Understanding Learning Disabilities by Etta Brown

About the Book:

This work, while written by an academician, is an uncomplicated resource of information addressed to parents who have been introduced to the concept of Special Education for the first time. Overall, this work is a road map of how-to activities which will be of assistance from the beginning to end of the special education process.

Part I is an introduction to the environmental influences since World War II, that are believed to be contributing to the incidence of learning disabilities that is increasing at a rate of 20% every 10 years.

Part II includes a definition and history of special education and its intended role and function in the effort to educate all children. The reader is introduced to the process of determining eligibility for Special Education, and Federal and State Legislation are explored in terms of the parent's rights in the process.

Part III is an exploration of processing disorders as required for a designation of learning disability. Behaviors exhibited in the classroom, a rationale for the behavior, along with modifications and accommodations for the general education classroom are listed. These interventions are applied to the elementary, middle school, and high school environments as an aid in developing the individualized education plan (IEP).

For more information about the author and book please visit: http://www.understanding-learning-disabilities.com/index.html

The author agreed to doing an interview with me. This is what she had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

Learning Disabilities, the book, is a manual for parents of children with learning disabilities, and is written in three parts. Part I addresses the incidence learning disabilities in our culture, and identifies factors in the environment which contribute to the development of neurological defects which manifest as an inability to learn. Part II introduces parents to how learning disabilities are manifested in the classroom, and how children are identified as eligible for special education. Included are legislation governing special education, tests and testing in the identification process, and the parents role in the special education process. Part II I of the book identifies methods and techniques for helping the child at home and in the classroom.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

I began the book after retirement following 30 years as a School Psychologist. Many friends after listening to my stories would tell me that I should write a book. One morning I got up and decided “I think I’ll start writing that book”.
During the first year of writing I vented all my anger at the system and the failure of education to fully meet the needs of learning disabled children. During the second year, I edited out all my anger and frustrations, and during the third year I settled in to write a manual which would really be helpful to parents.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

My inspiration has been the suffering children and their helpless parents during the thousands of IEP meetings and assessments of children. I really seek to make a difference with the book. It is written as a road map of what to do, how to do it, what to say, when to say it, questions to ask, answers to expect, and what to do if you don’t get the right answer. Purchasers of the book are assisted through the process free of charge.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My older sister who is also retired, taught special education, and she is my greatest supporter and critic, a continuing role throughout my life.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

The plight of the elderly in our society is that of neglect and exploitation. My passion now is the plight of the elderly, and making preparations to protect my own future as a senior citizen. Holding on to ones assets and remaining independent has become a necessity for me, and it has extended to the intention to help others. Growing up, I remember the founding of the Grey Panthers who fought for the rights of seniors. Now, I am involved in the process.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

I have found since retirement that it is a great time self-introspection, deciding what one is really all about. I have found it a time for achieving personal potential. Total spiritual transformation occurs, I believe, at the end of one’s life, and is, therefore, the most important time in the life cycle. An older brother was taken into a very negligent guardianship. While fighting that process I became a rather competent paralegal. I have received excellent reviews from my attorneys, first “very good” and then “excellent.” A book is planned about the paralegal experience, and my attorney has offered to collaborate.

During this process, I found that I could compose very persuasive communications. During the past year these skills have magnified, and I have a second and third book planned. Hope I get them done in the time I have left. Fortunately, I believe that life extends itself to accommodate the accomplishment of the goals we are passionate about.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

Staying independent as a senior citizen, and remaining free to complete my transformation into the spiritual dimensions of the female elder. The stages of female evolution are child-mother-crone. The crone is depicted incompletely as the worthless female who can no longer bare children. Unfortunately, the beauty of spiritual completion, transformation, and insights learned are not valued or portrayed when describing the crone. Generally, her new skills are portrayed as those of a witch. I can recognize some of my skills as being consistent with those attributed to the witch, but there is so much more that is not communicated to women entering menopause. I am far from the appearance generally recognized as that of a crone. Here I am at age 67. Sounds like the makings of another book doesn’t it.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on an expose’ of the probate system which allows guardians to rape the estate of senior citizens who are forced into unwanted guardianships. The problem is universal in this country. Elderly people and their insurance companies, and medicare are manipulated in ways that constitute fraud, and it is all done under the auspices of the probate court.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

