Book Description
[Teasley and Wilder] have given the profession an invaluable, much-needed guide.
- NCETA Notes
From its beginnings, cinema has forged a distinct medium, a literature in its own right, as worthy of study as print literature. A good film, like a good book or poem, can delight, provoke the imagination, inspire serious though, discussion, and writing. Perhaps especially today, film can and should be an essential component in the language arts curriculum, given students' increasing reliance on visual imagery in defining their world.
In Reel Conversations, Alan Teasley and Ann Wilder discuss and demonstrate the powerful role film can play in the language arts classroom, both as a subject in itself and as a key dimension of language study. Reel Conversations provides middle and high school teachers with proven methods for teaching with and about films in conjunction with literature and composition classes. It describes techniques for instruction, details over two hundred films appropriate for classroom use, and offers a corresponding list of young adult novels. Samples of student writing in response to selected films are also provided.
Teasley and Wilder make clear the connections between the study of film and print literature. The units have been classroom tested over years and are designed for teachers who regularly use film, as well as those who are new to its uses.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent resource for secondary teachers.......2007-05-17
I received this book from Amazon yesterday afternoon and just finished reading it. It's not long, but I did skip through a number of sections where films were listed and described.
Having just completed a dissertation about the use of film in the classroom--although I found what was said in this book to be consistent with the literature and my own study findings--I subtracted a star for three missing pieces: lack of an index, more information about the logistics of showing a film (invaluable for teachers for whom this is a new activity), and more of a research base to address "why do this and not that." A further review of their references indicates that a basis for Teasley and Wilder's approach exists, but isn't used sufficiently for justification of their recommended methods.
For example, there are a lot of explanations made about appropriateness of a film to the audience which translates to development. Just a few references to pertinent developmental psych (or even cognitive, educational psych, or human development) would have been useful to explain not just "what" but "why." Although they do mention "deep structure" in their explanation of genre, they do not link it to the characteristics they ask learners to look for in genre films.
There are a number of good references included, but many more are missing. For teachers disinterested in this type of information, it might be included in one chapter that could be skipped. That would add significantly to the book's sparse theoretical foundation and make it equally useful for academics and researchers as well as practitioners.
Other research areas germane to learner response to film, for example, are the function of "mirror neurons" in terms of character identification and empathy, and a study by Israeli neuroscientists indicating that there is no consistency between participant brain scans while viewing a feature film, EXCEPT when they're watching faces, places, and hands--all external stimuli. (This research--the only of its kind--discusses what's actually going on in people's brains when they are watching film.) Nor did the authors directly address learners' worldviews and how they affect expectations, reactions, and the impact of films--which is huge.
I suppose I'm talking myself into writing a book to fill these gaps, aren't I? After having searched far and wide, there's very little available to help teachers both select and use film effectively. In our media-saturated society, it's a very good skill for teachers to develop, but one not as obvious or simple as might be assumed.
These criticisms aside, this book takes a leap forward in helping teachers who want joy and excitement--not to mention learning--to return to their classrooms. For anyone unconvinced how involved kids get with movies, just visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) forums. Kids are watching and discussing movies with or without responsible adult guidance. As educators, we're missing a huge opportunity here. This book--via highly practical and well-thought-out methods that are, in fact, based on theory--is an excellent start of a return to relevance in the classroom.
Wonderful!.......2006-08-12
As a teacher of film studies in high school, I have found this book to be an invaluable source. It is full of intelligent, comprehensive and workable plans for teaching all kinds of films. I recommend it highly.
A Fantastic Resource for Teachers!.......2001-04-01
This book is full of excellent suggestions on how to teach film to young adults and help students analyze what they're viewing. It provides a very workable strategy for using film in the classroom, as well as gives great suggestions on unique film titles to use with students. Any teacher wanting to use films in class should check out this book!
Excellent Teaching Tool!.......2001-02-03
This book is great for creating plans to teach film and media literacy to secondary school students.
