Order books online and books will be donated to schools in other countries

THIS IS SO FUNNY. My doctor friend Kurt Wagner introduced me to this company for buying used books. WOW. so funny they also donate part of their profits by sending books to libraries and schools in other countries... isn’t that nice?

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Better World Books"

Date: February 11, 2010 9:21:28 PM EST

To: tlasteve@gmail.com

Subject: Your order has been shipped!

Hello Steve,

(Your book(s) asked to write you a personal note - it seemed unusual, but who are we to say no?)

Holy canasta! It's me... it's me! I can't believe it is actually me! You could have picked any of over 2 million books but you picked me! I've got to get packed! How is the weather where you live? Will I need a dust jacket? I can't believe I'm leaving Mishawaka, Indiana already - the friendly people, the Hummer plant, the Linebacker Lounge - so many memories. I don't have much time to say goodbye to everyone, but it's time to see the world!

I can't wait to meet you! You sound like such a well read person. Although, I have to say, it sure has taken you a while! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how would you like to spend five months sandwiched between Jane Eyre (drama queen) and Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (pyromaniac)? At least Jane was an upgrade from that stupid book on brewing beer. How many times did the ol' brewmaster have one too many and topple off our shelf at 2am?

I know the trip to meet you will be long and fraught with peril, but after the close calls I've had, I'm ready for anything (besides, some of my best friends are suspense novels). Just five months ago, I thought I was a goner. My owner was moving and couldn't take me with her. I was sure I was landfill bait until I ended up in a Better World Books book drive bin. Thanks to your socially conscious book shopping, I've found a new home. Even better, your book buying dollars are helping kids read from Brazil to Botswana.

But hey, enough about me, I've been asked to brief you on a few things:

We provide quick shipping service to all our customers. You chose UPS shipping, your book should arrive within 2 - 6 business days. The Postal Service may occasionally take slightly longer to deliver your book.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email my friends in Customer Care at help@betterworldbooks.com.

Eagerly awaiting our meeting,

Global Warming: The Greenpeace Report

Isn't that a great service? And such a funny attitude... Please support Better World Books. Do a google search... http://www.betterworldbooks.com/

Tom Vander Ark's blog at Edreformer.com is busy ... Look at the following extracts:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-vander-ark/edu-entrepreneurs-are-lea_b_401966.html

With little or no bank credit and less venture investment, entrepreneurs have been hanging on for dear life. With no help from the feds, it's small business growth that will be largely responsible for lifting us out of the recession.

I get a steady stream of hate mail, the 'greedy bastard' file, for promoting education entrepreneurship. It's a different bargain than working for a school district and for some educators it's a good choice.

If you don't know about vander Ark, it's worth learning more:

Tom Vander Ark is a partner in Vander Ark/Ratcliff, an education public affairs firm, and a partner in a private equity fund focused on innovative learning tools and formats. He was the first business executive to serve as a public school superintendent and was the first Executive Director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. See his daily blog at www.EdReformer.com. Contact him at Tom@VARpartners.net.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-vander-ark/#blogger_bio

======================

His term: Edu-entrepreneurs...

Another fledgling edu-entrepreneur is getting started in England: www.QualifiedbyExperience.com run by Will Sutherland is looking at a bold program to bring school reform to the UK.

I'm looking forward to seeing how vander Ark and Sutherland move ahead.

Saturday Morning... Time to be a tutor

From 8 am to noon, Sunland Park Elementary has "tutoring" -- and we need high school graduates to show up here. In fact, anyone who survived 8th grade and who can read a newspaper is needed. Call +1 954 646 8246 and arrange for a free "TUTORING KIT" -- and ask me how much fun I have... VisualAndActive@gmail.com

I am a taxpayer who was turned into a mentor after hearing about Bill Gates' speech to Governors Feb 2005, then after hearing the guy who inspired part of Gates' speech: Dennis Littky. Someday statues will be erected to honor Littky. Find out more by going to npr.org and search "Littky school" and see what comes up. interview in April 2005 . I visited his school in Providence and I made a documentary. I am very inspired by Littky's work and I hope someone in this audience will persuade a school board in hire Littky to redo their district. Please contact me if you want to become a member of the Breakfast Club With Mentors. Everyone can be a mentor. You can find some videos that I posted at http://www.Youtube.com/breakfastclubmentors

January 5 The first day

Capital: Lima

Spanish word: Buenos dias Good morning (good day)

A student named J. showed me his poster about Joey a football player for the Steelers. He talked about the poster and we made a photo. I promised him a CD with the photo on the CD. It was fun. .. oh, I have to get approval to give a CD to a child. So my next work is going to be collecting ebooks that I can include on the CD.

I arrived at 7:20 a.m.

