This book, selected from the nearly 600 poems written between 1966-2017, offers a clear and often inspiring voice, with brilliant and sacred imagery all the while allowing for uncommon accessibility. This volume includes sonnets, prose poems, odes as well as various metered, and stanzaic poems.

“I want to communicate to you the joys and discoveries I have made in my 60 years of teaching poetry, from kindergarten to graduate school. I hope that this book will open a few doors, suggest new projects and adventure-filled lessons, and perhaps introduce some of the strange and inspiring poets I have met along the way: a few in person, but mostly in the pages of their marvelous, inimitable volumes.” –Paul Cummins

In this entertaining and inspiring memoir, renowned educator Paul Cummins candidly shares his journey from privileged kid and ivory-tower scholar to hands-on progressive educator, working to achieve social justice through education for all youth: from children of celebrities to foster and incarcerated youth and those facing sometimes unimaginable circumstantial hurdles to education and accomplishment—proving time and again that all children can succeed given appropriate support.

Nearly everyone in America, no matter what political persuasion, would agree that as a nation we need to have adequate public schools. In fact, nearly everyone would also agree that our schools should be more than merely adequate. They should be superior. In Two Americas, Two Educations, Cummins will describe what superb, or even simply adequate, schools would look like, and second, how those schools might be funded. Cummins is not intending to lay down a final blueprint but to present the case for superb schools and explain how they can become a reality.

“Proceed With Passion: Engaging Students in Meaningful Education is filled with bold approaches to giving students the ingredients they most lack in their schooling―a sense of purpose, a reason for wanting to learn and, ultimately, a passion to help others.” ―Arianna Huffington

What’s wrong with our schools? How can they be fixed? Do they need more money? Should we emphasize the basics and cut out «frills» like art classes? Is multiculturalism an important new perspective?

This book will offer a rallying point for those who are looking for a reasoned, thoughtful, and compassionate approach to educating our children for the twenty-first century. It should serve as a wake-up call for all who are concerned about what is happening to children in today’s society and schools.

The odyssey of Herbert Zipper covers most of the 20th century. Born in Vienna in 1904, his life has spanned three centuries: from the 19th century world of the Habsburg Empire, through the 20th century horrors of Dachau, Buchenwald, and the Manila of World War II, to the emerging 21st century in China. Throughout his remarkable journey Zipper, a composer, conductor, concentration camp survivor, and educator, has maintained a spirit of achievement and optimism that contradicts his experiences. This is a story of the triumph of human will and the human spirit and, as such, is both fascinating and instructive.

From the folly of celebrating Columbus to the disappearance of frogs, from the excesses of standardized testing, to America’s sponsorship of an international arms race, KEEPING WATCH explodes myths, exposes ignorance, and offers possibilities for America’s future.

Anna has been assigned to write a poem for her class, but she doesn’t really know what a poem is, let alone how to write one. As she and her brother Sam fall asleep in their sleeping bags (they’re camping out in their back yard), they embark upon a wonderful adventure aboard the Train of Thought, where (in addition to the Conductor) they meet an array of fanciful characters like the Balladeer, the Heroic Couplet twins, the Master of Metaphor, the Mix-Master of Metaphor, the Doggerel Dog, Peter Patterfeet (who’s in charge of rhythm and meter), and ultimately the King and Queen of Poetry. When Sam and Anna return from their journey, Anna not only knows what a poem is, but is able to write one herself.