Completing this three year project at age 70 was a long delayed gratification. I researched, learned writing strategies, and did it as a learn as you go project.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

Over the years, I have matured, emotionally and psychologically. Now I am happy to be alive with all the problems of living well under control. I experienced menopause as a rite of passage into a developmental stage which has been on-going. This is the most exciting time of my life. My greatest strength now is balancing my desires against the demands of social involvement, and I have learned to do it most effectively. I only work with those whom stumble across my path and indicate a need for help. It is such an honor to be part of the growth process of another human being. I have been successful with everyone who has come across my path.

Biggest weakness?

I now have to search for weaknesses in the way that I once searched to find strengths. I would say that my greatest weakness is Lindt chocolate.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

In studying, No Child Left Behind, the latest federal legislation regarding the education of special children, I found that the federal government has abdicated it’s responsibility by empowering parents with rights that supersede those of the school. My book addresses the fact that parents are not prepared to assume this responsibility, and my book became a manual that provides the information and insights into the special education process that parents need to be successful in their new role as guarantors of an appropriate education for their children.

I researched this question and found that there are no other books on learning disabilities which share the truth about schools, children and learning as this one does. I assumed the role of child advocate and revealed the information which parents need in order to guarantee an appropriate education for their child. Many authors prepare parents for a subordinate role in working with special education. My book prepares them for a role as collaborator with equal or greater rights in the process. Parents are empowered with information which the school would rather parents did not know. There is a great discrepancy between what the law says schools should do, and the limited funding with which they attempt to do it. The way Special Education is designed, the professional education team is forced to make decisions that are not in the best interest of the child. Children often receive whatever is available in their school. Consideration is seldom given to what is needed by the child with learning disabilities. This is particularly true of learning disabilities because they are so diverse, and the needs of each child are unique. My book empowers parent to claim the right to an appropriate education even if it is not available in their local school. If it is not available in their school district, the child can be transferred to a location where it is available at no cost to the parent.

The factors in our environment which contribute to the development of learning disabilities is missing from most books. The role of parenting and its impact upon development during the first three months is completely missing.

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?

Time has mellowed me into a more subtle activist than I was in the 60’s. Hindsight is an effective tutor if one sees life as a learning experience. Wonderful transformation occurs when one becomes involved with the business of living and experiencing. This book is the culmination of all that I would have told parents during my years in public education. I was trained as a child advocate, but the actual role of the School Psychologist in public education is that of tester. There is very little time to become involved in the actual business of helping children to learn. It was very frustrating to have the skill and not be able to use it. Now I can share that information with parents without being disloyal to employers.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

I have come to believe that life is predetermined. Yet, I also believe that what we choose for ourselves, changes the predetermined out come. We are indeed masters of our fate, and captains of our souls.

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

No regrets. All the experience taken together have resulted in an acceptable outcome.

What is your favorite past-time?

Studying the meta-physical philosophies of the world’s major religions has become an exciting past-time. The more I study the more I find that they all have the same underlying philosophy, the differences are in language and cultural interpretation, and practice. This assures me that I am on the right track with my belief system and consequent lifestyle practices.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

You can fine me on the web at www.understanding-learning-disabilities.com, there you will find some articles of interest to parents, as well as a link to purchase the book. Purchasers of the book may contact me via the site for a gratuity of professional advice while they navigate the process of special education. No problem is too big I will give the very best of my professional advice.

About the Author:


Etta K. Brown received her undergraduate degree from the Ohio State University with a major in Dental Hygiene Education and the Masters in Education degree from South Carolina State University with a major in Special Education. The Educational Specialist Degree was conferred at Kent State University with studies in School Administration, and a major in School Psychology.

Through her graduate programs, and internships, the author acquired skills with speech and language, visual-motor training, auditory training, and the teaching of reading and handwriting.

During twenty years of professional experience in the public schools in Ohio, Iowa and California she has worked as a special education teacher, a school social worker and as a school psychologist. At no time, in either of those positions did she feel that she was able to apply any of her acquired knowledge to help children to learn.

Instead, while she didn't always agree, much was learned about what not to tell parents about their children. She also learned how school systems function, why they function the way that they do, why there were some things that it was not in the best interest of the school district for parents to know and why they should not be told.

