He was a poor student who somehow got into the finest schools. He was a National Guardsman who somehow missed a year of service. He was a failed businessman who somehow was made rich. He was a minority investor who somehow was made managing partner of the Texas Rangers. He was a defeated politician who somehow was made governor. You can hardly blame him for expecting to inherit the White House. "Is Our Children Learning?" examines the public life and public record of George W. Bush and reveals him for who he is: a man who presents the thinnest, weakest, least impressive record in public life of any major party nominee this century; a man who at every critical juncture has been propelled upward by the forces of wealth, privilege, status, and special interests who use his family's name for their private gain. A Texan, political analyst, strategist, and partisan, Paul Begala has written a devastating assessment of the Bush brand of politics.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

`A unique guide for students, practitioners, parents, and administrators of young children who want to understand specific strategies to maximise parent involvement and collaboration' - Education Libraries 'This is an excellent book that draws extensively on the work of a children's centre that has been running for over 25 years' - SENCO Update Involving Parents in their Children's Learning is the story of the pioneering work of the Pen Green Centre for children and families. Showing how early years practitioners can collaborate effectively with parents, the book includes case studies of parents and children who have attended the centre, studies which chart developments in learning for both children and parents. The book will inspire early years practitioners and offer them practical advice on ways of developing effective work with parents. Drawing on their work at the renowned Pen Green Centre, the authors show how to: o support parents as their child's first educator o provide practical and psychological support to parents o involve fathers and male carers o share important child development concepts o support and extend children's learning o reach out to hard-to-reach parents. This New Edition follows up on the stories of people featured in the first edition, showing how they have progressed over the last few years. It also includes new chapters covering the headteacher's role in developing parental involvement programmes, how the Pen Green model has been applied in primary schools, and the use of parental diaries. The book is essential reading for students on early years courses (BA, FdA, B.Ed), as well as practising early years professionals and senior management teams in primary schools.

Inspired by all the wonderful professional teachers who worked tirelessly in creating inspirational learning environments in our schools for the thousands of Copycats, Stickybeaks and Scallywags who enjoyed learning with them so much. I enjoyed learning with them too. As so often was said, “It was more fun than the pictures.” and we all agreed.

Dyson supports efforts to make literacy curricula accessible to our schools’ socioculturally diverse population. This two-year ethnographic study of K–3 children focuses on six students who would normally be deemed “at-risk” and who do not tell stories in the written language format valued by most early literacy educators. Their literacy learning, particularly their writing development, is portrayed as a social process in a complex social world. Dyson’s key theme is the link between composing a text and composing a place in this social world. “Dyson reconceptualizes classrooms as places for dynamic combinations of critical thinking, humor, growth, and understanding for children and their teachers.” —Harvard Educational Review