Average customer rating:
- Excellent book, excellent price.
|
Matisse Portrait Drawings: 45 Plates (Dover Art Library)
Henri Matisse
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Books
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Drawing
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Drawing
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Picasso Line Drawings and Prints (Dover Art Library)
ASIN: 0486264386 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book, excellent price........2001-01-17
This book includes many protraits done by the great Matisse. They are all simple and elegant. Matisse fans should not be without this book.
Customer Reviews:
extremely helpful.......2007-04-21
I wish I had found this book 20 books ago. The simplified figure is extremely helpful to say the least and together with the Bargue, and the Hogarth dynamic figure, I believe you have everything you need to draw the human figure from your imagination. It's a shame it's out of print, but I believe it was worth every penny I spent for it. Forget the overpriced goldfugue and such...this is the one you need.
One Possible Starting Point.......2005-09-26
Uses a system of a properly constructed stick figure to rough in your ideas, from which a finished figure can be built up. I find this speeds the process of sorting ideas, working up thumbnails, and roughing in crowd scenes, though I still rely on Hogarth for anything beyond that point. If Hogarth's dynamism (his trees writhe with energy) doesn't sit well with you, this big book is a passable alternative, though it does not cover as much as _Dynamic Figure Drawing_ does: things like foreshortening, the extremely tucked figure, or female [...] are not covered. A little too much time is spent on detailing small bones and deep muscles that make no difference in the drawing of what is visible.
extremely practical and helpful.......1998-07-15
This is the first book I'd recommend to anyone wanting to study artistic anatomy. After slogging through other anatomy books,I found this one explaining everything I needed to know with simplicity and thoroughness. Not that other books are without merit, but this is the place to start. A treasure if you can find it!
Average customer rating:
- A confusing book at best
- Terrible!
- A Waste of Time & Money
- Minus Five Star!
- Poor Exposure of the SB-28 Speedlight
|
Magic Lantern Guides: Nikon Sb-28 (Magic Lantern Guides)
Michael Huber
Manufacturer: Sterling
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Lighting
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| How-to
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Magic Lantern Series
| How-to
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Equipment
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1883403529 |
Book Description
The fully automatic Nikon offers hundreds of options and incredible flexibility--and this "improved instruction guide" explains how to take full advantage of every one. Get all the facts about the camera's user-friendly technology, special features, and much-admired flash system. Sample shots show just how to adjust to a variety of shooting situations. Great photography will become easier than ever before! 160 pages, 24 color illus., 60 b/w illus., 5 x 7 1/2.
Customer Reviews:
A confusing book at best.......2002-04-27
I read the instructions that came with the SB-28. I wanted more info. I bought the book. I became more and more confused. I re-read the instructions. I still don't understand the book, but I take good flash pictures.
Terrible!.......2001-11-14
I purchased the SB-28 flash in Switzerland and wanted a guide in the English language. I already had a fair understanding of the flash and the various modes, but I still had a few outstanding questions that I hoped this book could answer. The book just confused me and raised even more questions. The author's run-on sentences and poor grammar made for difficult reading and comprehension. The examples did a poor job of demonstrating the author's point and often had nothing to do with the text.
Save your money and get your questions answered at the many online resources available. If you must have this book, I will sell you mine.
A Waste of Time & Money.......2001-10-30
Do not believe the promises made in the opening pages of this book. They are unfulfilled. Despite early protestations that this book will be better than, and different from, the instruction manual -- it is barely more than a bad rehash of the instruction manual with confusing additional information thrown in.
When the author asks that "due to constraints of time and cost" we should excuse the "artistic and aesthetic aspects" of his illustrations, we should sense that this was a 'quick and dirty' effort. Forget the "time and cost" for photography! How about investing some conceptual and organizational thought -- and concern for the reader? (Isn't that what we are paying for?) In fact, this looks so 'quick and dirty' that it seems like different people actually wrote different parts, with little communication, and with no visible editorial control. Furthermore, the illustrations are often unrelated to the text. When related, I have seen many illustrations elsewhere that illustrate the point in the text much better.
The book contradicts itself in places. For example, on page 30 it is claimed that "the SB-28 uses a combined CONTROL OF flash energy via flash duration and FLASH OUTPUT ..." [emphasis, mine] and then on pg. 140 we read "To my knowledge, complex electronic CONTROL OF the actual FLASH OUTPUT is presently not used by any camera/autoflash mode ...". Since the context of these two sentences make it explicitly clear that the points being made are completely contradictory, one begins to lose faith in the veracity of other claims in the book.