Book Description
This is the Rolling Stones' official story of life on the road, their home away from home for over thirty years, created with the exclusive cooperation of the band, their management, and a select few of their closest colleagues. The Rolling Stones--Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ron, Bill--tell their story in an incredibly candid first-person account which is complemented by hundreds of rare photographs. For this major project, the Stones looked to Dora Loewenstein, the daughter of their business manager, Prince Rupert Loewenstein. Having virtually grown up with them, she enjoys their confidence and support and has been entrusted to present their touring history, from its beginning in 196263 at small, local gigs, to their infamous world tours, culminating with their 199798 Bridges to Babylon tour. In a vivid text, based on extensive interviews conducted by Jools Holland, the Stones reminisce and comment on their experiences, the music, and the relationships which give the band its unique and enduring personality. The Stones' sidemen, such as sax player Bobby Keys, and long-term associates also add their stories to the mix. The dazzling array of photographs are drawn from the Stones' own archives and from untapped collections throughout the world. The Rolling Stones: A Life on the Road is the story, quite simply, of the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world doing what they do best.
Customer Reviews:
stones on the road.......2003-07-06
a beautifully designed book with excellent text
my only yearn is that we could have read text from mick taylor, brian jones and ian stewart--quotes from when they active in the band
the photos are excellent
"A Classic" as another reviewer said.....Oh Really?.......2002-03-08
Although the pics are great of the Stones and the stories are bwillyant I wasn't all about this book. Something was just missing since the Stones are getting older and the "kickstand isn't always as strong as it once was"....(ie. these guys should break up while they are still held in high esteem). The Stones have already accomplished so much that it need not be put in a book but rather in a musuem.
"A Classic" as another reviewer said.....Oh Really?.......2002-03-08
I'm all about this book since the Stones kick major putang. They might be old but the kickstands still are a rockin'. Get it, read it, and tell all your boyzz or doggzz about it cause itz bwillyant. Also, a shout out to all the ladies that the tupperware party is on and I will be the master of mustachio for all my "special guests". I got my eye on you Frank :)
"A Classic" as another reviewer said.....Oh Really?.......2002-03-08
I like it alot since the Stones kick major putang. They might be old but the kickstands still are a rockin'. Get it, read it, and tell all your boyzz or doggzz about it cause itz bwillyant. Also, a shout out to all the ladies that the tupperware party is on and I will be the master of mustachio for all my "special guests". I got my eye on you Frank :)
great pictures!.......2001-01-24
I have been a Stones fan for a long time and own several picture/coffee table books about them already, but I bought this book immediately after it was published in London. This volume has some of the greatest tour photography in it that I have ever seen. Only Annie Leibovitz' photo documentation of their 1975 American tour (some of it is included here)comes close to it. The book is a high quality production, both the color and the black and white images are very,very good. Do not buy this book for the text or a comprehensive road history of the Stones. That is the only weak point here (hence 4 and not 5 stars): the text, mostly quotes, is definitely weak. But there are other Stones books for that. This book is for the seasoned fan who is excited about reliving some of the greatest concert moments in these wonderful pictures, some of which have never been published before.
Product Description
Includes 62 stories : The Four Million (13), Heart of the West (5), The Gentle Grafter (3), Roads of Destiny (7), Cabbages and Kings (4), Options (2), Sixes and Sevens (4), Rolling Stones (2), Whirligigs (5), The Voice of the City (6), The Trimmed Lamp (6), Strictly Business (4) Waifs and Strays (1)
Customer Reviews:
Buy another book..........2004-06-03
There are many books out there that no poker enthusiast should be without. This is not one of them. Although mildly entertaining in the beginning due to the author's bombastic nature, the book becomes a truly tedious read. The biggest problem is that the book is dated (1984 copyright) and compiles poker strategy into general rules for five card draw and stud (forget about hold em or omaha). The author then expects the reader to extrapolate the given strategies into seven card games. As an added bonus, most of the strategy (if not obvious even to the most oblivious newbies) is either unsound or irrelevant. The only redeeming value of this book is for those who are seeking an encyclopedia of dealer's choice games. Please save your money or buy another book (Peter Steiner's Thursday Night Poker is superb for amatures, Slansky and Brunson are essential for aspiring pros).
