Positive Discipline

Positive Discipline: Tools for Teachers, is an excellent resource for both new and experienced teachers to rethink their classroom management plan. Nelson and Gfroerer provide a well organized, research based plan that includes experiences from real classroom teachers. As someone who recently finished their Masters in Education and looking forward to having my own classroom, I found some of the tips similar to those touched upon in my coursework. Many of these, I scoffed at because of their unrealistic nature. I guess education has changed a ton since I was the student in the desk. Parenting has also changed so as educators we are becoming more responsible for teaching children good behaviors as well as reading and math. I love many aspects of the Positive Discipline approach that places the choice and solution in the hands of the students to help them to become better people not just less annoying in the classroom. The tool with the most impact was the final chapter. The one we as teachers and even parents can forget. Self Care. We talked about this frequently through grad school as we juggled families, jobs and school. As a mother, I learned this the hard way but have found that hour or so I give to myself when everyone has gone to bed goes a long way to my sanity.

Austen in Austin

I've been told that I'm a hopeless romantic for being such a fan of 19th century British Literature, specifically Jane Austen. I was excited to see a modern adaptation of one of my favorites, Sense and Sensibility. Hillary Manton Lodge's Jane of Austen has everything an Austenphile could want and is presented in a way that anyone could enjoy.

One cannot help but fall in love with the main characters and their struggle to find a way to survive in a world where their last name leaves them at a disadvantage. Dropping everything and moving to Austin sets the girls off on an adventure of loss and love that kept me wanting to read more and more. I practically devoured the book to get to the happy ending I knew was coming. A fantastic tale of the importance of family and looking beyond appearances to find true love. This is definitely one that will be passed along for others to enjoy. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."