Bøger udgivet af Learning Moments Press

At the age of 38, the author and her husband adopted an 11 year old boy. During the early years of their life together, the author wrote short vignettes about moments that challenged her assumptions about parenting. Many of the vignettes are reflections on ironic discrepancies between actually being a parent and what she had learned from books and courses. Other vignettes reveal more painful confrontations with some of her deepest assumptions about what it means to parent and to love. Reflections on Adoption by a Grateful Recovering Know-It-All is a compilation of these vignettes. In the epilogue the author looks back after more than 30 years as a mother and offers, not advice, but thoughts on several issues she continues to ponder.

In this book, scholar-practitioners offer alternatives to the five-chapter thesis crafted in the tradition of science reports. As authors of meritiorious and award-winning dissertations, they provide insights into the challenging process of conceptualizing interpretive methods of inquiry including narrative, heuristic, social cartography, grounded theory, spritiual inquiry, reflective art-making; and essay writing. Each author explores the interconnections among her ontological leanings and the method, content and form of her dissertation. The editors frame these examplars of individual studies within the broader discourses of interpretive inquiry. This collection is particularly timely as many universities are currently exploring what types of scholarhip might best serve educational practitioners pursuing graduate and doctoral degrees.

Marjorie Barrett Logsdon, a teacher of high school English literature and composition, explores the experiences that led to her decision to transform her authoritarian pedagogical practice. Believing that sharing power with students is more conducive to writing-as-process (as opposed to wrtiing-as-product), Marjorie is surprised to encounter resistance, not only from students, but within herself. Writing in the genre of the speculative/personal essay, Marjorie challenges her assumptions about "being in authority," "being an authority," and the "authority of students to author texts." Drawing from dreams, memories, and experiences, Marjorie weaves a thoughtful and insightful inquiry into the nuances of pedagogical authority. Using the metaphor of an alchemist's crucible, she clarifies "matters of text," "matters of time," and "matters of meaning." Regardless of a teacher's field of study, Marjorie's inquiry offers an inspiring example of how dedicated teachers can inquire into the nature of their own pedagogical practice.

On Being a Scholar-Practitioner: Practical Wisdom in Action challenges the traditional dichotomy between practitioners and scholars. Grounded in the concept of praxis--thinking informs action and action informs thinking--this book explores a stance of Scholar-Practitioner comprising six qualities that characterize their work in education. Scholar-Practitioners cultivate a reservoir of Pedagogical Wisdom that guides their decisions and actions. Theoretical Understanding and Contextual Literacy support educators as they work at the intersection of complex social and institutional forces. Embracing the qualities of Ethical Stewardship and Aesthetic Imagination empowers Scholar-Practitioners to advocate for the educational well-being of individuals and the profession. Through Metacognitive Reflection Scholar-Practitioners become more than recipients of rational-technical knowledge generated by others; they become sources of wisdom for fulfilling the purpose of education.

The death of an adult sibling precipitates a flood of emotions in the surviving sisters and brothers. Feelings of grief are not easily "gotten over" in neatly ordered stages. Neither are efforts to make sense of the loss and come to terms with an irreparable hole in one's family constellation. In Part 1 of The Oxidation of Grief, Maria Piantanida shares her responses to her younger sister's death from renal cancer. Mingled with expressions of grief are Maria's struggles with notions of spirituality, faith, belief, and the meaning of life. Part 2 of the book consists of narratives of adult sibling loss. These narrative were crafted from interviews with thirteen men and women who lost one or more siblings under unexpected (sometimes catastrophic) circumstances, chronic disease, or terminal illness. In sharing both her own reflections and those of others, Maria hopes that others may find comfort in knowing they are not alone as they cope with the death of an adult sibling.

VOICES FROM THE FIRING LINE is a memoir, a tribute, and a eulogy. Ralph Proctor traces his own development from a naive, "e;color-blind,"e; youth to a militant advocate for equal justice. Adding to his own account are the voices of other leaders in Pittsburgh's civil rights movement. In recording and sharing the experiences of these remarkable men and women, Proctor offers a tribute to their pain, courage, and sacrifice. Through numerous examples of covert discrimination, the pervasive Jim Crow culture is revealed along with efforts to overcome barriers to integration. In the final analysis, the book is a eulogy for The Hill, one of the most vibrant Black enclaves in the United States. Proctor looks back at the gains achieved and the losses incurred as the movement for equal inclusion waned in the years following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. He asks, "e;Did we do enough?"e; The question, while posed to his comrades in the fight for justice, is worth asking ourselves today.