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Jewish Approaches to Suicide, Martyrdom, and Euthanasia edited by Kalman J. Kaplan and Matthew B. Shwartz
In Athens, suicidal men could ask for and receive hemlock. The Greek attitude towards fear of death was that it was a fear to be conquered- with suicide, if need be. Honor could necessitate suicide. The state's benefit from a man's life was the only reason he might be held accountable for his own murder. Under Jewish law, people's lives belong to God. You do not have the right to kill yourself, because you don't belong to yourself. Life is seen as a gift from God, and suicide is a rejection both of that gift and of God. Suicides are not buried in the cemetary with other people. This book studies the Jewish approach to self inflicted death and compares it to numerous other approaches, among them the Greek approach and the Suicidology Association's approach. It tries to catagorize different sorts of self inflicted deaths- suicide is defined quite differently by different groups of people. And when suicide itself has been defined, different sorts of suicide remain to be catagorized. Question: One of the authors of this book suggests that most people who request euthanasia fall into two catagories- those who were already depressed, and those who would not want to die if their pain were alleviated. If pain could be always be alleviated to low levels, would the demand for euthanasia be obliviated? Educational reading.
The Boy Who Loved Windows Opening the Heart and Mind of a Child Threatened With Autism by Patricia Stacey
From the moment she first saw him, Walker's mother was convinced that there was something wrong with her son. By the time that Walker was 6 monthes old, it was confirmed. Walker had Sensory Integration Disorder. Walker's father ran a search online and found out that SI Disorder was associated with autism, and joined Walker's mother in panicking. Walker's parents ran intervention exhaustively for years. With special play and special diet, Walker passed all milestones. By the end of the book, Walker's functioning is good enough not to seem abnormal to his mother. Although Patricia Stacey presents her struggle with son as dramatically important, she didn't convince me. Her story is too melodramatic and hysterical. Stacey's focus on her son to the exclusion of her husband and daughter don't seem all that heroic to me, and her imagings of Walker's future are dire to ridiculous degrees. Due to Walker's age, it is also difficult to see Walker's delays. He is at the age where communication with a default child would not be especially clear. An interesting note: Stacey believes that Walker's SI problems are due to the terbutaline shot she recieved while pregnant. Happy reading
How To Do Substitute Teaching In Chicago by Helen Marie Prahl
After being a first grade teacher for some years, Prahl retired. But she didn't leave the school system- she became a substitute teaching. After each day of substitute teaching, Prahl recorded her experiences. She encountered a wide variety of teaching conditions. Her classes ranged from EMH(emotionally mentally handicapped) classes to 1st grades to ESL. Prahl notes consistantly what reading level the children she taught were at, how much how many students paid for lunch, the racial composition of the classes and how she got to the school. This is not a how-to book. It isn't really a standard book. While it does have chapters, all of the chapters are experiences, and were not originally written for a book. They contain much repetition, and are in need of much clarification. Clarification would be especially useful because many of the things referred to here are obsolete, and the time frame is not clear. Prahl refers to elevated trains with letter names, which Chicago hasn't had in at least a decade, has her students abbreviate states with three letters, and never mentions a computer. Conceivably Prahl's advise could be useful to substitute teachers, if only they could figure out which parts were still timely! Happy reading.
The Rebbe's Army Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch by SueFishkoff
The sixth Lubavitcher rebbe encouraged his followers to reach out to non-religious Jews, but the seventh rebbe went much further. His followers were sent out to keep Judaism alive in the hearts of Jews who were going astray. A decade after the death of the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe, Lubavitchers are engaged in intense outreach as an integral part of their lives. Young couples pick a place in need of yidishkeit, get a year's salary from Chabad, and head for their new lives. They move in and make their presence known. Soon the shlichim(the sent) are offering classes, sabbath meals and sabbath candles. Fishkoff portrays her protagonists sympathetically while retaining an outside perspective. She presents the more unusual members of Chabad in depth. The more controversial parts of Lubavitcher life(controversial within Orthodox Judaism) are skimmed over unsatisfactorily. Fishkoff began researching Lubavitch for an article, and her interest grew. Happy reading.
Rickie by Frederic Flach with Rickie Flach Hartman
In 1966, Rickie Flach was 13. She had been acting somewhat strange for a while, and her parents were nervous. With a friend, they decided that Rickie had schizophrenia, and they committed her to a mental institution. Although Rickie's parents meant to leave her for only a month, the doctors did not think that Rickie was ready to leave in that time. Rickie stayed in mental institution for a decade. At the end of that time, Rickie's life was changed by two treatments from outside the mainstream; dietary supplements, and treatment for a visual problem. Rickie and her father believe that Rickie never had schizophrenia and that any psychiatric illness that she may have had was iatrogenic. Although this is a haunting story of malpractice, it is not terribly relevant to current times. Hospitalization of nonviolent 13 year olds does not happen without good reason, and parents are not legally allowed to be stripped of their parental rights. Happy reading.