Great man, Great Book.......2002-03-11
Humility is not one of John Scarne's traits but he has room to talk. The man is a genius in the realm of statistics, gambling, and gaming. He is self taught which makes his intellect even more astounding.
That aside, this book is all you need to play poker and play it successfully. By following the guidelines set forth by this genius it is only a matter of time before your experience catches up with your knowledge and you will be unstoppable.
Ok, maybe it takes alitte more work then that but you get the point. Scarne's books are the best, hands down. If you can find some of his older book (Scarne on Cards is my recommendation) pick them up. They are invaluable.
A requirement for any poker library. Just ignore Mr. Scarne.......2001-09-05
This book has quite a few good points and strategies along with probability theory. I believe it will greatly improve a beginner and average poker players style if he/she reads and applies some of the basic principles herein. However quite a few of the strategies are common sense (never play with money needed for groceries -- duh).
Mr. Scarne himself is an egotist (anyone familiar with John Scarne should know this), so one must take him with a grain of salt while reading. Mr. Scarne believes his poker should be the definitive one. I don't think Scarne's rules will ever be "the rules" for poker, and his "according to Scarne" (takeoff of "according to Hoyle") stance on poker rules is a little outlandish. One must remember for all the card tricks and stunts he can pull (and they are REALLY good!), this man has never won a major poker tournament. You can build a cold deck, but that still is cheating in honest poker.
Anyway, get past the man for it is a decent treatise on poker strategy.
A little something for every kind of poker player.......2001-07-02
Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker, though over 20 years old, holds more useful info on poker than I've seen in any other poker book. Scarne covers topics such as rules for Draw and Stud Poker, with many variants, some major poker probability principles, money management in poker games, which poker games to avoid, and popular poker cheats (something most poker books ignore). This book deals exclusively with real poker games, played in a group of people, where the only possible house take is a fixed percentage or amount per pot (and he shows you how to figure out if a commercial poker house is giving you a bum deal). If you want to learn how to deal with video poker or casino poker games like Caribbean Stud, let me tell you right now -- you can't possibly make money in the long-term playing those games. Scarne himself will tell you this in one of his other gambling books.
There's basic sound advice to be found in this book, advice you will find elsewhere: obvious things such as don't borrow money to play poker, don't play against people highly superior to you at poker, and don't play when drunk or emotional (unless you really want to lose money). However, there's advice I haven't seen elsewhere (except when they're copying Scarne): ways to prevent common card cheats, ways to calculate whether one should stay in a pot based on pot size versus your odds, and ways to mix up your play, so as to make people uncertain of your style -- so that people will stay in the pot when you've got a sure winner, and so that people will drop out when you're bluffing. I've used this last bit of advice in playing poker with friends; they know I play close to the vest (I'm very conservative on risk), so when they see me calling & raising bets, they think I know I have a sure thing. I've gotten away with some pretty horrendous bluffs with this technique. The name of the game is: don't do it too often.
There are complaints about the number of stories Scarne tells about himself (and sometimes he refers to himself by name, and I go back to check who wrote the book.) Actually, in most of the stories, Scarne's not the central character; rather, some prime poker player is the center of the story. Some of the stories of the tricks he's performed is rather neat. But more to the point, I think these stories are good examples of the kinds of tips and strategies he talks about -- he mentions stories of cheats, of bold betting, and of people who have gone from great poker players simply to good, because they lost betting courage and needed to find games more their monetary limit. More to the point, I feel Scarne is completely justified in "puffing himself up" in these stories of high-roller games and visits to the Merv Griffin show - he can back up his self-promotion with actual knowledge and skill. Scarne also knew how to write a book that would serve poker players at any level, giving specifics as well as general principles to follow. For those wishing to improve their games, this should be the first book you get.