I read this book from cover-to-cover, twice, thinking it was my fault. What a waste of time! Even with my Ph.D. degree, I could make little sense of the author's intent. A bunch of facts thrown together and often repeated several times throughout the book, with little useful organization or explanation, poor illustrations, and no index. I found myself trying to re-write the book as I fought for understanding.
You should not have to buy a book like this and then have to re-write it in order to understand it.
Save your time and money.
It gets one star, because I can't give zero stars!
Do not be tempted by this bad apple from the (usually good) 'Magic Lantern' barrel.
Minus Five Star!.......2001-05-02
Advice: Don't buy it! Cons: Confusing, less useful than the instruction manual
Poor Exposure of the SB-28 Speedlight.......2001-04-05
...I decided to buy this book. After all, the other Magic Lantern books were so well written and informative, I reasoned.
I reasoned wrong! The writer clearly understands the many technical details of the SB-28, but utterly fails to communicate his knowledge in any remotely understandable way.
A fine effort wasted, I'm afraid.
Book Description
In this volume, based on a week-long symposium at the University of Munich's Center for Economic Studies, two leading scholars of governmental economics debate their divergent perspectives on the role of government and its fiscal functions.
James M. Buchanan, who was influential in developing the research program in public choice, concentrates on the imperfections of the political process and stresses the need for rules to restrain governmental interference. Richard A. Musgrave, a founder of modern public finance, points to market failures and inequities that call for corrective public policies. They apply their differing economic and political philosophies to a variety of key issues. Each presentation is followed by a response and general discussion.
Customer Reviews:
Worth reading, but avoids the underlying disagreements.......2000-09-26
I had high hopes for this book; the transcript of a symposium featuring a back-and-forth dialogue of sorts by two leading thinkers in the area of public choice and finance would seem ideal, and as an introduction to the field, it was quite good. Where it fell short is in offering an analysis of the ideas on which the differences between the participants' views lay. Rather, one tended to offer his outlook on, say, the proper redistributive function of a government, or whether brakes on power are best set at the constitutional level, and the other would offer his views. So there was very little in the way of attacking the weak points of each other's arguments directly. Put simply, Buchanan does not trust people in positions of power, while Musgrave does. Buchanan's work usually involves modeling how things work, while Musgrave looks at how he thinks things should be. But there is little exploration of the basis for, for instance, Musgrave's frequent assertions that, well, things tend to be this way and we aren't happy with that so you see we need government intervention. He just goes on, and then when it is Buchanan's turn, he goes on. And the book is rather philosophical in nature; while there is a lot of economics jargon throughout, the overall level is general. It all just seemed a bit too civil. A good enough book, but perhaps a subscription to Critical Review would be a better place to look for more penetrating discussions of the topics at hand.
Average customer rating:
|
Essays on the Political Economy
James M. Buchanan
Manufacturer: Univ of Hawaii Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Development & Growth
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Theory
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Production & Operations
| Management & Leadership
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0824812506 |
Average customer rating:
- Terrific collection of papers on taxation, government debt
|
Debt and Taxes (Collected Works of James M Buchanan)
James M. Buchanan
Manufacturer: Liberty Fund
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Taxes
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Public Finance
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Debt & Deficits
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Taxation
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0865972397 |
Customer Reviews:
Terrific collection of papers on taxation, government debt.......2005-04-09
Volume 14 of James M. Buchanan's Collected Works series contains his papers on taxation and on public debt finance. The papers supplement Buchanan's book-length treatments of those subjects (which are, roughly, volumes 2, 4, 8, and 9 in the series).
The papers on taxation are divided into four categories: public choice, earmarking, tax limitations, and fiscal constitutionalism. The dominant theme is the shortcomings of orthodox public finance theory, as observed from a public-choice perspective. Public finance-based tax theory tends to neglect the expenditure side of the government budget. Public finance focuses too much on outcomes, whether of justice or efficiency or economic growth, and not enough on the process by or rules under which these outcomes are obtained. And public finance theory tends to not adequately consider the political setting within which collective choices are made. In short, public finance is interested in what's best for government, while public choice is more interested in what's best for individual citizens.
Buchanan's views on public debt finance can be summarized as follows.