Those were long, frustrating years watching children being placed in Special education because that was all that the School District had to offer. On the other hand were the frustrated parents who agonized over what to do about their child’s learning problems and the stigma of being placed in Special Education.

Having recently retired from public education and started a practice as a Licensed Educational Psychologist, the author is now free to discuss Special education and share information believed to be in the best interest of parents without being unprofessional or disloyal to employers.

She continues to reach out to parents and children through her writing. Her current book is a summary of all that she would have told parents during her career had she been permitted to do so.

Ms Brown may be reached at www.understanding-learning-disabilities.com

Gracious Living on Social Security by Valerie Kent

About the Author:

At eighty-eight, Valerie Kent is the survivor of a long lifetime spent adjusting to dramatically evolving worlds. She moved from Britain to the United States in 1933. Valerie began at the age of forty-six the drawn-out process of education - seven universities - that would generate, initially, a career as a drug and alcohol counselor for troubled women, then a decade as a celebrated college teacher and - ultimately - a final, exultant marriage. This is her story.

To learn more about Valerie and her book, visit http://www.treefarmbooks.com/.

About the Book:

Gracious Living is an easy-to-read decade-long journey that offers tips and suggestions on how senior citizens can stretch their dollar and get the most for their money. Eleven chapters cover every important aspect of living together, from the wedding preparations to where to live. Key considerations follow each chapter for quick reference: considerations like where and when to buy clothing, choosing a place to live and juggling your finances. Artist Jeff Nitzberg adds his unique touch with original drawings introducing each chapter.

Excerpt:

We all aspire to the many extras which supposedly make our lives more enjoyable. For some, the list is headed up by second cars, designer clothing, even dining out regularly in expensive restaurants. Where cash is scarce, it demands real discipline to examine spending patterns and determine just what we truly need, then prioritize whatever we merely want. Because money is one of the central issues in any marriage, retiring on a fixed income is likely to increase rather than reduce unavoidable tension over it. Careful planning and thoughtful shopping can help. This can reduce costs (even if our economy worsens) and thereby free up funds for luxuries further down everybody’s wish list. The discipline to follow through with a mutually-agreed-on plan, once made, is tough, but rewarding.

All this requires an investment of time: time, our most available resource. It is hard to change old habits, and an exertion of will is sometimes required to pay attention to details you never bothered about before. Joint planning, joint responsibility and joint action are vital now that you will be spending much more time together. Having that “we” approach is more important than ever to insure graceful living.

Our working years could certainly have benefited from this prescription for a happy life together, but the pressures and urgencies of raising a family and establishing a career often leave couples living quite separate lives. Each partner has had his or her own areas of responsibility, and in practice true collaboration is often lacking. Being forced to strengthen the bond of “we” during a financial squeeze may significantly improve living together in retirement by forcing the reconsideration of older, sloppier patterns.

One of the most difficult tasks is settling on those more urgent, less avoidable priorities. Dealing with the money forces decisions as to whose preference will prevail and facilitates true compromise. Inevitably somebody’s preference gets bumped off the budget. Thos fulfilled golden years are impossible without new level of mutual respect and open communication.

The author was gracious enough to do an interview with me. This is what she had to say:


Could you please tell us a little about your book?

This book came out of an awareness that two middle-class people, who later in life found themselves largely dependent on Social Security income, could build a gracious, productive life. The essence of the book is a series of strategies to accomplish this.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Yes. Close friends kept remarking about our wide-ranging and gratifying lifestyle and wondering how we brought it off in a modest income.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

Ultimately, a very happy remarriage late in life made everything else possible.

Who is your biggest supporter?

Each of us would certainly identify the other.

Your biggest critic?

See answer 4.

What cause are you most passionate about?

It has always seemed important, especially after a bitter mid-life divorce, that women be well qualified and well recognized for what they do.

In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?

Certainly writing this book was very useful. This was a chance to apply the principles of English and Journal Writing taught over the years to adult students at Eckerd College.

Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?

It’s always wonderful to celebrate with a bottle of good wine and a gourmet meal.