News to Me.......2001-06-19
I have to begin by admitting that I did not read this book in its entirety. I was startled, however, to learn that John Scarne invented the game of poker! I was going to read works by several authors and compare them, but since Mr. Scarne invented the game of poker along with many other popular pastimes including craps, keno, bacarrat and breathing air, I think I'll take another run at his book.
Amazon.com
There's a big difference between "making a living" and making a life. Do you spend more than you earn? Does making a living feel more like making a dying? Do you dislike your job but can't afford to leave it? Is money fragmenting your time, your relationships with family and friends? If so,
Your Money or Your Life is for you.
From this inspiring book, learn how to
- get out of debt and develop savings
- reorder material priorities and live well for less
- resolve inner conflicts between values and lifestyles
- convert problems into opportunities to learn new skills
- attain a wholeness of livelihood and lifestyle
- save the planet while saving money
- and much more
Book Description
Find financial freedom in the new millennium with a new edition of the life-changing national bestseller
More than three-quarters of a million people everywhere, from all walks of life, have found the keys to gaining control of their money--and their lives--in this comprehensive and revolutionary book on money management. Considered the bible of the voluntary simplicity movement, Your Money or Your Life is now updated with a new Preface, Index, and Resource list to help you put the program into practice. This simple, nine-step program shows you how to:
* get out of debt and develop savings
* slow down the work-and-spend treadmill
* make values-based decisions about your spending
* save the planet while saving money
* Over three years on the Business Week bestseller list
* Your Money or Your Life made all major bestseller lists in hardcover and paperback, including the New York Times, USA Today, Business Week, Publishers Weekly, and Washington Post
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing book, doesn't live up to its title.......2007-10-04
I was shocked to discover they recommend investing only in bonds. Also their claim that inflation does not exist is bogus.
I can't believe they would recommend you quit a full-time job which usually has benefits to find part-time work which usually does not provide benefits. Have you tried buying your own health insurance? I have and it is not cheap. Sure, you get more time to yourself, but at the same time your earnings go down your insurance expenses go up. If you hate your job anyway you might consider doing this, but I don't see how they could recommend this in a general sense as a path to financial independence. The numbers don't add up.
While I think their advice to live within your means, make a budget, know where your money is going, calculate your net worth is all good, I think they have gone off the deep end on some of their other recommendations which makes me highly suspect of the book as a whole.
rethinking money.......2007-08-24
This book made me rethink how money works and how it can work for me. It is a reality test for how we really spend and it coaches you on how to get in control of your money instead of letting it control you. I reread this every once in a while to reset my financial vision.
Jewels Among Feces.......2007-07-29
Occasionally a book will appear on the scene that embodies the written equivalent of jewels among feces. This book represents such an example. I found it both enlightening and infuriating at the same time. I only read it back in late 1999 because I received it at no charge as a bonus "best seller" for joining a book club.
The philosophy of the authors, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, amounts to a leftist, anti-capitalist, pro-environmentalist screed. They explain how the Protestant work ethic advocates joined forces with the captains of industry to dupe us all into devoting our lives to the dirty task of making money. They did this so we could load ourselves with products and services we do not need and cannot afford. Captains of industry profited from this arrangement. Since "idle hands are the devil's workshop," Protestant work ethic advocates did their part to promote it so as to keep us busy and out of trouble. The authors document how the growth of capitalism has damaged the environment, devastated communitarian spirit, and wrought a host of other social ills. This attitude permeates the entire book.
Those who grasp Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, understand the foibles of these arguments and their refutations and I will not repeat them here. I only want to note that despite these failings, this book does warrant a read for the simple reason of its clearly elucidated full cost accounting methods. These methods include carefully evaluating the cost of every new purchase in terms of continued upkeep as well as that so-called "job opportunity" that can actually leave you poorer after accounting for additional costs of fuel, wardrobe, etc. In conjunction with my article "Experiencing Objectivism through Quicken," which you can read via a Google search for that exact phrase, this book can put the reader well on his way to a firm grasp of his cash flow and how to align it with his core values. Just bear in mind that the core values of an Objectivist will arise from a different philosophy than the core values of the authors!
