Books That I Find Useful for the Classroom

Rationale:

I am seeking a teacher’s certification in Business Education, Grades 6-12, in the hopes of teaching Career & Technology Education courses to high school students.  I am very passionate about the job skills and life skills that students can learn in these courses.   CATE classes offer students skills that they can use whether they choose to pursue higher education, or go from high school directly into the workforce. For this reason, I have carefully chosen books that will assist in teaching the students how to be successful in college or in the workplace.

I have chosen books from a wide variety of topics including personal finance, a word processing tutorial, a book with ideas and tips for presenting yourself to employers in the best light, a self-help book that focuses on the ability to adapt in a changing world, and a biography of one of the business & technology superstars of today’s world.  Some books were chosen based on their ability to stand alone in an assignment, some were chosen to stimulate discussion among the class participants, while others were chosen to compliment the curriculum that is taught in many CATE courses.  All of these books are appropriate for high school students.

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1.    Title: Financial Peace Revisited

2.    Author: Dave Ramsey

3.    Publisher: Viking Adult, Revised Edition

Copyright: January 27, 2003

4.    ISBN#: 978-0-670-02042-3

5.    Genre: Adult Non-Fiction

6.    Library Location: Amarillo Public Library, Central

7.    Summary: 

Author, Dave Ramsey offers readers common sense advice on overcoming debt and managing personal finances. Ramsey shares his own personal story of becoming a millionaire by the age of 26, and losing it all by the time he turned 30.  Ramsey covers everything in this book including choosing a career, saving, spending, investing, and avoiding the pitfalls of financing with debt.  Ramsey addresses all walks of life in this revised edition, including singles, married couples, families, and retirees.

8.    Personal Comments: 

I think Dave Ramsey is a genius in the matter of personal finance. I read this book in conjunction with taking his course, “Financial Peace University.”  Dave Ramsey offers a high school curriculum that Amarillo ISD is offering to local high school students called, “Dollars & Sense.” I wish all high school students were required to take this course, to learn life skills like saving up for major purchases, formulating and following a personal budget,  and the benefits of investing at a young age.

9.    Suggested Use in Classroom: 

The “Dollars & Sense” course is video-based, but I think students would benefit from reading Dave Ramsey’s book behind the ideas presented in the course.  Students will gain real-life examples, and will see how the concepts play out in every day scenarios.  I would offer students in the “Dollars & Sense” course extra credit, if they read this book, and completed some of the forms included in the back of the book (i.e. Cash Flow Plan, Debt Snowball, etc.).

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1.    Title: Microsoft Word 2010 for Dummies

2.    Author: Dan Gookin

3.    Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated

Copyright: April, 2010

4.    ISBN#: 978-0-470-77000-9

5.    Genre: Adult Non-Fiction

6.    Library Location: Oakville Public Library, Central

7.    Summary: 

Microsoft Word 2010 for Dummies is a great hands-on tool for beginning Word users.  Dan Gookin has a way of introducing all of the new features of Word 2010, walking the reader through processes, step by step, without all of the unnecessary jargon that accompanies so many “How to” manuals. 

8.    Personal Comments:

Microsoft Word 2010 is quite a bit different from older versions, so this book is a handy reference tool for the Microsoft Word beginner, or for a user who has recently upgraded to Word 2010.  The “for Dummies” manuals are so easy to use. They have a clear table of contents to find specific projects, and skip all of the jargon that can be confusing to beginning users.

9.    Suggested Use in Classroom: 

I would keep this book in the classroom to be used as a desk reference for students.  Many Career & Technology Education classes use Microsoft Word as the basic word processing software.  Some CATE classes assume that students have a background using Microsoft Word.  Having this resource in the classroom, could serve students who need some leveling material to familiarize themselves with the ins and outs of Microsoft Word.

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1.    Title: Knock ‘Em Dead Resumes

2.    Author: Martin John Yate

3.    Publisher: Adams Media

Copyright: 2008

4.    ISBN#: 978-1-598-69674-5

5.    Genre: Adult Non-Fiction

6.    Library Location: Amarillo Public Library, Southwest

7.    Summary: 

In this book, Martin Yate offers readers an insider’s look at what employers are looking for in a resume.  This book guides the reader in deciphering just what employers want by studying their on-line job posting or advertisement.  The book includes numerous samples of professional resumes, including “before and after” examples of resumes that need help getting focused.  Yates outlines terrific resume building tips that will land the reader with a top-notch, professional resume.  Yate takes the reader even further by offering advice on e-mailing techniques and follow-up strategies that are sure to benefit any job-seeker.

