What We Have Learned

A few years ago, resiliency theory was relatively new to the fields of prevention and education. Today, it is at the heart of hundreds of school and community programs that recognize in all young people the capacity to lead healthy, successful lives. The key, as Benard reports in this synthesis of a decade and more of resiliency research, is the role that families, schools, and communities play in supporting, and not undermining, this biological drive for normal human development. Of special interest is the evidence that resiliency prevails in most cases by far -- even in extreme situations, such as those caused by poverty, troubled families, and violent neighborhoods. An understanding of this developmental wisdom and the supporting research, Benard argues, must be integrated into adults' vision for the youth they work with and communicated to young people themselves. Benard's analysis of how best to incorporate research findings to support young people is both realistic and inspirational. It is an easy-to-read discussion of what the research has found along with descriptions of what application of the research looks like in our most successful efforts to support young people.

The legacy of residential schools has haunted Canadians, yet little is known about the day and public schools where most Indigenous children were sent to be educated. In What We Learned, two generations of Tsimshian students – elders born in the 1930s and 1940s and middle-aged adults born in the 1950s and 1960s – add their recollections of attending day schools in northwestern British Columbia to contemporary discussions of Indigenous schooling in Canada. Their stories also invite readers to consider traditional Indigenous views of education that conceive of learning as a lifelong experience that takes place across multiple contexts.

If you spent your school days in a haze and you feel like you’re missing some essential bits of knowledge, here’s the perfect pocket guide to bring you up to speed. Within these pages are easy to read refreshers on basic knowledge in English, math, science, history, geography, the classics, and music, including: Algebra, geometry, numbers, angles, and ratios Literary terms, Shakespeare, great poets and novelists, and the rudiments of spelling and grammar The human body, the theory of evolution, the laws of physics, and the meaning of puzzling equations like E=MC2. Major world battles, U.S. Presidents, and historical inventions and discoveries. Covering 50 basic curriculum points in seven areas fundamental to cultural literacy, Stuff You Should Have Learned at School will help make you the center of cocktail conversation, a whiz in the boardroom, and an impressive figure to your peers.

Winner of the Bard Fiction Prize and a finalist for the PEN/Bingham Prize, Young Lions Fiction Award, and Shirley Jackson Awards Joyce Carol Oates calls this debut author "wickedly sharp-eyed, wholly unpredictable...a female/feminist voice for the twenty-first century." The literary, historic, and fantastic collide in these wise and exquisitely unsettling stories.

Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of prac­ticing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct com­plex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By complet­ing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the meth­ods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard key­board, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the sim­ple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Fig­ure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcompo­nents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accu­rate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chain­saws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.

What I Have Learned... (or Nonagenarian Natterings) (Trafford, 2012) might be considered a sequel to my Through the Eyes of a Concerned Liberal published in 2004. This sequel explains what I believe about various aspects of life and living (i.e., why I believe what I do; and what I sought to do about it all.) It could prove interesting to anyone facing the same or similar life problems in this crazy world that is becoming more scary as I write these words. What I say here should be easily intelligible-if not agreeable! -to any reasonably intelligent, concerned member of North American society. My historical interpretation laced with philosophical under girding led me to a belief that human civilization must be accepted as an adventure. How could it be regarded otherwise? As a young adult, I entered the realm of life assessment by seeking a purpose for my life. I accepted the philosophical stance known as pragmatism at this point, while seeking to solidify my acceptance of political and social liberalism as guidance throughout my life. I soon discovered the ever-present need to make defensible ethical decisions based on a wise choice of values. This matter was confounded by what I gradually saw as the ever-increasing need to counteract Americas value orientation as the world moves along in the 21st century. To do this I had to be sure that I was on the right track. I did this by finding myself once again through self-evaluation of my philosophic and socio-political stances. Hence, I encourage all North Americans to re-examine their values while embracing a modified form of postmodernism. Finally, I can only hope that America will come to its senses. America must somehow live up to the values it so glibly espouses

At the age of thirty-six, I had accomplished all my professional goals and questioned whether I wanted to spend the rest of my professional career coaching competitive swimmers to swim a given distance faster than they ever had before. Surely, I thought, there are more important and significant professional endeavors that I could pursue. It then occurred to me that what we were doing was not primarily about swimming from one end of the pool to the other faster than we ever had before. First and foremost, it was about the life lessons and the principles, values, and attributes which contribute to success and fulfillment in all aspects of our lives that are acquired in the process of striving to be the best that we can be as competitive swimmers. Our culture may change and evolve, but the prerequisites for success and fulfillment remain constant. This book is about the life lessons learned from the trials and triumphs of some of the most accomplished athletes and teams in the history of competitive swimming.