Looking Forward to Monday Morning: Ideas for Recognition and Appreciation Activities and Fun Things to Do at Work for Educators

Empower your staff members with a fresh appreciation for their work and transform each day of the week into an opportunity for creativity and fun.

A new method for the practical identification and recognition of trees -- and an important supplement to existing botanical methods.

The book is in two parts: Pictorial Keys and Master Pages. The Keys are designed for easy visual comparison of details which look alike, narrowing the identification of a tree to one of a small group -- the family or genus.

Then, in the Master Pages, the species of the tree is determined, with similar details placed together to highlight differences within the family group, thus eliminating all other possibilities. The details of the Oak trees on this plate are an example of the system.

All of the more than 1500 photographs were made specifically for use in this book and were taken either in the field or of carefully collected specimens. Where possible, details such as leaves, fruit, etc., appear in actual size, or in the same scale.

In the years since Edward Weston passed away in Carmel, California, he remains in memory as a man of great spirit, integrity, and power. To me he was a profound artist and friend in the deepest sense of the word. Living, as I do now, within a mile of his last home, sensing the same scents of the sea and the pine forests, the grayness of the same fogs, the glory of the same triumphal storms, and the ageless presence of the Point Lobos stone, I find it very difficult to realize he is no longer with us in actuality.

Edward understood thoughts and concepts which dwell on simple mystical levels. His work--direct and honest as it is--leaped from a deep intuition and belief in forces beyond the apparent and the factual. He accepted these forces as completely real and part of the total world of man and nature, only a small portion of which most of us experience directly. As with any great artist or imaginative scientist, the concept is immediate and clear, but the "working out" takes time, effort, and conscious evaluations.

Edward Weston's work stood for him as a complete statement of the man and his art. He favored the grand sweep of creative projects. He was aware of the loneliness of the artist, especially the artist in photography, photography where out of the uncounted thousands of photographers only a handful of workers support the best photojournalism, illustration, documentation, and poetic expression. And it was Weston who accomplished more than anyone, with the possible exception of Alfred Stieglit, to elevate photography to the status of fine-art expression.

His approach bypassed the vast currents of pictorial photography, photojournalism, scientific-technical photography, and what is generally lumped together as "professional photography" (portraits of the usual "studio" kind, illustrations, and advertising). Through his kind of photography he opened up wonderful world of seeing an doing.

Many were the students and experts whose lives and concepts were profoundly modified by Edward's non-aggressive, non-preaching, but ever-comprehending approach. "Seeing" the Point Lobos Rocks was one thing, making wondrous pictures of them another thing, but encouraging another person to "see" something in his own way was the most important thing of all.

Edward's works need no evaluation here. I would prefer to join Edward in avoiding verbal or written explanations and definitions of creative work. Who can talk or write about the Bach Partitas? You just play them or listen to them. They exist only in the world of music. Likewise, Edward's photographs exist only as original prints, or, as in this Aperture monograph, in superb reproductions. Look at his photographs, look at them carefully, then look at yourselves--not critically, or with self-deprecation, or any sense of inferiority. Read the material from his Daybook and letters so carefully compiled, edited, and associated with the photographs by Nancy Newhall. You might discover through Edward Weston's work how basically good you are, or might become. This is the way Edward would want it to be.

--Ansel Adams, 1965

Most struggling readers, including those with reading disabilities, have difficulties recognizing printed words. This unique, lucidly written book synthesizes the research on how children learn to read words skillfully and translates it into step-by-step strategies for the classroom. The author demonstrates how to plan and implement a coordinated series of lessons that address letter-sound pairings, decoding and blending, multisyllabic words, sight words, and fluency. The proven techniques presented are applicable across the primary grades; in addition, specific guidance is offered for working with older children who are having difficulties. A highly accessible guide, the book features reproducible forms and checklists.

A masterpiece: Powerful insight into Kashmir Shaivist Philosophy.......2005-08-22

This book occupies the same place in Saiva or Trika literature that Vedantasara does in Vedanta. It avoids all polemics and gives a succinct form for the main tenents of the Pratyabhijna system.