Schooling for Life: Reclaiming the Essence of Learning
Brooks (director, Science Education Program, SUNY at Stony  Brook) here offers a glimpse of the potential for instruction in  our public schools if only we as a society can look beyond  testing and state standards. Brooks draws on her own childhood  experiences, some entertaining but all illustrative, and her own  and her colleagues' classroom teaching experiences to  demonstrate that teaching can go beyond meeting state mandates  and instill a love of learning. The book contains many practical  exercises to stimulate further thought on how such instruction  can be adapted to today's classrooms. Like David Thornburg in  The New Basics, Brooks advocates bringing real life back into  the classroom by presenting students with an actual problem and  asking them to solve it, using knowledge and tools across  disciplines. Brooks's inspiring book should be required reading  for students embarking on a career in education, veteran  teachers, and legislators. Recommended for academic and large  public libraries and education collections.Mark Alan Williams,  Library of CongressCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.