(i.) Public debt constitutes a burden on future generations (we do not "owe it to ourselves"). This is unfair because those future generations end up facing a financial burden that is the result of spending and borrowing decisions in which they had no participation.
(ii.) The tendency in elective majoritarian democracy becomes for government to borrow and spend rather than tax and spend, and to spend much rather than little. "The most elementary prediction from public choice theory is that in the absence of moral or constitutional constraints democracies will finance some share of current public consumption from debt issue rather than from taxation and that, in consequence, spending rates will be higher than would accrue under budget balance." (p. 471) To correct for these defects, Buchanan favors a constitutional balanced budget amendment. Along the way he also thoroughly debunks Robert J. Barro's famous interpretation of Ricardian equivalence.
Most papers in this volume are clearly academic in nature, as are Buchanan's books on the same topics. Personally, I prefer the papers over the books, since they offer the same substance in more concentrated fashion, which means you receive more bang for your buck and for your time invested reading. With this volume, it's time that is very well spent.
Average customer rating:
|
Deficits
James M. Buchanan , and
Charles Kershaw Rowley
Manufacturer: Blackwell Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Macroeconomics
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Public Finance
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 063114918X |
Average customer rating:
|
Economics of Politics 1979 (Readings in Political Economics)
James M. Buchanan
Manufacturer: Transatlantic Arts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
| Agricultural
| Commercial Policy
| Comparative
| Consolidation & Merger
| Cooperatives
| Debt & Deficits
| Development & Growth
| Econometrics
| Economic Conditions
| Economic History
| Economic Policy & Development
| Exports & Imports
| Free Enterprise
| Inflation
| International
| Labor & Industrial Relations
| Macroeconomics
| Microeconomics
| Money & Monetary Policy
| Natural Resources
| Privatization
| Public Finance
| Statistics
| Sustainable Development
| Theory
| Unemployment
| Urban & Regional
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0255361149 |
Average customer rating:
|
Ethics of Capitalism and Critique of Sociobiology: Two Essays with a Comment by James M. Buchanan (Studies in Economic Ethics and Philosophy)
Peter Koslowski
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Policy & Current Events
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Free Enterprise
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Theory
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Ethics
| Business Life
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Ethics & Morality
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Philosophy
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| AIDS
| Abuse
| Adults
| Aging
| Children
| Class
| Communities
| Culture
| Death
| General
| History
| Leisure
| Marriage & Family
| Medicine
| Men
| Occupational
| Race Relations
| Religion
| Research & Measurement
| Rural
| Social Groups
| Social Situations
| Social Theory
| Suburban
| Urban
| Women
Sociobiology
| Anthropology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Conservatism
| Political Doctrines
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
All Amazon Upgrade
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Business & Investing
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Professional & Technical
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Amazon Upgrade
| Stores
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Business & Investing
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Nonfiction
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Professional
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
Science
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 3540610359 |
Book Description
The book has two subjects, first the ethical theory of the economic order, and secondly the critique of sociobiology and its theory of evolution. The first part, the ethics of capitalism, analyzes the rise of capitalism and the business ethics and moral theory of a capitalist economic order in a perspective from philosophy and economics. The second part, a critique of sociobiology, gives a philosophical assessment of sociobiology's contribution to the theory of the economy and society and of its impact for metaphysics and a general world view. James M. Buchanan, Nobel prize winner in economics, discusses the first part of the book in his comment "The Morality of Capitalism".
Book Description
This volume examines topics in the discourse and methodology of economics. Focusing on the types of metaphor, the use of mathematics, and the "Economics of..." literature. Other articles deal with some continuities between Adam Smith and Max Weber, and pre-Keynesian heterodoxy in macro-monetary dynamics. A special section presents multiple reviews of books by Yuval Yonay and Perry Mehrling on American economic thought during the inter-war period. Also included are reviews covering topics such as Classical political economy, Marx, communitarianism, Scholasticism, Hume's political ideas, and rational expectations.
Average customer rating:
|
Fiscal Management in Adjustment Lending (Evaluation Country Case Study Series)
Jayati Datta Mitra
Manufacturer: World Bank Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
International
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Public Finance
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Banks & Banking
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0821339656 |
Average customer rating:
|
The Overeducated Worker?: The Economics of Skill Utilization (Elgar Monographs)
Manufacturer: Edward Elgar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Labor Policy
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Skills
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 184064155X |
Book Description
It is often suggested in policy debates that the employment of highly educated workers in jobs traditionally held by lower skilled workers leads to skill wastage and a worsening labor market position for the less educated. This process is generally referred to as 'bumping down' or 'crowding out'.