I like being a mentor. Kids liked looking at the atlas that I brought. I think it is best to sit with two or three kids and talk for 20-30 minutes than to walk around a lot. This first day I set an example by picking up trash, using the unused napkins to clean up spills and demonstrate by modeling that an adult male cleans up. So maybe it will be cool to wipe the crumbs from the table into the tray and keep the trash from falling on the floor.

January 6 and 7 The Breakfast Club at Sunland Elementary

January 6: the capital of the day was "Ottawa." The kids who went to north had a lot of fun finding this city.

Spanish word: Hasta la vista. Until the seeing (the next time I see you).

I brought in a book showing photos from space. The Earth looks interesting from up there. We looked at photos of Florida and we found Lake Okeechobee. We also used napkins to clean up messes on the table. It was fun to leave the table looking as good as we found it.

I arrived at 7:20 am

January 7: The capital: Nassau

Spanish: Libro. Tengo dos libros. I have two books.

I brought two letters that I needed to compile. I showed the kids how I work and create a presentation. It was a good idea because a lot of kids don't see adults working in a home office. It is useful, as Dr. Alison Gopnik (UC Berkeley) points out, for youngsters to watch adults make mistakes, confront obstacles and move ahead.

I also promised a student named J. that I would bring a photo (that I took on Tuesday 5 Jan.) and I hope he liked the photo. He said that he has a place in his house for keeping important things. I was later than usual, I arrived at 7:28 am.

I talked to kids about the SHUTTLE LAUNCH that will happen on 7 February. That's a Sunday and they can see the link to the shuttle at www.nasa.gov.

Date: Feb. 7 + Sunday
Launch Time: 4:39 a.m. EST

Date: March 18 + Thursday

Launch Time: 4 p.m. EDT

Date: May 14 +
Launch Time: 2:28 p.m. EDT

(I wonder what the "+" sign means...)

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

I also recommended the Film Festival -- FREE FILMS -- at Cinema Paradiso at www.FLIFF.com. I hope the slips of paper that I gave four kids will get home.

The Breakfast Club for Mentors in Fort Lauderdale

The Breakfast Club: An Invitation to Adults from a Teacher

On my way to work, I drive to an elementary school, arriving at about 7:15 am. I pick up a book of photos or I bring along a few sheets of paper and a pen. I sign in, walk to the dining hall, and wave to Mr. Mobley, the security guard. Two teachers are "on duty" and sometimes I see parents in the room, watching the kids who arrive early for free breakfast. I leave at 8 a.m. and go to work.

"What do you talk about with the children?" is the first question that most adults ask me. I've found that brining a book along is an icebreaker. Most kids are curious and one way to feed that curiosity is to open a book to an interesting page with a photo. That's what I talk about: something that interests the kid.

"Why are you doing that? You don't have kids" or "Your child isn't at that school." Well, I'm a taxpayer and I want to see my education dollars go farther. There's a connection between boredom and failing in the classroom. If a kid has something to look forward to everyday, then there's just another reason to get to school on time "to see what Mr. Mac is doing this morning."

INVITATION: I invite you to arrange your schedule to include an hour devloted to our school system. Yes, I've had to sacrifice by going to bed an hour earlier. It takes me 12 minutes to get to the school and then 8 minutes to get to work, a total of 15 minutes in addition to the usual 5 minutes that it takes me to commute. I stay there 45 minutes so it's about five hours a week devoted to asking kids, "Have you seen the Earth from space?" (when I bring a photo book to the hall) or "Can you find Florida on this map?" when I bring an atlas. I miss seeing The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 11 pm, but it's worth it to get up at 6:30 a.m. ready to make neurons spark in young brains.

I tell myself that I'm meeting with future clients. They are the taxpayers of tomorrow (and they pay sales taxes today). I'm interested in building an army of smart, motivated kids who know that there are adults who want them to succeed.

If you live near I-95 and Sunrise Blvd., please join me at Sunland Elementary. You can ask for the volunteer form by internet through Karen.Procelli@browardschools.com or you can call the volunteer office at (754) 322-8567. You, too, can be the change that we want to see in the world.



Steve McCrea is an SAT tutor and a teacher trainer. He offers a CD with 201 electronic books on it: write to him at visualandactive@gmail.com. His weekly seminar about marketing tips on the internet take place at 1350 East Sunrise Blvd. (Artserve) -- bring a blank CD and exchange it for the 201 ebooks CD. For more information 954 646 8246.

By the way, go to http://www.fliff.com and see the latest in the series of free movies available in 2010 in Fort Lauderdale.

We are the change we want to see in our schools

In 2004, I was a middle school teacher at a charter school. A family therapist, Pat Harris, come to volunteer in the school. I heard her 20 minute talk with my class and I was amazed. The rowdy group turned into a motivated bunch of kids ... all because of what Pat had said and asked. "Does your anger manage you or do you manage your anger?"


At that moment, I realized that I as a teacher had a lot to gain from teaming up with the guidance department and volunteers who deal with family matters, such as marriage and family counselors.


