Education Biography

When Victor Villaseñor stood at the podium and looked at the group of teachers amassed before him, he became enraged. He had never spoken in public before. His mind was flooded with childhood memories filled with humiliation, misunderstanding, and abuse at the hands of his teachers. With his heart pounding, he began to speak of these incidents. To his disbelief, the teachers before him responded to his embittered recollection with a standing ovation. Many could not contain their own tears.

John Hope Franklin lived through America's most defining twentieth-century transformation, the dismantling of legally-protected racial segregation. A renowned scholar, he has explored that transformation in its myriad aspects, notably in his 3.5 million-copy bestseller, From Slavery to Freedom. And he was, and remains, an active participant. Intimate, at times revelatory, Mirror to America chronicles Franklin's life and this nation's racial transformation in the 20th century.

Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman reflects on his childhood with his award-winning father, Sid Fleischman, and details his own path to becoming a writer in this memorable audiobook that is part memoir, part travelogue, and part reflection on craft and creativity. Acclaimed author Paul Fleischman considers how growing up with a father who was an award-winning author helped to shape and inspire his own career. Paul and Sid Fleischman are the only father-son Newbery Medalists in history, and life in the Fleischman home was extraordinary.

Half a Century Ago offers a vivid recollection of memories about coming of age in the Bronx, New York, in the 1970s. This engaging story is an empowering listen about how family love provided the foundation to overcome the challenges faced by language and cultural barriers, poverty and social inequities while remaining steadfast focused on positive outcomes. Dr. Arias told these stories to her students over the years in the classroom. She now wishes to share those tales to a larger audience of young immigrants who struggle to overcome adversity and hope for a brighter future.

In 1971, Rod Barton applied for a junior scientist role in the Australian Department of Defence. Little did he know what it entailed: As the Cold War intensified, Barton was inducted into the murky world of espionage. This is an extraordinary behind-the-scenes account of a world marked by risk, secrecy and individual acts of courage. The Life of a Spy will introduce you to a man of principle in a time of chaos, and take you to the frontlines of politics and war.

This audio study guide of Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as joy, teaching and learning, and pride and humility. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

This is part memoir and part "how to be a teacher" with an emphasis on literacy and learning through written reflection. I tell the story of becoming a teacher, working in the inner-city, and relate it to how literacy and writing can improve learning.

Do you know a controlling person? Do you worry about sexual assault or bullies? In Someone You Know, relationship expert Dara Connolly provides an easy, profound, and entertaining listen to help you attract positive people and avoid the bad ones. Learn tools to handle bullies, mean girls, and avoid sexual assault predators or abusive relationships before it's too late. This book is endorsed by counselors, doctors, police, and moms.

With rare honesty, true stories, and refreshingly straight talk, best-selling author and life coach Steve Austin shares his personal journey from crippling anxiety and perfectionism to calm amid life's inevitable chaos. He pulls no punches, revealing his darkest moments and the thoughts most people would be too afraid to admit. Yet he offers hope. In these powerful book, you will find simple ways to cultivate calm and practice self-care by living courageously and authentically. It all starts with vulnerability. Discover how to come up for air and breathe again.

In Stress in the City, Enoch Li shares her experiences at the top of the corporate game, reflects on the warning signs she refused to see, and documents her journey back from the edge through the rediscovery of her inner child. Enoch also discusses how companies can help their executives be mentally and emotionally well through her research into the psychology of playfulness, workplace burnout, and company culture.

One of America's most admired television newsmen gives us an intimate chronicle of the final year of the 20th century. Here is the voice we know from Nightline - intelligent, curious, opinionated, witty, concerned - reminding us in entertaining and thought-provoking ways that even the most public events reverberate in our private lives. Hear an interview with Ted Koppel on The Connection.

The Family Affair Cookbook written by Kathy Garver with Geoffrey Mark, is a tasty trip to the elegant retro-recipes of the 1960s! Not only does Kathy share the culinary secrets of Mr. French's kitchen as well as those of the great restaurants of the era, but she shares warm and poignant memories of working on one of the classic sitcoms of all time.

A fascinating history of the rise and fall of influential Gilded Age magazine McClure's and the two unlikely outsiders at its helm - as well as a timely, full-throated defense of investigative journalism in America. Tracing McClure's from its meteoric rise to its spectacularly swift and dramatic combustion, Citizen Reporters is a thrillingly told, deeply researched biography of a powerhouse magazine that forever changed American life. It's also a timely case study that demonstrates the crucial importance of journalists who are unafraid to speak truth to power.

Thanks to one reporter's skill, we can fix the exact moment on November 22, 1963 when the world stopped and held its breath: At 12:34 p.m. Central Time, UPI White House reporter Merriman Smith broke the news that shots had been fired at President Kennedy's motorcade. Most people think Walter Cronkite was the first to tell America about the assassination. But when Cronkite broke the news on TV, he read from one of Smith's dispatches.

The inspirational story of a former Microsoft executive’s quest to build libraries around the world and share the love of books What’s happened since John Wood left Microsoft to change the world? Just ask six million kids in the poorest regions of Asia and Africa. In 1999, at the age of 35, Wood quit a lucrative career to found the nonprofit Room to Read. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world", he strove to bring the lessons of the corporate world to the nonprofit sector - and succeeded spectacularly.

That afternoon was the last time the high-school Patriots would see one another for weeks; some teammates they'd never see again. Hurricane Katrina was about to tear their lives apart. Hurricane Season is the story of a great football coach, his team, his family, and their school - and a remarkable fight back from shocking tragedy.

A deeply personal memoir of the private Ray Charles - the man behind the legend - by his eldest son. Ray Charles is an American music legend. A multiple Grammy Award-winning composer, pianist, and singer with an inimitable vocal style and catalog. Now his eldest son, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., shares an intimate glimpse of the man behind the music, with never-before-told stories. Going beyond the fame, the concerts, and the tours, Ray Jr. opens the doors of his family home and reveals their private lives with fondness and frankness.

We all know what is wrong with today’s schools - or do we? Tracy Kidder spent a year in a fifth grade class in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The teacher is excellent, but something else is very wrong. Kidder skillfully presents the problems and leaves the listener to ponder the solutions.

William Shakespeare. Born April 1564, at Stratford-upon-Avon. Died April 1616. Married Anne Hathaway: two daughters, one son. Actor, poet, famous playwright. Wrote nearly forty plays. But what was he like as a man? What did he think about when he rode into London for the first time... or when he was writing his plays Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet... or when his only son died? We know the facts of his life, but we can only guess at his hopes, his fears, his dreams.

Robbery, smuggling, gambling - gangsters did it all. Find out the true stories of the United States' most feared hoodlums and mob bosses. Learn how a two-bit car thief built a criminal empire - and how the mob's top man wound up in prison.