Breaking the Cycle tells the inspiring story of young people whom many would write off as a lost cause but who, thanks to a remarkable school, are headed for success. We learn about their world from teens like Shawna, the daughter of a crack-addicted mother. Or Andre, the only one in his family not on drugs. Or Daron, kicked out of his home by an abusive father. Challenged by the pernicious factors of their environment-drugs, violence, fatherless homes, and poor educational backgrounds-students at the Dayton Early College Academy are nevertheless beating the odds. All are headed for college, from which the vast majority will graduate. The book reveals how this school is succeeding when so many fail. It conveys the hopeful message that others can replicate much of what "DECA" does and save a generation mired in despair. America's failure to educate its urban children is evidenced by our woeful statistics. If it is possible to turn around this bleak picture-and it is-this is a story well worth telling. And this is what Breaking the Cycle aims to do. For more information on the book, including interviews with the author please check out www.nancybdiggs.com.

Internationalizing Early Childhood Curriculum empowers teachers and directors to internationalize their curriculums around the world in their own unique and culturally specific ways. Serving as a guide and catalyst for thinking about curriculum in our interconnected world, this book explores how young children learn about the world and describes how children develop intercultural understanding, including how their teachers transform to expand their own global awareness and citizenship. Stories from actual classroom curriculum projects are featured, as well as suggested strategies and stages for the process of implementation. Exploring the implications for teacher education and professional development, this book gives readers the tools they need to bring internationalization into their own programs. Designed to apply to formal and informal early childhood centers across the spectrum, Internationalizing Early Childhood Curriculum is essential reading for professional developers and trainers, as well as classroom teachers, directors, policy-makers and NGO professionals providing early childhood services in the U.S. and around the world.

Internationalizing Early Childhood Curriculum empowers teachers and directors to internationalize their curriculums around the world in their own unique and culturally specific ways. Serving as a guide and catalyst for thinking about curriculum in our interconnected world, this book explores how young children learn about the world and describes how children develop intercultural understanding, including how their teachers transform to expand their own global awareness and citizenship. Stories from actual classroom curriculum projects are featured, as well as suggested strategies and stages for the process of implementation. Exploring the implications for teacher education and professional development, this book gives readers the tools they need to bring internationalization into their own programs. Designed to apply to formal and informal early childhood centers across the spectrum, Internationalizing Early Childhood Curriculum is essential reading for professional developers and trainers, as well as classroom teachers, directors, policy-makers and NGO professionals providing early childhood services in the U.S. and around the world.

Breaking the Cycle tells the inspiring story of young people whom many would write off as a lost cause but who, thanks to a remarkable school, are headed for success. We learn about their world from teens like Shawna, the daughter of a crack-addicted mother. Or Andre, the only one in his family not on drugs. Or Daron, kicked out of his home by an abusive father. Challenged by the pernicious factors of their environment-drugs, violence, fatherless homes, and poor educational backgrounds-students at the Dayton Early College Academy are nevertheless beating the odds. All are headed for college, from which the vast majority will graduate. The book reveals how this school is succeeding when so many fail. It conveys the hopeful message that others can replicate much of what "DECA" does and save a generation mired in despair. America's failure to educate its urban children is evidenced by our woeful statistics. If it is possible to turn around this bleak picture-and it is-this is a story well worth telling. And this is what Breaking the Cycle aims to do. For more information on the book, including interviews with the author please check out www.nancybdiggs.com.

The medieval Catholic Church, widely considered a source of intolerance and inquisitorial fervor, was not anti-science during the Dark Ages,in fact, the pope in the year 1000 was the leading mathematician and astronomer of his day. Called The Scientist Pope," Gerbert of Aurillac rose from peasant beginnings to lead the church. By turns a teacher, traitor, kingmaker, and visionary, Gerbert is the first Christian known to teach math using the nine Arabic numerals and zero. In The Abacus and the Cross , Nancy Marie Brown skillfully explores the new learning Gerbert brought to Europe. A fascinating narrative of one remarkable math teacher, The Abacus and the Cross will captivate readers of history, science, and religion alike.

"Odyssey Of The Heart" is a book of heartfelt writings in free-verse poetic form. It is the journey of one voice that expands well over a half a century. Complied in this book are 590 poems that will give the reader a new perspective on subjects ranging from love, to nature, as well as sadness, war, abortion, illness, corruption, and many other intense feelings that the author has written about. Nancy considers herself to be a deep thinker, and writes verbal and strong messages in the hope that her poetry will stimulate and provoke the readers to respond with their own thoughts. An empathetic writer, her verse reveals a passion for the less fortunate, and for those who have no voice. This book will take you to the center of her heart, as well as to many places around the world, where injustice occurs far too often.

After writing extensively about different cultures, Nancy Brown Diggs chose to focus on one closer to her own, the Appalachian, and was surprised to learn that it is her own-and quite different from the image conveyed by the media. Rich in anecdotes and interviews that bring her research to life, this book offers a study of Appalachians today and explores what they are truly like, and why, concluding that is a culture to be celebrated, not denigrated.

Steel Butterflies: Japanese Women and the American Experience examines the role of women in Japan as compared to the United States, approaching the subject from a new and thought-provoking angle. Not only does the reader learn how Japanese women view their own country from the vantage point of living in the United States, but their candid remarks also give Americans the opportunity to see themselves as others see them.

Some of the topics discussed include education; ethics; the freedom -- as well as the problems -- of living in the United States; why Japanese women both envy and feel sorry for American women; and the past and future status of women in Japan. Steel Butterflies examines family life, women's responsibility in the home, community involvement both here and in Japan, aspects of Japanese culture they tried to keep alive in America, and their children's experiences. Grounded in thorough research, the book offers new insights into Japanese ways of thinking from those who have experienced both cultures.