Great stuff if you can get past the liberal slant..........2007-07-18
I thought this book was great, with the exception of the liberal slant and new-agey stuff. If you can ignore that, you will find good information.
Poor advice, geared toward people with zero concept of personal finance........2007-06-04
"Your Money Or Your Life" urges you to redefine your life values and your relationship with money. As Dominguez and Robin describe, we as human beings are often defined by what we do rather than who we are. For example, when someone asks you what you do, you might answer "I'm a car salesman" rather than "I'm an avid traveller who enjoys risky adventures and 20th century literature, and I sell cars to make money."
To get away from being defined by your relationship with money, the authors guide you to achieve the state they define as "Financial Independence" (FI), which will allow you to separate the notions of "work" and "making money" - and live your life the way you want to.
The book provides 9 steps to achieve this state, starting with a basic assesment of your net worth and your income, and ending with instructions to invest your money in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
I was very excited by the numerous praises and positive reviews of the book, and I dove in expecting a "life-changing" experience, as advertised by the critics and the authors themselves. However, what I found was unfortunately far below my expectations.
There are numerous very serious issues I have with this book.
First, it is structured as a self-improvement program. Ironically, the book itself cautions the reader to not trust self-improvement "life-changing" type programs, as they usually don't work and are often scams, yet it presents itself as one. If I follow the book's advice, I shouldn't even be reading it.. but if I don't, then I'm inherently following its advice. Oh the paradoxical craziness of it all! Additionally, terms like "life energy" are a huge warning sign to me of "one of those" programs, and this book spends pages and pages discussing how "life energy" is the most precious thing we have, and how we trade it for money.
Second, the book is clearly geared toward a very specific reader - one that has absolutely zero ability to manage personal finances and personal life. The testimonials within the book present people who had no idea that they were spending more than they were earning - and suddenly, through this amazing program, they realized their follies and magically transformed their expenses into savings; somehow, this suddenly allowed them to achieve life-long dreams of living in rural barns and spending quality time with their children. The authors go overboard by instructing the readers to keep track of "every penny," so as to understand where their money is going. For the average person with at least SOME concept of expense tracking, this is hilarious. Hell, credit cards and bank statements do this sort of tracking for us for free!
Third, and most importantly, much of the advice that the book gives is just poor. Again, this may be because it is targeted toward the flighty individual who has no idea what money is. For example, the authors denounce credit cards as the absolute evil. This is ridiculous and simply outdated. Today, credit cards are amazing tools when used right. Card holders get numerous free membership benefits (all types of insurance including the very useful car rental insurance, free roadside assistance, etc.), 0% balance transfers, spending rewards (cash back, airline miles), and of course, buyer protection. Granted, you have to understand that if you don't pay off your credit card bill each month, you'll be paying 20% interest (on average) - but most people with a brain get this. Nowadays, if you are actually paying cash for you purchases, you are doing yourself a huge disservice.
Another example of poor advice: chapter 9, the "nuts and bolts of an investment program for FI," simply tells the reader to invest his/her money into long-term U.S. Treasury bonds! That is ALL. To add insult to the reader, Dominguez argues that stock markets actually do worse than bond markets. He claims that the DJIA, with inflation taken into account, has actually DECREASED over the last 50 years - with zero evidence. This is, by the way, after Dominguez spends 10 pages convincing the reader that inflation is not real but rather just a "macroeconomics concept." Yep, another contradiction. To sum it up, instead of educating the reader about the various investment vehicles available and how different portfolios and strategies will benefit different people, the authors simply instruct the gullible reader to blindly invest into U.S. Treasury bonds - just because they are essentially zero-risk investments. I expected a lot more from Joe Dominguez, someone who retired from Wall Street in his early thirties. Maybe there is a reason for his early retirement. It seems that Dominguez got tired of the demanding hours - and moved on to another way to make money.