8.    Personal Comments:

After working in Human Resources for several years as an Employment Interviewer, I know the importance of having a clear, concise, professional resume.  Many interviews are granted or denied to an applicant based solely on the look of their resume.  Students should start planning and building their resume right away, in order to land that dream job after graduation. This book is an invaluable tool to assist the reader in building that resume that will land them an interview!

9.    Suggested Use in Classroom:

I would use this reference book in a group project setting. Students could be divided into small groups, and given the task of working together to build a winning resume for each team member.  After compiling resumes for each team member, students could choose their strongest resume to present to the class for discussion.  After completing this project, each student will have their own professional resume that they can use when searching for their first (or next) job.

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1. Title: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
2. Author: Stephen R. Covey
3. Publisher: Free Press, Revised Edition                                                                               Copyright: November 9, 2004
4. ISBN#: 978-0-743-26951-3
5. Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
6.  Library Location: Amarillo Public Library, Northwest
7. Summary:

In “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” author, Stephen R. Covey presents a principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. Using real-life experiences, the author presents the reader with an outlined path for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and dignity. These qualities prepare the reader to adapt to change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of any opportunities that change creates.

8.    Personal Comments:

Change is inevitable. Winners are the people who learn to adapt to their changing environment, and take advantage of those opportunities that are created when change occurs.  This book makes it clear that winning is a habit, and so is losing.  The reader can choose which habit they will form. I want students to understand that being successful is a choice that each individual makes.  This book can give them the tools they will need to adapt and overcome obstacles that they will surely face in life.

9.    Suggested Use in Classroom:

I can see Stephen R. Covey’s book being used as an assigned reading. I would assign students to read a chapter of the book each week, with classroom discussions led by the instructor on Fridays.  Grades would be based on the student’s participation in the classroom discussion.  The discussions should focus on what the students learned from the reading, and how they can apply the principles to their own life.

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1.    Title: The Second Coming of Steve Jobs

2.    Author: Alan Deutschman

3.    Publisher: Crown Business

Copyright: December 18, 2001

4.    ISBN#: 978-0-7679-1103-0

5.    Genre: Biography

6.    Library Location: New York Public Library

7.    Summary:

“The Second Coming of Steve Jobs” is an in-depth portrait of the man whose return to the Apple Corporation marked one of the biggest turnarounds in business history. This biography contains a look at what made one of the most inventive men in modern-day history tick. The book includes many fascinating details about Steve Jobs, based on interviews with Steve himself, his co-workers, his competitors, friends and family.

8.    Personal Comments:

Since Steve Jobs recently passed away, the general public has found out many interesting facts about this fascinating man. Steve Jobs has been referred to as the modern-day Thomas Edison.  Jobs revolutionized the personal computer, and was driven by his quest for perfection in the technology industry.  Anyone with an iPod, iPad, or Mac needs to read this book - it will give them more appreciation for their personal device.

9.    Suggested Use in Classroom:

I would use this book, as one of many biographies of important people in the business/technology world.  I would give students the assignment of doing a book report on a notable figure in the business world, and let them choose their subject from pre-selected biographies. I would include biographies on modern-day influences such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Dave Ramsey, as well as more historical influences such as Nelson D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison.

5 Websites That I Recommend

1.      Name of Website:  i4c – Internet 4 Classrooms – Helping You Use the Internet Effectively.

2.     Web Site Address:  www.internet4classrooms.com

3.    Copyright date and/or last update:  Internet 4 Classrooms, LLC ©2000-2010; the website is updated at least monthly, as can be witnessed by the “November Tips” and i4c Featured “Picks of the Month.”

4.    Author/organization credentials:  Internet4Classrooms is a collaborative effort of teachers, Susan Brooks and Bill Byles that began in 1997 to offer assistance to fellow teachers. In November 2000, they formed Internet 4 Classrooms (i4c), a free web portal designed to teachers in finding high-quality, free, Internet resources to assist in classroom instruction.  Susan and Bill have over six decades of classroom instruction experience, from Kindergarten to College.  Susan is an Instructional Technology Consultant and Professional Development Trainer, and Bill is a retired Staff Development Coordinator for the Teaching and Learning Academy.

