books

From IGI Publishing, Advancing Student Employability Through Higher Education 

In it, please check out my chapter, Chapter Two, entitled, Executive Function Coaching in Higher Education

Uniting the Science of Reading and Balanced Literacy with Social Justice

Chances are, if you’re picking up this book, it is because you are a dedicated teacher who knows that something is amiss in our literacy education. I felt it, too, and I offer this book as a practical guide to my own journey in attempting to unite all of the feuding. Presumably, we all get into teaching because we want to make a sincere difference in the world, and in the lives of the students we educate. This book honors that passion, while making tactical, realistic sense out of the unnecessary fights that occur between proponents of the Science of Reading and Balanced Literacy.

Handbook of Research on Learner-Centered Approaches to Teaching in an Age of Transformational Change

In this exciting, new release for 2022, check out my chapter, Chapter 16, entitled,

Social Action Literacy for Elementary Teachers

A textbook from 2020–

Next Generation Digital Tools and Applications for Teaching and Learning Enhancement

Please check out my chapter, Chapter 5, with my colleague and co-author Sarita Belmont, entitled,

Case Study of Urban 4th/5th Grade Teachers and Students Engaged With E-Texts

Parenting Memoir–

The Evolution of Us

(click here to buy the book)

Overview
“Actually,” I said in a hushed tone.  “I have a job interview next week.”
I wasn’t sure why I was practically whispering.  Was it really a secret?  Perhaps it was because I wasn’t so sure of myself, and didn’t want to admit it out loud.  Was I really ready to return to work? Even though my daughter and I were beyond first steps and first words, I still wanted to be there for her.  I wanted to be the one she ran to at the end of the school day.  I wanted to be the one to kiss her forehead when she was home sick with a cold.

Thankfully, my friend, Rose, knew exactly what I meant.  Our insecurities stemmed from wondering about our absences on multiple levels.  We had been absent from full-time work for years, and contemplated our workplace worth.  More importantly, we didn’t want to be absent from our role as mothers, in the everyday details that matter so deeply, both to our children, and to ourselves.
Rose paused, looked intently into my eyes, shrugged her shoulders and said, “Ah, the evolution of us.”

Rose’s tone was almost dismissive.  But to me, her words were brilliant.  With those simple, yet eloquent words, this book was born.  Rose’s sentiment inspired me to explore and unpack the phrase “the evolution of us” by seeing how it resonated with other mothers.

My mind swirled with questions.  What does “the evolution of us” mean to today’s mothers of young children?  Can we have it all?  How do we acquire this supposed balance?  Are women frankly discussing how difficult it is to be a mother?  Do the “Mommy Wars” still exist?  Whether we work outside of the home or not, do we even recognize ourselves anymore?  As American mothers of young children, who are we, and where are we going?

Motherhood is undeniably a hot-button issue in our culture.  There have been countless books and articles written on the topic.  This book differs in the way it offers intimate portraits of just a few women, as they ponder our current, complex roles, and the ways our roles are evolving from a historical perspective. Each chapter contains an intimate portrait of a mother of young children.  The portraits vary greatly, from middle-class to working class women, stay-at-home moms and working moms, heterosexual and lesbian mothers, a mother of a child with special needs, a mother who is also caring for an aging parent, and women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

As an author and fellow mom, my hope is that you see yourself reflected in these pages.  By sharing and reading the experiences of others, my wish is that we can move forward as a generation of women who support one another, and who can work together to create a more stable system of support for the next generation.

(click here to buy the book)