Biblio Files Month 15 Books Reviewed:17 Total Books Reviewed:330 Days Blogged/Days In Period:9/30 New Members:none Total Number of Members:2 active Number of Hits This Data Period:240 Total Number of Hits:2792 Features Added: none My recommended books for this month: Differences In Common by Marilyn Trainer, Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss Comments: I've been having a problem with obscene comments. Blogger emails and says I have a comment, giving me the text of the comment but not where it is. If you notice inappropriate comments, please bring them to my attention.
Nim A Chimpanzee Who Learned Sign Language by Herbert S. Terrace
There was a time when it was presumed by American scientists that only humans were capable of language. By language, they meant the representation of actions and things by arbitrary sounds, objects, or gestures. In the 1960s, behavioralists showed that various animals were able to learn to use arbitrary signs to request differing rewards. Some animals, mostly chimpanzees, were taught what their teachers claimed was language. Terrace, for a variety of reasons, disagrees with their assertation. He applied for his own chimpanzee- a male one, because most of those studied were female chimpanzees. Nim Chimpsky was his subject. Nim fostered with a family for his first two years, and then moved into Delafield, a mansion where he was worked with 16 hours a day. Project Nim did not go as Terrace wanted due to several factors. Nonetheless, he felt that Project Nim had shown the intelligence and the limitations of intelligence of chimpanzees. He covers the entire project, including his thoughts and frustrations, but also gives the results, with his analysis. Project Nim ended when Nim was 44 months. He had acquired a sign language vocabulary of about 125 words, including a few of Nim's own neologisms. Terrace clearly feels that his work was groundbreaking, but the distiction between this and other chimpanzee language programs is slight, and later programs overshadowed it. This book was published in 1981, and went to press at the same time that papers on Koko the gorilla did. Although Terrace lists factors that he feels hurt his program, I think that he greatly underestimates the failures of his program. The greater successes of other primatologist support me. Today, few people get exited about animal communication. It doesn't hit the news or make for bestsellers. Graduate students wouldn't eagerly sign up in hordes to volunteer to teach sign language to chimpanzees. Behavioral studies are distant from the public eye. This book captures the excitement of the time when interspecies communication excited the public. Question: What is language? Happy reading
Apathy concerning punctuation runs rampant. Commas and apostraphes are stuck in the wrong places on signs galore, and it seems as though only sticklers notice the difference. However, punctuation really is important. Punctuation has the power to alter the meaning of words, and poor punctuation results in poor comprehension. Truss has set out to make us all into sticklers. She presents the correction usage of the comma(,),question mark(?), apostraphe('), period(.), semicolon(;) and colon(:), prantheses((),[],{},). Truss also presents the histories of these punctuation marks and their humorous ill uses. Since she lives in England, her explanation of punctuation is most pertinent to the British, but she generally notes what the proper usage is for Americans as well. Happy reading.
Religion means different things to different people. To some, religion is entirely its icons. For some, religion is belittled by the presence of icons. For some, religion requires fatih, and for some it bestows faith. Some teens have religous families. Some have confused families, and some have atheist families. This book is about a diverse set of people, written by a diverse set of famous authors, and intended for a diverse set of unknown readers. Theese stories have a profound quality. They are deep like water. Do you believe in water? Profound readin
Sunny's manipulative older sister Jazz's building burned down. Police think that Jazz died in the fire. Sunny's family, which had not been terribly cohesive to begin with, falls apart at the news. Sunny's mother falls into a depressive funk. Her father moves out and drinks more than ever. Sunny herself does not miss Jazz, and so she's not really happy when she gets a letter in Jazz's handwriting. The letter says that Jazz had not been in the apartment when it burned down, and that she was coming to visit them soon. Sunny's parents pull themselves together at the news. They pick up a girl claiming to be Jazz. However, as soon as Sunny sets eyes on the girl, she knows that the girl is Not Jazz. Her mother is greatly cheered by Not Jazz, however, and so Sunny and her father unite to figure out who Not Jazz might be. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, having read Shattering Glass by the same author. Whereas Shattering Glass shows people to be inherently evil, Dead Girls Don't Write Letters instead portrays characters with problems that they don't overcome, that don't make them evil. Happy reading.
