A Million Miles Ago, the Journey Continues

A Million Miles Ago, the Journey Continues
Author: Mae Black Buckel
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2014-08-04
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1491741341

Suicide is at the top of the list for death among teenagers. Wedding vows are no longer sacred, while divorce is rampant. Thousands become addicted to prescription drugs while counselors search for new ways to help their patients cope with the cares of life. You may be one of these and maybe you feel you cannot go on; your heart breaks from the loss of a child; all you have left are memories and a question, Why? Maybe you feel ashamed and degraded because of rape or sexual abuse; you carry the burden of shame and confusion until it weighs you down. Maybe you have been through a divorce; you feel like a failure or a reject; you turned to drugs or alcohol or some other substance, just to get through the disappointments life has dealt you. Yet you find that nothing works and you want to swallow the whole bottle of pills the doctor gave you, so you wont have to wake up to another sad day. Maybe you are in a jail or prison, locked away from society for making bad choices. You have broken the rules and it is payday, but the cost is too high and you do not know how you will ever pay it. You may be a battered wife, with little children at your feet and you cannot find a way out. You may be a drug addict, with a need you cannot fill or an alcoholic with a thirst you cannot quench. You were told you will always be an addict and now you feel helpless. I too have been in most of these places in my life. I share my story in hopes that I may help someone else find peace in the midst of his or her own personal storm.

And the Journey Continues

And the Journey Continues
Author: Chrystal D. White-Johnson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 545
Release: 2020-06-24
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1984582364

Because sometimes things don't go quite how you expect or even plan for them to...in fact, sometimes the end result is nowhere near what you anticipated. And it leaves you questioning, wondering, lamenting, maybe even a little angry...until you realize that where you are is exactly where you were always meant to be. In a world where hatred, darkness, and unrest abound, may we always, always choose love, light, and peace. I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as i enjoyed writing them

Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice

Continuing the Journey to Reposition Culture and Cultural Context in Evaluation Theory and Practice
Author: Stafford Hood
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2014-12-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1623969379

Racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity has become of global importance in places where many never would have imagined. Increasing diversity in the U.S., Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia strongly suggests that a homogeneity-based focus is rapidly becoming an historical artifact. Therefore, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE) should no longer be viewed as a luxury or an option in our work as evaluators. The continued amplification of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity and awareness among the populations of the U.S. and other western nations insists that social science researchers and evaluators inextricably engage culturally responsive approaches in their work. It is unacceptable for most mainstream university evaluation programs, philanthropic agencies, training institutes sponsored by federal agencies, professional associations, and other entities to promote professional evaluation practices that do not attend to CRE. Our global demographics are a reality that can be appropriately described and studied within the context of complexity theory and theory of change (e.g., Stewart, 1991; Battram, 1999). And this perspective requires a distinct shift from “simple” linear cause-effect models and reductionist thinking to include more holistic and culturally responsive approaches. The development of policy that is meaningfully responsive to the needs of traditionally disenfranchised stakeholders and that also optimizes the use of limited resources (human, natural, and financial) is an extremely complex process. Fortunately, we are presently witnessing developments in methods, instruments, and statistical techniques that are mixed methods in their paradigm/designs and likely to be more effective in informing policymaking and decision-making. Culturally responsive evaluation is one such phenomenon that positions itself to be relevant in the context of dynamic international and national settings where policy and program decisions take place. One example of a response to address this dynamic and need is the newly established Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CREA is an outgrowth of the collective work and commitments of a global community of scholars and practitioners who have contributed chapters to this edited volume. It is an international and interdisciplinary evaluation center that is grounded in the need for designing and conducting evaluations and assessments that embody cognitive, cultural, and interdisciplinary diversity so as to be actively responsive to culturally diverse communities and their aspirations. The Center’s purpose is to address questions, issues, theories, and practices related to CRE and culturally responsive educational assessment. Therefore, CREA can serve as a vehicle for our continuing discourse on culture and cultural context in evaluation and also as a point of dissemination for not only the work that is included in this edited volume, but for the subsequent work it will encourage.

Journey of a Thousand Miles

Journey of a Thousand Miles
Author: Lang Lang
Publisher: Aurum
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2014-08-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1781314284

Journey of a Thousand Miles tells the remarkable story of a boy who sacrificed almost everything – family, financial security, childhood and his reputation in China’s insular classical music world – to fulfil his promise as a classical pianist. Lang Lang was born in Shenyang in north-eastern China just after the end of the Cultural Revolution. He began piano lessons at three years old and by age ten had been awarded a place at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. In order to continue his studies he moved thousands of miles from home, living with his exacting father in a cramped, shared apartment, while his mother stayed at home to earn the money to pay his fees. At fifteen he moved to the United States to take up a scholarship at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia; by nineteen he was selling out Carnegie Hall. His tutor and mentor Daniel Barenboim was perhaps the first to describe him as ‘extraordinarily talented’; today his assessment is shared by millions. Now in adulthood, Lang Lang tours relentlessly, delighting sell-out audiences with his trademark flamboyance and showmanship. Journey of a Thousand Miles is a tale of heartbreak, drama and ultimately triumph. His inspiring story demonstrates the courage and self-sacrifice required to achieve artistic greatness.

The Journeyman Sagas

The Journeyman Sagas
Author: John Gearing
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 651
Release: 2014-10-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1491888717

This is the story of Nathanial, king of the north and keeper to the spirits of Fallenjour. A giant amongst men he has the heart of a lion and a strength unparalleled in the universe. Peace had found Nathanial with his one true love at his side, Palencia Queen of the South. This peace was brutally shattered in bloodshed, forcing him to leave behind all he held dear. This guilt was to be his driving force, his mantra, unrelenting, and unforgiving. Nathanials uncompromising mission to find her was to take his soul and the fate of mankind to the brink of destruction. On Nathanials quest it would lead him to find the boy king, the key link to restore the balance between good and evil, ending the battle that waged throughout the universe. From the space mission on earth to finding life on Jupiter, to the mythical lands of Fallenjour to the very Master of all matter, this is the story of the journeyman. Above all the story of mankind, its past, its present and its future.

The WPA Guide to Idaho

The WPA Guide to Idaho
Author: Federal Writers' Project
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2013-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1595342109

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. While Idaho is well known for its potatoes, this WPA Guide introduces readers to many other facets of life in this Pacific Northwestern state. The first installment of the American Guide Series to be published, the guide documents the young state’s response to the Great Depression by reinvigorating its science, technology, and agriculture industries. Natural elements of the Gem State are recognized, as well as the rich history of the American Indians in the area. Great photography and detailed histories enhance this historically significant guide.

TIME Mission to Mars

TIME Mission to Mars
Author: The Editors of TIME
Publisher: Time Inc. Books
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2016-09-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1683304004

The prospect of sending a manned mission to Mars and even colonizing the planet is capturing the imagination of NASA and space entrepreneurs. A noble goal, or an expensive folly? TIME’s special edition takes you inside the science and the debate. Just getting to Mars will be an amazing technical feat, traveling 35 million miles on a nine-month journey. This edition explores: * How American astronaut Scott Kelly spent a year on the International Space Station to measure the effects of prolonged space travel * The exciting technology being developed to make the journey to Mars * Buzz Aldrin’s plans for establishing a permanent settlement on the Red Planet