SO, fast forward 4 years... Between 2004 and 2009, I visited more than two dozen schools including www.newcityschool.org, www.metcenter.org, www.bigpicture.org,

Daniel Webster Middle School in LA, Frida Kahlo High School in LA, High Tech High in San Diego, San Diego Met, CHAD in Philadelphia, Bok Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla., ....
Schools in Florida: Hallandale Adult Community Center, Fort Laud High, Stranahan High, Arthur Ashe Middle, Seminole Middle,
...

I came away from these visits clear in the idea that the principles described by Dennis Littky can be used in virtually any location and the academics will improve. See www.visualandactive.com ... click on "readings"


A quote from Gandhi: We are the change that we want to see in the world.

Well.... it's up to us. Education is everybody's business (as Littky points out...)



So, I'm going to visit for the first time...4 Jan. Karen P. at Sunland has invited me to drop in and we'll discover what I can help do... I hope to start volunteering Tuesday morning... 5 Jan.

New York's "School of One" gets mentioned in Time Magazine

This is fascinating.


http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934027_1934003_1933977,00.html

This past summer, in a sixth-grade math class, New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein piloted a small program in which individualized, technology-based learning takes the place of the old "let's all proceed together" approach. Each day, students in the School of One are given a unique lesson plan — a "daily playlist" — tailored to their learning style and rate of progress that includes a mix of virtual tutoring, in-class instruction and educational video games. It's learning for the Xbox generation.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934027_1934003_1933977,00.html#ixzz0a6wJZ6QE

This reminds us of Dr. Abraham Fischler's proposals in TheStudentIstheClass.com

The Next Step in School Reform: Sharing the information

Here is a new approach (for people interested in school reform) == let's go "on the road" with our message.

Blogging and talking on youtube is one way to reach out into the marketplace of public opinion... another way is to go to churches and other religious organizations...

Here are two brochures and a cover letter that I'm sending out... let's go around Parent Teacher Organizations and get to parents through other organizations...

==========================


I’m a taxpayer and I want to see better results from our schools. The central force behind school reform and improvement is PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. When parents push for improvements, then real reform takes place. When parents get the information that they need and learn about the key features to ask for in an “improved school,” then the improvements take place.

I’ve visited nearly a dozen “Big Picture Schools,” where improvements have been made. I would welcome an opportunity to share what I learned in my travels.

Here are two possible approaches (some paragraphs for an announcement in your newsletter?). I’m happy to present the information at no charge to parents.





Steve McCrea
Founder, VisualandActive.com
Teacher trainer and advocate for school reform.
954 646 8246

Enclosed are a CD and two DVDs that describe the innovations that I witnessed.

23 November 2009

One of the people in your congregation suggested that I contact you. Please let me know when and where I might present this valuable information.

I’m not selling anything. I’m an advocate for school reform. I’ve seen remarkable schools inspired by Dennis Littky and funded in part by Bill Gates == and our community can benefit from hearing about these innovations in education.


======== Brochure #1 ___________

Offer: 201 books on one CD.
The miracle of the Internet can deliver 201 books to your family… and all you need to do to get this free CD is come to a meeting and learn about:

à How to get FREE lessons on the Internet to prepare for the PSAT and SAT tests

à How to get FREE lessons on the Internet to learn other languages

à How to meet interesting people from other countries (and earn COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS) (which are required to graduate from high school).

Are you interested? Come to the meeting at :
WHERE:
DATE: TIME:
If you can’t make the meeting, you can still get the free ebooks by contacting Steve McCrea, the presenter at 954 646 8246 or by sending an email to VisualAndActive@gmail.com

Thank you for your attention.
Steve McCrea, ESOL teacher visualandactive@gmail.com TeachersToTeachers.com and the English Visitors Network 954.646.9246


======== Brochure #2 ___________



Dear Parent
You might not have heard of some interesting discoveries about the brain and how these discoveries can make learning easier for your children.

You might not have heard of free web sites that can prepare your children for the SAT or PSAT tests. Perhaps you have heard about the efforts to improve schools (by Bill Gates and others), but you don’t know much about these initiatives.

I’m happy to share what I’ve learned from visiting three schools in Los Angeles, two schools in Rhode Island, New Jersey and Massachusetts, and a multiple intelligences school in St. Louis. Come to an interesting 30-minute presentation, with time for your questions. Learn about narratives, exhibitions and the importance of Individual Learning Plans. If you can’t make the meeting, visit VisualAndActive.com and learn about a fun way for your children to complete their “Community Service Requirement” while meeting some interesting people from other countries.

DATE: TIME:
WHERE:

Steve McCrea, ESOL teacher visualandactive@gmail.com TeachersToTeachers.com and the English Visitors Network 954.646.9246

---------------

Let me know if you know of a better way to get the word out... What is the next step in school reform?