Social Sciences Education

Social capital - the relationships between people that allow communities to function well - has long been recognized as the grease that oils the wheels of society. It facilitates trust, creates bonds among neighbors, and even helps boost employment. In his 2000 book, Bowling Alone, American sociologist Robert Putnam argues that Americans have become disconnected from one another and from the institutions of their common life and investigates the consequences of this change.

Alan loves animals, but the great cat house at the Bronx Zoo makes him sad. Why are they all alone in empty cages? Are they being punished? More than anything, he wants to be their champion--their voice--but he stutters uncontrollably. Except when he talks to animals... Then he is fluent. Follow the life of the man Time Magazine calls, "the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation" as he searches for his voice and fulfills a promise to speak for animals, and people, who cannot speak for themselves.

Epictetus was brought as a slave to Rome, where he became a great teacher. His philosophy, called stoicism, was practical, not theoretical - aimed at relieving suffering here and now. And Epictetus knew suffering. Besides being a former slave, he was lame in one leg and walked with a crutch. Turning these obstacles to his advantage, Epictetus learned that lasting peace and happiness can only come from within. The Manual is a collection of Epictetus' essential teachings. It points the way to inner harmony and freedom, through all of life's storms and stresses.

Over the past several years, Jonathan Kozol has visited nearly 60 public schools. Virtually everywhere, he finds that conditions have grown worse for inner-city children in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. First, a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools. The segregation of Black children has reverted to a level that the nation has not seen since 1968. Few of the students in these schools know White children any longer.

Over the past several years, Jonathan Kozol has visited nearly 60 public schools. Virtually everywhere, he finds that conditions have grown worse for inner-city children in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. First, a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools. The segregation of Black children has reverted to a level that the nation has not seen since 1968.

As a teen, you're experiencing intense changes in your life - both physically and mentally. To top it off, you're probably unsure of how to handle your emotions in a positive, constructive way. Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster offers evidence-based techniques to help you regulate your emotions and find balance in all areas of life - whether it's at home, at school, or with friends and peers. By learning to be more aware of your emotions, you'll be able to let difficult feelings pass without reacting to them in destructive ways.

At 13, bright-eyed straight-A student Sara Saedi uncovered a terrible family secret: She was breaking the law simply by living in the United States. Only two years old when her parents fled Iran, she didn't learn of her undocumented status until her older sister wanted to apply for an after-school job but couldn't because she didn't have a Social Security number. Fear of deportation kept Sara up at night, but it didn't keep her from being a teenager.

Veteran California attorney and elder financial abuse writer Michael Hackard draws from 40 years of legal experience to advise families, caregivers, and professionals who work with seniors what elder financial abuse is, how to identify it, and - most importantly - what to do if abuse is suspected. Concise and chock-full of practical information, The Wolf at the Door is a must-have reference for anyone interested in learning about elder financial abuse and what can be done to combat it.

The positive discipline method has proved to be an invaluable resource for teachers who want to foster creative problem-solving within their students, giving them the behavioral skills they need to understand and process what they learn. Each tool is tailored specifically for the modern teacher, with examples and solutions to each and every roadblock that stands in the way of cooperative and student-centered learning.

Jonathan Starr is not your traditional do-gooder, and in 2009, when he decided to found Abaarso, a secondary school in Somaliland, the choice seemed crazy to even his closest friends. Why, they wondered, would he turn down a life of relative luxury to relocate to an armed compound in a breakaway region of the world's number one failed state? To achieve his mission, Starr would have to overcome profound cultural differences, broken promises, and threats to his safety and that of his staff.

In this profoundly significant book, author Michael Gurian synthesizes current knowledge and clearly demonstrates how this distinction in hard-wiring and socialized gender differences affects how boys and girls learn. Gurian presents a new way to educate our children based on brain science, neurological development, and chemical and hormonal disparities.

Though written around 1513, more than 500 years ago, Italian diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince is still very influential. Listeners turn to it for its direct advice on the question of how to attain - and retain - power. Machiavelli's answer, in brief: use any means necessary to make sure the state survives. Given the changeable nature of politics, the strong ruler that Machiavelli describes may need to lie or cheat, deceive and, if necessary, resort to acts of violence - all the while maintaining an "image" of goodness.

For fans of the Table Manners podcast, Jessie and Lennie’s cookbook is brought to life in this unique audiobook. This audiobook features seven recipes from the book, cooked live in Lennie’s kitchen, as well as an exclusive Q&A with Jessie and Lennie taking you behind the scenes of Table Manners family stories and anecdotes taking you through their favourite easy, complex, summer, Christmas and Jewish-ish recipes.

Published in 1925, The Gift is one of French sociologist Marcel Mauss's few non-collaborative works. In it, he elevates what might appear to be a simple gift from the status of innocent object to something that has the capacity to motivate people and define social relationships. The Gift analyzes cultures across the world and across time, with the way gifts are given and received working as a guide to understanding the rules and traditions of many different societies.

Instead of saying “This is what you do,” then leaving you to it, Beverley takes you by the hand and troubleshoots all the games so that you can get them absolutely right. And the joy is that this is all achieved without shouting, force, or intimidation. Just pure undiluted fun! This first book in the series of Essential Skills for a Brilliant Family Dog introduces you to the concepts of how to get what you want from your dog, and then sends him off to sleep for you.

The AudioLearn version of The Critique of Judgment is preceded by a biography of the author and an exploration of the background of the piece. Also included are an overview, synopsis, and analysis, as well as an examination of the historical context, social impact, and criticisms of the work.

The NCLEX Trainer exam guide begins with an outline of the topics and key facts that you need to remember for the exam. A list of subtopics is included. This is all presented with helpful notes, tips, and cautions. In section three of this guide, you can apply and test your knowledge with over 100 topic-specific practice questions. All answers to the questions are given with detailed rationales to further your knowledge and understanding of the topic. Smart study strategies are outlined in the penultimate section of this guide.

From Equity Talk to Equity Walk offers practical guidance on the design and application of campus change strategies for achieving equitable outcomes. Drawing from campus-based research projects, this invaluable resource provides real-world steps that reinforce primary elements for examining equity in student achievement, while challenging educators to specifically focus on racial equity as a critical lens for institutional and systemic change.

American lawyer-turned-sociologist David Riesman published his first book, The Lonely Crowd, in 1950. Aimed at academics, it nonetheless gained a large popular audience. In it, Riesman explores the links between social character - the ways in which members of a society are similar to one another - and social structures. Riesman's work popularized sociology, helping to establish it as an academic discipline, and today it provides a fascinating window into the 1950s American psyche.

Anthropologist Geert Hofstede's 1980 work, Culture's Consequences, was the first study to look at cultural differences using data. The Dutchman took advantage of the enormous global span of his employer, the technology company IBM, to gather survey data in 20 languages and across 70 countries, and to produce a unique study of national values.