I could go on and on. Another example of poor advice, something that really irked me... The authors define "financial independence" as simply living off the interest from your investments. Sure, that's one way to earn money. However, they give examples of people who achieved financial independence after just a few years - and they make it seem oh so easy. We can do some simple math right now: in order for you to make even $30,000 a year from U.S. Treasury bonds (and we can argue for a long time about the quality of life you and your family will have on this amout of money), you'd have to have invested around $430,000 at 7% interest. That is a very large sum of money to save up, especially on the small salaries that the authors describe.
In addition to all the poor advice, throughout the book, the authors also mix in references to saving the environment, contributing to the world through volunteering, and numerous religious blurbs. Frankly, at least the last of these is simply unfair to the reader. We're not here to read that you can follow only one master - "God or Money." And if we wanted to learn how to save the world, we'd read non-finance books, where we would surely find more sound advice. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for preserving our environment, but simply listing this as "another benefit of this great program" is just sad.
All that said, the book has a few certain positive characteristics. It does offer relatively sound advice on how to cut down expenses and spending. Unfortunately again, many methods are out of date. Nevertheless, the authors also get you thinking about WHY you are earning (and spending) money. They urge you to consider your ultimate goals in life and ask yourself: "what would you do with your free time if you didn't have to work?" I think those are great questions. But perhaps not for this book.
In conclusion, I am frankly disappointed. I am furthermore surprised by the sheer number of positive reviews this book has received so far. Yes, it is a relatively quick read and easy to understand. The general ideas are good, but the specific advice offered is just plain bad - maybe in part due to the book being old. Unless you have absolutely NO concept of personal finance (i.e. how much you are spending vs. how much you are making), I am sure you can find much better guides on achieving real financial independence that doesn't require you to significantly sacrifice your quality of life.
Pros:
+ offers a few useful techniques on reducing expenses
+ urges you to consider your values in life and what you could do if you didn't have to work
Cons:
- presented as the same type of a "self-improvement" program that the book cautions against
- filled with repeating testimonials (many using the same people) that try to convince the audience that this progam really works through unrealistic examples
- targeted toward a complete financial dummy with no concept of expense tracking - in which case, even a simple "Personal Finance For Dummies" book is a better choice
- offers poor advice: misrepresents other investment vehicles (stocks), condemns credit cards, demonstrates unrealistic scenarios for today's standard of living, laughs off inflation as an unreal risk
- presents zero evidence for many of its outrageous statements
Product Description
Japanese translation
Books:
- Risky Business: Rock in Film
- Seeing Through Movies (Pantheon Guide to Popular Culture)
- Selling Seattle: Representing Contemporary Urban America
- Shine the Screenplay
- Soundtrack Available: Essays on Film and Popular Music
- Speaking about Godard
- Split Image: The Life of Anthony Perkins
- Star Gazing: Hollywood Cinema and Female Spectatorship
- Teaching Auteur Study (Teaching Film and Media Studies)
- Terrorism, Media, Liberation (Rutgers Depth of Field Series)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Donor-Centered Fundraising
- The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Havi
- Music of the Twentieth Century: an Anthology
- Making Common Sense Common Practice, Third Edition: Models for Manufacturing Excellence
- Small Business Kit for Dummies
- The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
- Shotokan's Secret: The Hidden Truth Behind Karate's Fighting Origins
- Miller Gaas Guide 1995: A Comprehensive Restatement of Generally Accepted Auditing Standards
- On High Performance Organizations: A Leader to Leader Guide
- Raising Holy Hell: A Novel
General
| Language Arts
| Reference & Nonfiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Reading in the Dark: Using Film As a Tool in the English Classroom
Great Films and How to Teach Them
Reading the Movies: Twelve Great Films on Video and How to Teach Them
Teachingmedialiteracy. com: A Web-Linked Guide to Resources and Activities (Language and Literacy Series)
Introducing Film