This argument challenges the policy of many developed countries to attach ever greater importance to knowledge as a means to increase international competitiveness. The authors in this book provide insights into the role of education in society by investigating the extent to which these arguments of overeducation and upgrading are valid. They bring together different approaches to obtain a complete picture of the debate in economics about under-utilization of skills and bumping down.
Book Description
In this, the sequel to his critically acclaimed and controversial The End of Homework, John Buell extends his case against homework. Arguing that homework robs children—and parents—of unstructured time for play and intellectual and emotional development, Closing the Book on Homework offers a convincing case for why homework is an outgrowth of broader cultural anxieties about the sanctity of work itself.
After the publication of his previous book, many professional educators portrayed reducing homework as a dangerous idea, while at the same time parents and teachers increasingly raised doubts as to its continued usefulness in education.
According to Buell, the importance of play is culturally underappreciated. Not only grade schoolers, but high school students and adult workers deserve time for the kind of leisure that fosters creativity and sustains a life long interest in learning. Homework is assigned for many reasons, many having little to do with learning, including an accepted, if unchallenged, belief that it fosters good work habits for children's futures. As Buell argues convincingly, homework does more to obstruct the growth of children's minds, and consumes the time of parents and children who may otherwise develop relationships that foster true growth and learning.
A unique book that is sure to fuel the growing debate on school reform, Closing the Book on Homework offers a roadmap for learning that will benefit the wellbeing of children, parents, and teachers alike.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting, but not quite convincing.......2004-11-25
The author primarily convinces us that homework is a tool supported by global corporations to serve as a predecessor to the arduous fifty to sixty hour work weeks expected in many professional careers. Homework is often viewed by school-aged children as a burden due to its usual stipulations of longer hours away from their friends and familial responsibilities. It can promote difficult situations within one's home, and ultimately sever family ties. For example: a child is forced by his or her parents to work on additional assignments after school, that child sometimes becomes rebellious or obnoxious in the attempt to resist the work because it is not generally seen by youngsters as a means to an end. Parents and schools are allegedly a part of an `unspoken conspiracy" to simply inflict unnecessary challenges and inconvenience on its children; rather than enrich them in academic pursuits.
John Buell's assertions substantiate the argument that homework allows organized mega-businesses such as Microsoft, IBM and Coke to acclimate future workers and even future consumers whom fit into the adult world whose mantra is "Hard Work Pays off." Does it really? Will all those extra hours of worksheets and repetitive readings adding to my wealth of knowledge or a time/space filler to minimize the number of hours spent with one's family during the week. Each product for sale is potential bait for the naïve student to develop loyalty to brand names in addition to learning the technology and programming necessary to operate the item.
Although inundation of advertisements and great deals influence the desire for high-performing gadgets and gizmos, increased dependence on technology promotes people to second guess their innate gifts and abilities and start to depend heavily on calculators and other instruments to perform simple mathematic equations. Buell also suggests that documented studies have proven that after a specific percentage of review, a child's ability to retain information is not that impressive. The distinct declaration deviates from the commonly used analogy of "children" and "sponges." This analogy demonstrates that the minds of children have an unlimited capacity for knowledge, just as a sponge retains a substantial amount of water.
This book raises good concerns about the effects of too much homework and the future roles of the students as contributors to the global economy and society. However, more thorough evidence is essential in proving that the liabilities of assigning homework outweigh the benefits.
A eye opening book.......2004-11-15
Greg Davis
Professor Gibbons
Sociology
Closing the Book on Homework
Closing the book on Homework, by John Buell, is a very informative and articulate read. It also has a very catchy title. John Buell not only fights for the suffering children and young adults but also for society as a whole. He does this by arguing that homework hurts our children and society. He does this through a very strong and well backed argument.
I feel that one of his strong points of argument was his discussion on suffering. He defined that suffering is children going to school malnourished or not properly fed. Yes, he pointed out that suffering is a physical problem, but he also pointed out that suffering can be a mental problem also. In my experience in life, I feel that mental suffering can be the worst. And I think that it is common sense that children that perform long hours of homework at home can experience a great deal of mental suffering. Not only are they on there own at home, they are not in a setting that is supportive and as encouraging as a school. And if these children are getting substantial amounts of support from there parents then the whole point of children doing homework is not working, because the children are not doing the work themselves. Buell thinks that the work should be done in the class room where children have the proper support and advice from teachers.