5.    Web site design and ease of navigation:  This website is extremely easy to use.  There is a tool bar across the top of the page, and the same tool bar runs down the left hand side of the page.  For visual users, there are also links with picture icons in the center of the page that offer the same menu choices as the two toolbars I’ve mentioned.  Once you decide where you want to go, you just click on the tool bar or icon.  Choices include “Grade Level Help,” “Links for K-12,” “Technology Tutorials,” “Assessment Assistance,” “Daily Dose of the Web,” “On-Site Training,” and “About Us.”  Once you click on a link, the next page has a list menu of topics that you can choose for more specific information.  For example, under “Technology Tutorials,” you can further select from choices like “Microsoft Excel,” “Microsoft Word,” “Microsoft Power Point,” “Dreamweaver,” “Internet Explorer,” and “PC Troubleshooting.”  Under these sub-titles, you can further select from a menu to get exercises or tutorials on the specific topic of instruction.  As an example, if I click on “Microsoft Excel,” I can choose from topics such as “Keyboard Shortcuts for a Mac,” “Advanced Tutorials on Charts/Graphs,” or “Graphic Organizers Tutorials.”   Then, there are eight activities to choose from that will help students understand how to make a custom graphic organizer.

6.    Website Response and Recommendation for Use:  I love this website!  I think internet4classrooms.com is an invaluable tool for teachers, regardless of their content area.  Since there are so many menu choices, you can find activities for most any teaching topic.  I would use this website for individual activities when students have finished their classroom work.  For example, if I were teaching students how to navigate a spreadsheet, I would ask students to visit the Technology Tutorial page and practice with the Excel Spreadsheet exercises when they completed their in-class assignment.  This would reiterate the points I am teaching students, and would offer them some additional practice with that particular skill.

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1.      Name of Web Site:  Business News for Kids

2.    Web Site Address:  http://www.businessnewsforkids.com/

3.    Copyright date and/or last update: BusinessNewsForKids.com ©2007;The newsletter is published every Monday.

4.    Author/organization credentials:  There is very little about the author of this web page included.  If you click on the “About Us” tab, you read that the author is a father-son team.  A man and his two young sons are the core team of this effort, but they often consult experts in a particular field for specific information.

5.    Web site design and ease of navigation:  This web page is extremely easy to use, as most of the information I would require is on the Home page.  The Home Page has current financial and economic news updates, Stock market updates, Foreign Exchange Rates, and Business Fun Facts listed.  Terms that students might not be familiar with are highlighted in red, and can be further explained by mousing over the term.  There are also links to specific topics from their archive, such as credit history, mergers and acquisitions, consumer confidence, and supply and demand.

6.    Web site Response and Recommendation for Use:  Although the author and validity of this site is questionable, I might be tempted to use this page as the “Home Page” for my students’ computers.  I think it is important for students to develop an interest in the business world, so they can understand the economics of the world we live in, once they become adults.  By presenting the information on a student’s level, you can encourage students to follow the stock market, watch financial news updates, etc.  I would start class each Monday morning with a discussion about the current events presented on this page.  It might also be fun for the class to pick a stock at the beginning of the semester, and pretend to invest in it.  Then, students can follow the performance of that stock throughout the semester, and see if they made or lost money on the final day of class.

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1.      Name of Web Site:  Blair English – Free Online Business English for Busy People

2.    Web Site Address:  http://www.blairenglish.com/

3.    Copyright date and/or last update:  Blair English ©2011

4.    Author/organization credentials:  Blair English is a group of native English teachers based in Madrid, Spain, who have many years experience teaching Business English and working in the business/corporate world.

5.    Web site design and ease of navigation:  The website, www.blairenglish.com is very easy to navigate.  There is a tool bar at the top of the home page that offers to take readers to “About,” “Exercises,” “Forums,” “Contact,” or “Services.”  There is also an Exercises Menu on the home page that is probably where most teachers will use.  The Exercise Menu consists of lessons for ESL students on topics such as Meetings, CV & Interviews, Numbers & Figures, Emails, Presentations, Projects, Phrases/Phrasal Verbs, Social English, General Business, Negotiations, Food & Drink and Technology & Web.  Once you choose a topic, a sub-menu comes up where students can choose a particular lesson to take.  For example, if you click on the Exercise Menu tab for “General Business,” you can choose from lessons on Absence from Work, Losing a Job, Leaving a Job, Corporate Hierarchy, Business Time Vocabulary or Time Phrases: Requesting & Responding.  When you choose a particular lesson, there is a script from a real-world scenario explaining the topic or vocabulary terms that  are difficult for ESL learners to understand.  There is also link to a dictionary, and a link for users to actually hear the pronunciation of selected vocabulary words, used in context.

6.    Web site Response and Recommendation for Use:  This website has an author/credentials that I was unable to verify, which is cause for concern.  However, the website itself offers invaluable tools for ESL students who might be struggling with much of the terminology that is used in Career/Technology classes.  I would use this website in my class for ESL students who seem to be struggling.  By giving these students a broad base of knowledge regarding the vocabulary used in the business world, you increase their chance for success, both in class, and in the real world.  I would use this website as an individual tutorial for ESL students to work on in their spare class time.  I would also offer to allow students to come in and work on the tutorials before or after school, or during my conference period.  With an increasing ESL population in most public schools, I can see how this website could be an asset to Business Education teachers.

