Teachers are simply the best. They're the special breed of people who strive to infuse us with an appreciation for the miraculous world in which we live and a sincere passion for learning. What better way to sing their praises than by declaring more than a thousand great things about them? That's what the successful author trio of Birnbach, Hodgman, and Marx does in this fourth book of their highly successful 1,003 Great Things series. This wonderfully humorous book features entries such as: o They are as happy about Friday as you are. o They tend to have highly legible handwriting. o Who else knows how important it is to be line leader? o They are excellent spellers. o Teachers know about Roman numerals. o They are more afraid of the principal than you are. o They lend you milk money when you forget yours. o They're not in it for the money.

Finally...something to smile about! Love is not the only thing that blossoms with a smile. Your entire life can be transformed by the simple act of turning up the corners of your mouth. And psychologists have proven that you benefit by smiling-even when you're convinced you have nothing to smile about! Now the power of the smile gets a boost from three grinning fools: Lisa Birnbach, Ann Hodgman, and Patty Marx, the threesome who thought up the deceptively simple, yet highly effective 1,003 Great Things to Smile About. This edition of the 1,003 humor series takes the effort out of smiling by providing just the thoughts needed to produce that all-enhancing smile, including: * Your son remembers your birthday... and doesn't reverse the charges! * Luggage-on-wheels * Your extra-large, threadbare sweatpants * Snow day! * Your sister will do Thanksgiving this year. * Spellcheck * The way Play-doh smells * Sunless tanning creams Smiles can indeed work magic, and these witty writers have concocted enough ideas to keep readers grinning day after day. This is the perfect make-somebody-feel-good book, a semiserious way to bring perspective to your own life and a great tool to help readers smile more at themselves and those around them. A book that offers a warm perspective on feeling right with the world ... now that's something to smile about!

* When you're sick in bed, she'll let you watch horrible soap operas and infomercials. * She's not offended when you pour ketchup all over the dinner she makes for you. * At the peak of your ugly phase, she still thinks you're cute. In delightfully droll bullet points and wacky boxed lists, this tribute to mothers everywhere provides a thousand--make that a thousand and three--reasons to acknowledge and appreciate that all-important female parent in our lives. How did these three talented authors find so many truisms about motherhood? Everyone who has a mother will understand completely once they get their hands on 1,003 Great Things About Moms. It's a sweet and sassy look at what makes moms so special.

"This funny, inspiring, and uplifting collection reminds us that most of the best things in life are still free."--Back.

Three witty and wise women--Birnbach, Ann Hodgman, and Patricia Marx--deliver yet another hysterical list of 1,003 great things. Each writer has a unique and much appreciated take on being a modern-day woman.

Simply the Best acknowledges the importance of listening to students to inform our efforts in schools. Schools and teachers can find extensive support for an intentional focus on developing relationships in schools and how these relationships result in improved academic performance, in reducing achievement gaps, and in promoting safe schools and productive learning environments for students. Students should be more than passive participants in the educational process. They can articulate teacher behaviors that make a difference for them. Simply the Best utilizes not only a research voice to identify practices schools should consider around relationships, but also enlists the student voice. Focus groups of students from elementary, middle and high were interviewed and an array of research using student surveys and perspectives consulted resulting in the identification of twenty-nine (29) practices that characterize the best teachers. Simply the Best outlines a research and a student perspective considering relationships around the following dimensions: Relationships Around a Moral Imperative Relationships Around Curriculum Relationships Around Instruction Relationships Around Assessment Relationships Around Recovery. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their experiences as a student, as well as the professional practices in their classrooms or schools. Eighty (80) ideas geared toward relationship building and the development of a customer service mind-set are shared as suggestions for teachers. Simply the Best serves as a reminder of the power of the teacher - the power of our words and actions in shaping students' educational experience. The teacher and student relationship is the foundation for school improvement efforts. How would students describe those relationships in your school? How many of the 29 things students say make the best teachers could be commonly observed in classrooms at your school? Read to see what truly makes a difference for students!

The author's of the highly successful 1,003 Great Things About Getting Older which has sold over 50,000 copies, while the calendar shipped almost 30,000 copies, now turn their sights on the great things about kids.

Inside the race to save a great American high school, where making the numbers is only the beginning Being principal was never her dream. Anabel Garza, the young widow of a young cop, got by teaching English to immigrant children, taking college classes at night and raising her son. And Reagan High was no dream assignment. Once famous for its state football championships, educational achievements and award-winning design, the school was a shadow of its former self. “Identified for improvement,” said the federal government. “Academically unacceptable,” said the state. Promising students were fleeing. Test scores were plunging. The education commissioner set a deadline of one year, threatening to close the school for good. But when Anabel took the job - cruising the mall for dropouts, tailoring lessons to the tests, firing a few lazy teachers and supporting the rest – she started something no one expected. As the numbers rose, she set out to re-create the high school she remembered, with plays and dances, yearbooks and clubs, crowded bleachers and teachers who brought books alive. And soon she was not alone. There was Derrick Davis, a star player on the basketball team in the early 1990s, coaching the Raiders toward a chance at the playoffs. There was Candice Kaiser, a science teacher who had left hard partying behind for Christ, drilling her students on chemistry while she drove them to games, tutoring sessions, Bible studies and sometimes even doctors’ appointments. There were JaQuarius Daniels, Ashley Brown and 900 other kids trying to pass the exams, escape the streets and restore the pride of a neighborhood, all while still growing up. Across the country, public schools face the threat of extinction in the numerically ordained churn of the accountability movement. Now, for the first time, we can tally the human cost of rankings and scores. In this powerful rejoinder to the prevailing winds of American education policy, Michael Brick takes us inside the high-pressure world of a school on the brink. Compelling, character-driven narrative journalism, Saving the School pays overdue tribute to the great American high school, and to the people inside.

This one-of-a-kind reference provides critical information on securing publishing contracts.