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

A course taken soon after arriving in St. Petersburg, Florida, with the well-known poet and essayist Peter Meinke, has exerted an influence to the present moment.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

A recent medical setback makes getting well soon primary.

What are you currently working on?

A course to be taught at the adult center, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Eckerd College, with Rick is scheduled to begin in October. The lesson plan is under development.

Do you have any advice for writers or readers?

It is important to keep journals and notebooks and train yourself to focus on details.

Is there an author that inspired you to write?

An important early influence was Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own.

What are some of your long term goals?

It would be wonderful to recover complete vigor and return soon to teaching and writing.

What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?

It was very important to epitomize the way in which the lessons of a lifetime can help through good times and bad. Gracious Living on Social Security bristles with our secrets.

What do you feel is your biggest strength?

Vitality, sensuality, and an open and curious mind.

Biggest weakness?

Sometimes headstrong.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

It is very conversational and at the same time very specific, so that the reader can easily pick up hundreds of valuable clues useful for upgrading his or her life.

You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?

Recently impressed greatly by Jane Fonda’s My Life So Far, which is richly textured with a mature understanding of life’s ups and downs.

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?

Go to college sooner – not at 48, I was lucky to enroll as a non-traditional student at Ohio State.

Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what ways?

In general, since remarrying over a decade ago, life has stabilized and become a lot more productive.

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

Stick with your principles and be prepared to work hard professionally and personally to build a life.

Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?

A difficult early marriage prevented important self-realization until later than it should have.

What is your favorite pastime?

Reading about and talking about politics.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

“To thine own self be true….”
Discover your dream and follow it.

For a fuller treatment of Gracious Living on Social Security as well as the life of Valerie Kent, check out the Tree Farm Books website, www.treefarmbooks.com.

No Teacher Left Behind by HBF Teacher

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

HBF Teacher has been a public school Middle grades teacher for three years. Before that, HBF substitute taught for two years. HBF has also worked as a live-in nanny and an accounts payable representative. Today when not nurturing young minds, HBF enjoys travel, photography, culinary arts, and the cinema. The Cohen Brothers and Tyler Perry are among her favorite artistic contributors.

You can find HBF Teacher online at http://www.noteachersleftbehind.info/.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Explored through a series of poems, emails, and brief conversations, No Teachers Left Behind is a fictional yet realistic look at the frustrations of middle school staff.

I was lucky enough to be able to ask this author some questions. Here is what she had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

No Teachers Left Behind is a novel about a group of middle school staff members. It is a story of teachers and students and those who should be supporting them; it is told through a series of emails (some humorous and some "I can’t really believe that happened"), conversational exchanges, and poems.

Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?

Being a school teacher is a wonderful thing, but at the same time, it is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. My daily efforts (and the efforts of some of my fellow school teachers) to change lives inspired me to write No Teachers Left Behind.

Who is your biggest supporter?

My biggest supporter is my husband. He’s the one who listens when I’m so frustrated about my failure to reach my teaching goals, and he’s the one who sends me flowers at work, reminding me that I make a difference each day I show up.

Your biggest critic?

I have to be my biggest critic. I’m never satisfied, and I always want to go back and change something, believing that I can always make it better. I’m working on just letting things go. Nevertheless, I’m pretty satisfied with No Teachers Left Behind. I don’t think it can get any better, but there is more to tell. I’ll be sure and share it in the sequel.

What cause are you most passionate about and why?

I am extremely passionate about teacher support, which is one of the reasons I wrote No Teachers Left Behind. I think teachers are undervalued, underpaid, and under supported. I would like to see this change. For so many years, we have worried about leaving students behind, but look at the number of great teachers who leave their jobs each year. Teachers are also being left behind.

What is the most important thing in your life right now?

My family is always the most important thing in my life. At the end of a busy day, I’m always rushing home to see them. Because of my family, my husband and my two daughters, I don’t have bad days.

What are some of your long term goals?

Ever since I was a kid, I have always wanted to be on Oprah. I guess that’s a pretty big goal, but I would love to be sitting on the couch with the O discussing my book. Of course, I want a Pulitzer too, but then again, why not dream big?

What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?

When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that I should never judge people based on the way they look, only by how they treat me. That is a lesson I have always carried with me. It is one that I have passed on to my own children. I think it is a life lesson that everyone should learn.