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     1.      Name of Web Site:  Hands On Banking web site

2.    Web Site Address:  www.handsonbanking.org/en

3.    Copyright date and/or last update:  Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ©2003, 2006

4.    Author/organization credentials:  Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

5.    Web site design and ease of navigation:  The site is easy to use and navigate.  When you open the Home Page, you have four colorful icons that allow you to choose “Adults,” “Young Adults”, “Teens,” or “Kids.”  Since “Teens” indicates that the link is for 6^th to 8^th graders, I clicked on that icon.  It takes you to a page titled “Hands-On Banking for Teens.”  The page opens to an audio tour of the site, showing what lessons are available to pursue.  There is also a link to click on for a site tour.  Lessons included are You & Your Money, Budgeting, Savings & Checking Guide, Credit & You, Smart Investing, and there is an assessment that students can complete to check their understanding of the concepts. Students will be able to print off a certificate of achievement when they show mastery of all of the topics presented.  The lessons include audio and visual graphics, and there is an option for closed captioning or lessons in Spanish.

6.    Web site Response and Recommendation for use:  This website is geared toward age-specific groups, and I really like that.  Lessons are both visually and audibly stimulating, catering to both types of learners.  I think this website could be used in a Personal Finance class for any grade level.  The lessons have questions and/or activities that the student completes before moving on, to check for understanding.  I would go through the Budgeting lesson, and then ask students to compile their own personal budget for a grade.  It would also be fun to have students develop a budget and savings plan for an item that they would like to purchase.  We could check at the end of the school year to see how many students stuck to their budget, and find out how many students were able to make their planned purchase.  Learning to form a budget, and more importantly, how to live by a budget, is a crucial lesson for today’s students.

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1.      Name of Web Site:  Career Explorer

2.    Web Site Address:  www.careerexplorer.net/aptitude.asp

3.    Copyright date and/or last update:  Career Explorer ©2011

4.    Author/organization credentials:  CareerExplorer.net, Lenexa, KS

5.    Web site design and ease of navigation:  The Career Explorer website is easy enough to use, but it requires that you enter personal information (name, e-mail address, zip code) before gaining access to the Aptitude Test.  Offers to sign up to receive updates from sponsoring companies (mostly universities, career training colleges, etc.) will pop up, but you are able to decline them.  Once you access the Aptitude Test, there are a series of questions about how you like to work, how you learn, and how you relate to other people.  To answer each question, you simply click on the scale to choose whether you “strongly agree,” “strongly disagree,” or fall somewhere in between.  At the end of the test, you are given a summary of which types of careers might be best for you, based on your responses.

6.    Web site Response and Recommendation for Use: While I do not like the fact that you have to submit some personal information to use the site, I do like the Aptitude Test, and the summary of career choices that are provided to the user.  Because of this, I would probably use this website in class, only with the approval of the student.  I would discuss the website with students, and suggest the Aptitude Test for those students who are unsure about their career goals.  I would make the information available to students in a handout, outlining the benefits of taking the Aptitude test, as well as the potential for having their e- mail addresses shared by the website.  Since I couldn’t find any credentials of the author, other than the name and address of the company, I am suspicious of their intentions, and believe that their ultimate goal is to get referrals for their sponsors (the universities and colleges mentioned above).

My Educational Philosophy

It is my belief that every student has the potential to be successful, and that every student has the ability to excel at something.  In my opinion, it is the teacher's responsibility to help students figure out where their gifts lie, and how they can best unlock their full potential.  All students learn differently.  Students have differing interests, strengths and weaknesses.  I also believe that a teacher often times has the power to make or break a student.  It is my desire to be the teacher that helps her students discover their strengths, figure out how they can learn the best, and helps her students to develop a passion for learning.

I love Business!! I think that the skills taught in Career & Technology Education courses are invaluable to all students.  Keyboarding, word processing, basic spreadsheet skills, and basic search skills for the internet are activities that all students will use in the future.  These skills will assist students who go to college in their report-writing assignments, research projects, and in compiling and organizing data.  These skills are also invaluable to students who enter the workforce right after high school.  Computer skills can be the determining factor between a student getting a minimum-wage job in fast food, or getting a higher-paying job in a doctor or lawyer's office.  Other skills taught in Career & Technology Education will be useful to students throughout their whole life, such as balancing a check book, speaking in front of a group, and writing a professional-looking letter.

I wish that all students would be required to take at least one basic Career & Technology Education course before graduation!