One of Buell's main arguments is that children just like adults need time to themselves. He pointed out that some children in elementary school spend 30 hours a week in school, and spend around 5 hours just traveling there. He then points out that these same children have to go home every day in an environment not as encouraging as school and do more hours of homework. Children need a substantial amount of time to themselves to grow and find themselves. In terms of intellect and educational attainment, kids that work during the school week, have lower levels of educational attainment. Kids working at jobs can be compared to kids "working" on school work. Is there that much of a difference? So if kids who hold jobs suffer than one can come to the conclusion that children spending hours on homework might also suffer.
Buell argues that homework places a constraint on families and on communities. I totally agree with this. How can families be expected to grow and to be close if children have to come home and get there work finished. It is not healthy for children to sit inside all day in school and then come home to hours of more sitting at there desk or study area. And Buell makes a good point about it being more difficult for children of poor economic backgrounds to perform there homework. It is a system set up in favor of middle class children. They can benefit more from taking work home to a more equipped setting.
John Buell is a very intelligent man that is currently engaging in a so called war, over the issue of homework. In his book he outlines many reasons why homework is not helping our society. He many times points out that there are no studies that correlate academic success to homework. I feel that homework is more harmful to the person and the family that to the society. Buell argues this by talking about the many different constraints that homework places on the family. This is a very informative book that should be read and studied by everyone interested on the debate of homework in today's society.
Time to discuss homework?.......2004-11-15
Everyone might have thought at least once that it would be nice to be free from the burden of everyday homework. However, we have convinced ourselves to do homework because we think of it is an unchangeable fact, without any room for discussion about alternatives. Is homework really needed for students to improve their academic performance? John Buell, in his Closing the Book on Homework, claims that the ways in which homework is assigned in today's society is not effective, useless, and there is a need for homework reform. He emphasizes the need for reducing the burdens of homework in America's public school by discussing roles and consequences of homework and by suggesting limitations and alternatives for homework for efficient education. He insists on his points by explaining the impacts of homework on students and the relation of homework beyond the educational (school) setting: America's culture and social conditions. His argument on homework is multidimensional, convincing, and compelling.
Buell challenges America's high value of homework. Admitting that students who get higher scores and grades engage in doing more homework, he claims homework is not the primary factor of improving students' academic performances. He says that homework does not work efficiently without adequate educational environment, such as parenting and well support of teachers to individuals. This is a good point because today's homework is assigned mostly as "one-size-fits all" assignments which puts responsibilities on only children. Furthermore he claims that homework also has negative impacts for children such as causing low motivation and attitudes, endangers health, and is a violation of parents and children by taking away time to spend together. The way he criticizes negative aspects of homework over its positive impacts effectively supports his position, why homework should be eliminated or limited. Thus, his opponents' perspective of homework reform seems too simplistic about assigning more homework without any regards of alternative consequences of it.
Buell depicts the roles of homework in a larger picture that suggests other perspectives of homework. He explains the historical background of homework in America's public education and says that the roles of homework have changed depending on social conditions. This suggests a role of school is to produce potential workers for the country's future. It is interesting to know that there was a homework reform and even agendas to limit homework in the history. This historical background of homework is not known well in today's society, which values heavy homework. His mention of this history is good because it not only shows his call for homework-free classroom and limitation of homework are not extremely pointless or overly optimistic idea, but also induces readers in the discussion of homework reform.
Buell greatly connects a high value of homework in American society with the cultural, traditional and moral value of hard work and the potentials of youth. In addition to his explanation of the historical shift of value of homework, this point explains well why there is a tendency that emphasizes more and more homework on children. He also makes a strong point that there is a strong tendency of parents of low-income families' longing for more homework for their children, because their academic success will lead them to upward social mobility. From his points, readers may gain a perspective that children have huge burdens of expectations from their family and society on their shoulders and those expectations perpetuate the high value of homework and more work on children. This implies an irony of homework when we consider his early critique that claims homework does not directly lead students to successful academic performance.