What is your favorite past-time?

My favorite past-time is taking pictures. When I’m not writing, you will most likely find me snapping away with my camera. A picture is a snapshot of life, whether that image is alive or dead – the odds are that someone influenced it somehow. I capture those snapshots, and they urge me to think beyond hat I can see.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thanks for the interview. I hope your readers will find value in at least one of my responses, and that will encourage them to purchase my novel, No Teachers Left Behind. Call me biased, but it’s a really great read.

Deep Thinking the Human Condition by S.A. Odunsi

About the Author:

Born in Nigeria, Odunsi has lived in Texas for over a quarter century. He makes his living operating 2 small businesses. While he has a BA in business, Odunsi credits his ideas not to his formal education but to his independent investigative efforts.

For more information please visit http://www.humanrethink.net

About the Book:

The concepts presented in the book will open up a dialogue about how we look at our past, present, and future. Odunsi presents new ideas to chronic world problems in a very creative and imaginative way. Arguments presented are well worth debating and studying. With the numerous current global crises taking place, Deep Thinking The Human Condition is highly recommended to those concerned about why we are unable to solve world problems and why it is essential to change our approach when tackling major global plights.

Excerpt:

...it is intuitively logical that real development, as opposed to shallow modernization, will start in the PUCs (persistently underdeveloped countries) if the graduates of higher education - the leadership class-begin to function with the proficiency in management, entrepreneurship, and invention demonstrated by their counterparts in the developed countries.

...(In the PUCs) the bulk of economic growth in modern industry and commerce, as well as its effective maintenance, are disproportionately dependent on the entrepreneurial, managerial, administrative, and inventive efforts, initiatives, and leadership of a distinct ethnic minority or expatriate agents, and not on the rank-and-file members of idigenous population groups.

I had the opportunity to ask S.A. a few questions. Here is what he had to say:

Could you please tell us a little about your book?

The book is primarily about the premises and thought processes that maintain the endemic problems of persistent underdevelopment and persistent poverty in our world. Contrary to widely held beliefs, these problems are not too difficult to solve. Neither are the victims the cause of the problems. Instead, the premises and thought processes that have been used to address these problems are defective. These defective premises and ideas, however, are hardly ever challenged. They're generally accepted as true and continue to be reinforced.

Consequently, the efforts aimed at addressing persistent underdevelopment in the Third World over the decades have been inefficient and wasteful. The result is that we're forced to live with these endemic problems. Hence, persistent underdevelopment in the Third World is entirely an optional condition that can be swiftly overcome if conventional thinking and remedies are replaced.

Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?

The book was inspired by the observation that the people of the PUCs (persistently underdeveloped countries) have received western-style higher education in very large numbers but they remain underdeveloped. Yet, western-style education, particularly higher education, is touted by people everywhere as the solution to persistent underdevelopment and the key to western-style development. It was then concluded that what made westerners and some Asians proficient in development had little to do with conventional education and was instead a previously unidentified part of their culture. Nevertheless, the underdeveloped countries, international development agencies, aid agencies and donors follow the lead of academia and assume that university educated people in the PUCs will function like their western counterparts on matters related to development. And when we examine the reasons given for why westerners are proficient in economic development (e.g. work ethic and genetic superiority) we find out they amount to vague and poorly defined speculation. In other words, the West cannot explain why and how it is developed in a way that can be systematically reproduced in an educational setting. Hence, if conventional higher education is meant to facilitate independent and sustainable economic development in the PUCs, it is incapable of doing so because it does not include the necessary elements; it is incomplete.

What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?

What sets my book apart is that it addresses issues that are hardly ever considered in other books or by other investigators of the persistent underdevelopment phenomenon, issues we cannot avoid addressing if persistent underdevelopment is ever going to come to an end. In countless academic books and journal articles where the development prospects of different regions of the underdeveloped world are considered, however, the issues I address are never mentioned. Following the lead of academia, the underdeveloped countries, international development agencies, aid agencies and donors similarly ignore these issues as well as others who genuinely want to see development take place in these countries.

What are you currently working on?