"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Race is an uncomfortable subject for many people, but it affects all of the people living in a racist society. Tatum defines racism as a system of advantage based on race, and she holds that it has affected all of us in the U.S.. Tatum talks about what can be done to change the system. She covers the maturation of racial identity in minority people and White people. Education of adults and children in how race affects us and what it means is important. Also important is teaching the proud parts of racial histories. Tatum's writings have an urgent quality. She writes as though you the reader shouldn't be able to control your indignation once your eyes have been opened to the problem. However, I did not feel all that moved. Even in the framework of race, I didn't see myself as perpetrating any racial inequality. The chapter on affirmative action was the most convincing writing I've read on the topic. Tatum says that when no reason is given to hire people of different backrounds, White interviewers would have a natural bias towards White people, around whom they are more comfortable. My edition has discussion questions, but all of the questions have a bias, and don't seem terribly intelligent. Question: Is race an important part of your identity? Thoughtful reading
Paul's father is a civil engineer. His appointment in Tangerine County prompts the Fisher family to move there. An added incentive(for Paul's father) is the attitude towards football of the local newspaper and the proximity of good colleges. This is because Paul's father is engaged in what Paul calls the Erik Fisher Football Dream. The Erik Fisher Football Dream has been a menacing part of Paul's life for a long time. Erik is good at football, very good. He is not a good person though. He finds a sidekick for his football dream and the two terrorize whoever gets in thier way. Paul is scared of them. Paul thinks he has reason to be scared of them, but he's not sure of the why. He has flashbacks of scary things which seem to related to the time his eyesight was hurt and he got stuck with his current glasses. Paul's eyesight is the worst aspect of this book. That Paul's eyes were hurt is a major part of the story, but just what Paul's eyesight is remains unclear. Paul's mother says that he's legally blind- but legally blind means that he can't see even with his glasses on, and Paul says he can see just fine. Question: Should children be held responsible for their wrongdoings? Does age matter? Haunting reading
Down is Up For Aaron Eagle: A Mother's Spiritual Journey With Down Syndrome by Vicki Noble
Vicki Noble believes in a wide range of spiritual traditions. She believes in faith healers and natural birth. To her, destiny is neither good nor bad. When her son Aaron Eagle was born with Down Syndrome, this was not deeply disturbing- it was destiny, a shamanic call. Aaron Eagle received his mother's spiritual beliefs. He is seen by her as having a shamanic quality, reminding her to slow down, showing the basic parts of life to all. Aaron Eagle is also raised in Noble's beliefs- he doesn't eat addictive sugar, for example. This book is more about the author(and her spirituality) than it is about her son. Aaron Eagle is only eight at the end of the book, and it would be nice to see how he's progressed. Aaron Eagle's personality doesn't come through clearly, because after a bit about Aaron Eagle, his mother goes off on a tangent about spirituality. Question: Aaron Eagle is obviously affected by his mother's beliefs. Are disabled children affected differently by their parents' beliefs? Happy reading
Inside Mrs.B's Classroom Courage, Hope, and Learning on Chicago's South Side by Leslie Baldacci
Chicago has a shortage of teachers. To encourage people in other professions to become teachers, Teachers For Chicago offers the opportunity to teach after a six week summer school class to those with college diplomas and GPAs of over 2.5. Mrs.Baldacci became a teacher under TFC. Her first class had 36 7th graders. Her best behaved student was an autist with a personal aide. Of the seven teachers who began with Mrs.B, only two remained at the school the following year. The administration, especially the principal, did not aid the teachers in any way. Teachers were unlikely to recieve any of their top three choices of grades to teach, and so Mrs.B found herself teaching 2nd graders. Propblems that the 7th and 2nd graders both had seemed more tragic in 2nd graders, as the 2nd graders didn't hold their problems out of sight. Chapters in this book are generally two to eight pages long and anectdotally cover one aspect of teaching in the Chicago Public Schools through TFC. Baldacci often compares her students' education and lives to that of her own children. Teaching is described as being very stressful, and the reasons for Chicago's teacher shortage are made a little clearer. Question: What makes a good teacher? Happy reading.
Yes, We Have No Neutrons An Eye Opening Tour Through the Twists and Turns of Bad Science by A. K. Dewdney
Sometimes the public seizes something it takes to be outstanding science which has no real scientific merit. It can take years for the public to realize its error. Dewdney presents 8 such errors: n-rays, IQ, psychoanalysis, SETI, neural nets, cold fusion, Biosphere 2, and the Bell Curve. Dewdney's method for dissecting these differ greatly. In some he explains what happened how they went wrong, and why they were wrong, and in some he doesn't. For some his explanations are cogent and sensible, and for some they aren't. Overall, if Dewdney's book is held to the standards he has for science, this is a bad book. The chapter most worth reading is that on cold fusion. Happy reading.
Losing My Mind: An Intimate Look at Life With Alzheimer's by Thomas DeBaggio
Forgetting the names of the plants he sold worried DeBaggio. He had good reason. At 57, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which had already begun to eat its way through his memory and concentration. The only positive DeBaggio sees in Alzheimer's is his chance to write a book on the topic. Starting the day he was diagnosed, DeBaggio writes about his life, before and after Alzheimer's. He writes about his family and his business, he writes about the depression that hit himself and his wife with Alzheimer's, and he sticks in a study on Alzheimer's every few pages. The result is a book without chapters or much order. All of the bits of DeBaggio's narrative fit together, but none fit perfectly. Sometimes an incident is told more than once, in present tense and past tense, and not in chronological order. Perhaps this is a reasonable thing to expect from a book written by a person with Alzheimer's. Some of the studies seem to contradict themselves, and DeBaggio does not explain them. Serious reading.