This book is good especially for teachers, school boarders, educational policy makers, and parents, whether they are against homework reform or not. It provides readers with rich perspectives of the value of homework, and allows them to rethink about its purpose. Buell's claim of home-free-classroom and reducing homework sounds idealistic and optimistic at first glance without knowing his evidence supports, but it is worth rethinking the value of homework in regards to his points because he does not merely suggest reducing all homework with a simple approach. If we go beyond the "norm" of hard work and try to reform today's procedures of assigning homework, we would get best outcome of education from fewer but well efficient and qualified procedures, as he suggests. This book suggests changes and provides room for discussion.
An essential book for parents and education sociologists.......2004-11-12
John Buell's book Closing the Book on Homework is a subtly philosophical look at the purpose of homework in education and the utility of the concept of homework in the context of a global economy that emphasizes production and consumption. His main points are to argue against the effectiveness of homework and to highlight the consequences increased time spent on homework has on family life and the quality of public education. Based on a clear lack of homework research to support its efficacy in enhancing education and to make any substantive correlation between many hours spent doing homework and increased performance in the classroom, Buell dispels the arguments favoring homework as a necessary means to broaden a child's education and to build her character.
One of the most surprising yet undeniable connections Buell makes is the corresponding histories of children's rights in public education and the laborer's rights in the workplace. The progressive labor politics of the 1930's were reflected in increased children's rights and reduced homework. By the 1940's-50's in the post-WWII era, the country had a renewed valorization of work. Buell makes a logical case that the US competition with the Soviet Union and the burgeoning economy provoked the implementation of a more strenuous education centered on the "sanctity of homework". During these decades, homework was increasingly viewed as a way to enhance academic productivity, in the same way that longer working hours enhanced production output. Like the progressive philosophies of the 1930's, the politics of the 60's and 70's were concerned with the length and pace of the workday, and likewise with the mental health and "happiness" of children in school. The 1980's were once again a period of economic insecurity and competition with Asian powers, and as a result there was a heightened skepticism about leisure time as and a fear that "mediocre educational performance" would result in the country losing its competitive edge in the global economy. The consumerism of the 90's likewise contributed to the deterioration of the value of "learning for learning's sake," as the rewards for education became material through corporate sponsored incentive programs.
I have recently suspected our society of moving towards a dangerous and consuming trend of "getting and spending," but prior to reading this book, had never made the connection between consumerism, democratic ideals of individualism and hard work, and the increasing demands on school children. Buell delineates this process articulately with sound sociological reasoning. The myth of American society is one of social mobility. Poor and working-class families stress homework to their children in an effort to demonstrate their commitment to these "American" values and hope for a better life. Having taught an after-school program in a working-class urban community, I can confirm the author's conclusions. My class of second-graders often receives more than five worksheets of homework per night, an assignment which commonly takes the students more than one hour, and which their parents always insist firmly that they complete. Not only is the length of the homework long, but the assignment itself is wholly uninteresting, consisting of page after page of addition problems and tedious "activity" sheets demanding that they answer questions about a story they read in class earlier that day. In light of this experience, I can't help but agree with Buell's thesis that "the very stress on homework and long school day is another, and increasingly problematic, form of this preparation process to accustom the student to long working hours." I would simply add to this that stress on boring and unconstructive homework as students know it today, prepares them to accept boring and unfulfilling work later in life.
According to the author, the school's main function is to teach literacy and numeracy. In order to implement homework reform, he asserts that action must be taken on a grass roots level. Parents, students, teachers, and other concerned individuals need to demand restrictions on homework on the local level. Closing the Book on Homework is a revealing book well-deserving of a read from any citizen who suspects that the country is in the grips of corporate leaders dictating the value of consumerism and acquiring material wealth and likewise by anyone who observes a growing lack of family and free time due to increasing demands on the parents in the workplace and children in and outside of the classroom.
Challenging the Status Quo.......2004-11-05
Author John Buell challenges in Closing the Book on Homework: Enhancing Public Education and Freeing Family Time the sacredly held notion that homework absolutely benefits students. Buell, conversely, believes that "too much of a good thing" is detrimental. Childhood development is defined by education, but not by academic instruction exclusively. Children also need to learn in the context of family, friends, extra-curricular activities, and part-time employment. Balance is imperative.
