Most Popular Books by Maria

"Children’s literature is a contested terrain, as is multicultural education. Taken together, they pose a formidable challenge to both classroom teachers and academics.... Rather than deny the inherent conflicts and tensions in the field, in Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors, Maria José Botelho and Masha Kabakow Rudman confront, deconstruct, and reconstruct these terrains by proposing a reframing of the field.... Surely all of us – children, teachers, and academics – can benefit from this more expansive understanding of what it means to read books." Sonia Nieto, From the Foreword Critical multicultural analysis provides a philosophical shift for teaching literature, constructing curriculum, and taking up issues of diversity and social justice. It problematizes children’s literature, offers a way of reading power, explores the complex web of sociopolitical relations, and deconstructs taken-for-granted assumptions about language, meaning, reading, and literature: it is literary study as sociopolitical change. Bringing a critical lens to the study of multiculturalism in children’s literature, this book prepares teachers, teacher educators, and researchers of children’s literature to analyze the ideological dimensions of reading and studying literature. Each chapter includes recommendations for classroom application, classroom research, and further reading. Helpful end-of-book appendixes include a list of children’s book awards, lists of publishers, diagrams of the power continuum and the theoretical framework of critical multicultural analysis, and lists of selected children’s literature journals and online resources.

"Important volume attempts to lay to rest doubts about authorship of Carolina''s best-selling Quarto de despejo, translated as Child of the dark. Diary entries cover years 1958-66. Translations aim to reproduce tone and register of the original, without embellishment or correction, and are followed by a fascinating discussion of Carolina''s significance"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.

In The Montessori Method, Maria Montessori introduces her revolutionary approach to education, emphasizing child-centered learning, hands-on activities, and fostering independence. This groundbreaking work outlines principles and practices that have transformed early childhood education, inspiring educators worldwide to nurture each child''s natural curiosity and potential.

In the period that has elapsed between the publication of the Italian and American editions, I have had, with my pupils, the opportunity to simplify and render more exact certain practical details of the method, and to gather additional observations concerning discipline. The results attest the vitality of the method and the necessity for an [Pg viii]extended scientific collaboration in the near future, and are embodied in two new chapters written for the American edition. I know that my method has been widely spoken of in America, thanks to Mr. S. S. McClure, who has presented it through the pages of his well-known magazine. Indeed, many Americans have already come to Rome for the purpose of observing personally the practical application of the method in my little schools. If, encouraged by this movement, I may express a hope for the future, it is that my work in Rome shall become the centre of an efficient and helpful collaboration. To the Harvard professors who have made my work known in America and to McClure''s Magazine, a mere acknowledgment of what I owe them is a barren response; but it is my hope that the method itself, in its effect upon the children of America, may prove an adequate expression of my gratitude. Maria Montessori.

"The author has dug deep into all legends and collected as much as possible of documentary evidence, and now presents the reconstructed romance ... of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, the father and mother of Abraham Lincoln"--Foreward

Facts, figures, and essays on women and poverty by Barbara Ehrenreich, Kirsten Gillibrand, LeBron James, and other high-profile contributors. Fifty years after President Lyndon B. Johnson called for a War on Poverty and enlisted Sargent Shriver to oversee it, the most important social issue of our day is once again the dire economic straits of millions of Americans. One in three live in poverty or teeter on the brink—and seventy million are women and the children who depend on them. The fragile economic status of millions of American women is the shameful secret of the modern era—yet these women are also our greatest hope for change, and our nation''s greatest undervalued asset. The Shriver Report: A Woman''s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink asks—and answers—big questions. Why are millions of women financially vulnerable when others have made such great progress? Why are millions of women struggling to make ends meet even though they are hard at work? What is it about our nation—government, business, family, and even women themselves—that drives women to the financial brink? And what is at stake? To forge a path forward, this book brings together a power-packed roster of big thinkers and talented contributors, in a volume that combines academic research, personal reflections, authentic photojournalism, groundbreaking poll results, and insights from frontline workers; political, religious, and business leaders; and major celebrities—all focused on a single issue of national importance: women and the economy. "A startling wake-up call for policymakers and anyone hoping to survive a culture that siphons wealth upward to a very powerful few." — Booklist Contributors include: Carol Gilligan, PhD * Barbara Ehrenreich * Beyoncé Knowles-Carter * LeBron James * Anne-Marie Slaughter * Kirsten Gillibrand * Hillary Rodham Clinton * Tory Burch * Sister Joan Chittister * Arne Duncan * Kathleen Sibelius * Howard Schultz * and more!

The Montessori Method represents an explicit idealism and turn away from war and violence toward peace and reconstruction. It is built on coherent visions of how to improve human society by helping children realize their full potential as intelligent, creative, whole persons. In the Montessori Method, children are viewed as active authors of their own development, strongly influenced by natural, dynamic, self-righting forces within themselves, opening the way toward growth and learning. Teachers depend for their work with children on carefully prepared, aesthetically pleasing environments that serve as a pedagogical tool and provide strong messages about the curriculum and about respect for children. Partnering with parents is highly valued in the Montessori Method, and children are evaluated by means other than traditional tests and grades.

This open access book develops a theoretical concept of teaching that is relevant to early childhood education, and based on children’s learning and development through play. It discusses theoretical premises and research on playing and learning, and proposes the development of play-responsive didaktik. It examines the processes and products of learning and development, teaching and its phylogenetic and ontogenetic development, as well as the ‘what’ of learning and didaktik. Next, it explores the actions, objects and meaning of play and provides insight into the diversity of beliefs about the practices of play. The book presents ideas on how combined research and development projects can be carried out, providing incentive and a model for practice development and research. The second part of the book consists of empirical studies on teacher’s playing skills and examples of play with very young as well as older children.

Statistics for International Social Work And Other Behavioral Sciences presents statistics using straightforward, accessible language, making it easier for students of all backgrounds -- particularly social work student undergraduates, graduates and practitioners -- to learn and apply statistical concepts, tools, and procedures. The book incorporates two powerful statistical software programs, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel ToolPak, into statistical computations. The course contents have been organized pedagogically in an order that allows students to view the progression of concepts and hand calculations in conjunction with computerized statistical analysis tools. Furthermore, this text is unique in that it includes appendices specifically designed to provide instructions on preparing data for data entry, construct variable names, and data analysis-using SPSS; present guidelines to nonparametric statistics and post hoc comparisons; and focus on Microsoft Excel ToolPak, which is available in most personally owned computers and handheld devices such as tablets and smart phones. The book also includes robust instructor and student materials via a companion website.

Ancient Rome is an authoritative and comprehensive look at the splendor of the Roman Empire, its rise and fall and its impact on world history, architecture, politics, culture and art.

A first-hand account of life in the streets of Sao Paulo from 1955 to 1960, details the plight of an artist, writer and single mother of three children who, while living in a hovel, supported her family by digging through the garbage for paper and scraps to sell.