I'm working on the first in a series of articles I intend to publish on my blog, HumanRethink.net. The term conceptual distortion is used in the book to describe those widely accepted defective premises that have maintained the problems of persistent underdevelopment and poverty. Each article will focus on a major conceptual distortion and demonstrate its fallacy by comparing it with observed reality as well as individual and social expectations.


WIN PRIZES!!!

DEEP THINKING THE HUMAN CONDITION VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR '09 will officially begin on March 2 and end on March 31. You can visit S.A.'s blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in March to find out more about this great book and talented author!As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Hal Lanse Book Spotlight and Author Interview

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Adams Media (June 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159869782X
ISBN-13: 978-1598697827

To purchase, click here.

Book Synopsis:

Millions of children struggle with reading-and even more struggle to understand exactly what they're reading. Read Well, Think Well will help you to teach your children to build the essential reading and comprehension skills they need to succeed in today's demanding school system. Teacher trainer and literacy specialist Hal W. Lanse, Ph.D., provides the necessary knowledge, strategies, and exercises that will turn your kids into first-rate readers and thinkers.

Learn how to:

Choose the best, age-appropriate reading material
Boost your child's memory and retention skills through verbal and visual exercises
Utilize technology aids to help your child understand the comprehension process
Understand the "Big Six" of reading comprehension through analysis and summary of the text
Promote values for everyday life through reading Read Well, Think Well-the ultimate guide to secure your child's academic success.

Questions for the author:

Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?

My biggest influence is the children I teach. I see my writing as an extension of my teaching career. Everything I write is for children, their parents and teachers.

Do you write everyday?

No, I’m a project-oriented person. I write when I have a particular task to complete: a book, a blog entry, an informational packet, etc.

What has been your greatest achievement as a writer?

Getting through last summer. My editor gave me two months to complete the entire manuscript of READ WELL, THINK WELL. I spent the summer chained to my desk. The Chinese take-out guy is practically family now—LOL.

Have you always wanted to be a writer, or did you aspire to be something else growing up?

Growing up I wanted to be Commando Cody so that I could do battle with the Radar Men from the Moon. At various points along the way I also wanted to be a rabbit, a cartoonist, an actor and Dracula.

Are you currently working on anything?

I’ve launched my new blog which can be reached through a link on my website: http://www.readwllthinkwell.com/. My publisher just asked that I submit a proposal for a new book, so I might be working on WRITE WELL, THINK WELL very soon.

What authors do you enjoy reading?

I LOVE young adult novels. I read them and recommend them to my students. My favorite authors include Garth Nix (recommended to me by a very bright seventh grader), Stephanie Meyers, Sebastian Rook, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld and Gary Paulsen. Currently, I’m having a blast reading Robert Muchamore’s teen spy series: CHERUB. I think younger children should read every picture book written by Gail Gibbons. Her books will give children broad vocabularies and vast amounts of background knowledge (knowledge of the world.) Her illustrations are incredible.

Is there a particular author/s (yourself excluded) who you feel don't get the recognition they deserve?

I think NIGHTJOHN by Gary Paulsen should be required reading for all children. It drives home the reality of slavery and the immense value of education. We have a national flag and a national anthem. NIGHTJOHN should be our national book.

What is your favorite book?

There are so many books that I love. One I’ve reread dozens of times is JANE EYRE. It was very popular with the students in an adult literacy course I once taught.

What is a book that has been highly acclaimed but you haven't liked?

I thought THE DA VINCI CODE started off well but got silly. All that business about fertility rites was just ridiculous. And the characters, in my opinion, had no depth.

What word or phrase do you feel is overused?

I hate hearing teachers say “the kids are off the hook” when they mean“the kids are off the wall.” I also hate it because those words are usually spoken by teachers who take no responsibility for developing good classroom management skills.

About the author:

Hal W. Lanse, Ph.D., is a premiere teacher trainer in New York City, specializing in middle-grade and young-adult literacy. He is the winner of the 1997 Frank W. Dilley Award, Walden University's annual prize for outstanding doctoral dissertation. Dr. Lanse, a consultant with the UFT Teacher Center, trains teachers in current literacy research and shows them how to turn the research into daily classroom practice. He has also taught many parent workshops for the United Federation of Teachers. Lanse lives with his teenage son, Kenny, in New York, NY.

Thanks again to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for hosting this author on his Virtual Book Tour!

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