Buell emphasizes that teachers who blindly assign homework without considering peripheral variables risk impeding childhood development not only in the classroom, but also in life generally. Every student encounters different environments - many of which are negative - upon dismissal at the end of the school day. Since teachers cannot distribute homework on an individual basis, the most dismal circumstances must carry the greatest weight when teachers design nightly assignments. The child who is forced to complete hours of work on the floor of a shared bedroom using light from only a television set will rapidly lose ground to the student who enjoys the comfort of an expansive desk in a bright, quiet family office. In this case, homework creates disparities among students by negating progress made in the classroom. Sadly, those affected - the children - mainly are unable to prevent or improve the situation.
Buell logically points to the classroom's successor, the workplace, as a potentially ideal model for maximizing childhood development without relying on homework. Many professionals work from 9 am to 5 pm for a total of 40 hours per week. Once the office lights are turned off for the day, these individuals return home free to engage in leisure activities such as cooking, exercising, reading, and spending time with family. The defined responsibilities facilitate productivity at the former and refresh the spirit at the latter. Adults agree to work diligently on the job, but they in turn expect to receive personal time as a reward. Students are not granted such a luxury. On the busiest day, a given student will spend eight hours learning at school and several hours studying at home, only to repeat the process after limited sleep. How can student energy levels not be expected to decline over the course of a week, month, and semester?
Imagine the possibilities if the United States workweek mirrored that in Europe, where extended vacation time is the norm. Buell theorizes that less obsession with occupational demands would trickle down into less educational burdens. Students and parents, regardless of age, would be able to "play" with unprecedented frequency. Skeptics contend that such a shift will "dumb down" the country. On the contrary, Buell believes that increased opportunities to explore and share unique interests will spur mental, physical, and emotional growth. Eyes may be buried in fewer books, but the human intellect will be stimulated like never before.
Buell's argument is more than distinct - the argument is thoughtful and compelling. Unfortunately, his pleas to reduce the average homework load likely will go unheeded. Out of one side of the mouth, adults will complain that their lives lack relaxing moments. Simultaneously, they will invest overtime hours at the office in the unending quest for promotions and raises. Buell laughs at the idea that more time spent working always equates to more productivity, success, and fulfillment. Until societal leaders pause for a moment to contemplate the logic behind Buell's alternative, students and parents will continue to toil furiously despite the diminishing returns.
Average customer rating:
|
Closing the Book on Homework: Enhancing Public Education and Freeing Family Time.(Book review) : An article from: Radical Teacher
Sutton R. Stokes
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Audiobooks
| Automotive
| Crime & Criminals
| Current Events
| Economics
| Education
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Government
| Holidays
| Law
| Philosophy
| Politics
| Social Sciences
| Transportation
| True Accounts
| Urban Planning & Development
| Women's Studies
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| e-Docs
| Formats
| Books
General
| Nonfiction
| HTML
| Formats
| e-Docs
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: B000FVS08I
Release Date: 2006-05-30 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Radical Teacher, published by Thomson Gale on December 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1084 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Closing the Book on Homework: Enhancing Public Education and Freeing Family Time.(Book review)
Author: Sutton R. Stokes
Publication:
Radical Teacher (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 75
Page: 38(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Books:
- Michele de Lucchi: From Here to There and Beyond
- Mughal Architecture: An Outline of Its History and Development (1526-1858)
- New York Streetscapes: Tales of Manhattan's Significant Buidlings and Landmarks
- Origins: Egypt, West Asia and the Aegean (A History of Architecture #1)
- Palazzi of Rome
- Pandora's Daughters: The Role and Status of Women in Greek and Roman Antiquity (Ancient Society and History)
- Philadelphia Preserved: Catalog of the Historic American Buildings Survey
- Planning for Diversity: Policy and Planning in a World of Difference (Rtpi Library)
- Progressive Design in the Midwest: The Purcell-Cutts House and the Prairie School Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
- Propaganda and the Jesuit Baroque (Ahmanson Murphy Fine Arts Imprint)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Summer Boys
- Sins of the Night
- Membrane Fusion Technique, Part A, Volume 220
- Practicing Physics: Worksheets to accompany Conceptual Physics, 9th edition
- National Geographic Guide to America's Outdoors: Pacific Northwest: Nature Adventures in Parks, Pres
- Overcoming Life's Disappointments
- Salamanders and Newts As a New Pet
- One Red Dot: A Pop-Up Book for Children of All Ages
- On the Plaza: The Politics of Public Space and Culture
- Sarah Churchill: Duchess of Marlborough: The Queen's Favourite
