying to figure out the East, but few journalists approach the subject with T. R. Reid's familiarity and insight. Not until we understand the differences between Eastern and Western perceptions of what constitutes success and personal happiness will we be able to engage successfully, politically and economically, with those whose moral center is governed by Confucian doctrine. Fascinating and immensely readable, Confucius Lives Next Door prods us to think about what lessons we might profitably take from the "Asian Way"--and what parts of it we want to avoid.

The history of the education of African American children in one Alabama town is reconstructed over a period of 100 years, from the First Reconstruction period to the Second Reconstruction period (Governor George Wallace's stand in the schoolhouse door). Lessons learned from this case study, in addition to 15 years of desegregated education in the community, provides a perspective for educational policymakers to consider, as they attempt to plan effective schools in the 21st century for all children in America. Many have viewed segregated schools for African American students as dens of educational pathology with poor teachers and administrators, poorly operated academic programs and activities, dilapidated school buildings, and scarce resources. Until the last two decades, little had been written about the internal functioning of these schools or the positive impact of their efforts from the perspective of their students, families, teachers, or administrators. Despite being underfunded, understaffed, and issued second-hand books and equipment, this school and community worked together, as did many other African American schools and communities, to create effective schooling for children. This study addresses four major questions: (1) What kinds of educational experiences did teachers and principals view as important for the successful education of African American children? (2) How did the school interact with parents and the community? (3) How did the educational environment change when African American children began attending desegregated schools? (4) What can we learn from this successful school for African American children as well as their experiences in the desegregated setting that will provide a perspective for educational policymakers as we plan effective schools for all children in this country? The findings from this case study present a perspective on which educational policymakers can build as we plan caring, nurturing, and equitable learning environments for children in schools in all communities.

Four sisters search for true family in this story of resilience by a Newbery Honor author. When the McCready sisters' parents are washed away in a tsunami, their Great Aunt Martha volunteers to have them live with her on Pine Island in British Columbia. But while they are traveling there, Martha dies unexpectedly, forcing Fiona, the eldest, to come up with a scheme to keep social services from separating the girls - a scheme that will only work if no one knows they are living on their own. Fiona approaches their grouchy and indifferent neighbor Al and asks if he will pretend to be their live-in legal guardian should papers need to be signed or if anyone comes snooping around. He reluctantly agrees, under the condition that they bring him dinner every night. As weeks pass, Fiona takes on more and more adult responsibilities, while each of the younger girls finds their own special role in their atypical family. But even if things seem to be falling into place, Fiona is sure it's only a matter of time before they are caught. Written in Polly Horvath's inimitable style, gentle humor and tough obstacles are woven throughout this story about the bonds of sisterhood and what makes a family. Don’t miss the sequel, Pine Island Visitors, which Kirkus Reviews described as “terrifically entertaining” in a starred review. A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year