Friday, May 31, 2013

Blog Tour: The Promise Box

The Promise Box (Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors)

About the Book:
Every year, young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live there for six months and receive 'resident' status for the hunting season in the fall. They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides! In The Promise Box, the second book of best-selling author Tricia Goyer's Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai to give comfort to her father after her mother's death. She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother's most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture. What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational 'tell-all' book about the Amish. Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley. She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride. But will the pain of her childhood---and her potential betrayal of her community---keep her from committing her whole heart?

My Comments:
This book was definitely on the religious side, even for Amish fiction.  We join Lydia as she reads the scripture promises her mother loved so much.  We follow her as she decides to return to the Amish and to give her heart to Gideon.  Both she and Gideon have old hurts that need to be healed.  In the end of course they realize that God keeps His promises to us.  Grade:  B-


Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her lastest novel, The Promise Box (Zondervan), by hosting an Amish Baking Box giveaway and connecting with readers during her June 12th Book Chat Party!
ThePromiseBox300

One "promising" winner will receive:
  • Apron, hot mitts, and kitchen towels
  • Amish baking items (rolling pin, pie plate, etc...)
  • Sherry Gore's Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
  • The Memory Jar and The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer 
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 11th. Winner will be announced at the "The Promise Box" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 12th. Connect with Tricia for an evening of Amish fun - book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Tricia will also share an exclusive look at the next book book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Promise Box and join Tricia on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Review: A Chesapeake Shores Christmas



About the Book:
After years apart, Mick and Megan O'Brien are finally ready to make it official…again. Most of their grown children couldn't be happier about their rekindled love and impending marriage this holiday season. Only Connor is a holdout. Driven to become a divorce attorney after what he views as his mother's abandonment of their family, Connor's not about to give his blessing to this reunion romance.

The last thing Megan wants to do is hurt her family again. After all, is she really sure she and Mick can make it this time around? And when an unexpected delivery causes chaos, it seems only a miracle can reunite this family.

Of course, it is Christmas—the season of miracles.

My Comments:
I got this one as an audio from my library.  The format is called "Walkaway" and it is a pager-sized unit that operates with one AAA battery.  I don't have do download anything, worry about DRM or change CDs.  I'm not a huge fan of audio books but I've been driving a lot lately and I prefer them to listening to the radio.  

I've read an enjoyed many of  Sherryl Woods' books including other ones in this series.  This one kind of fell flat because I just never warmed up to Megan.  After having five kids Megan decided her  husband wasn't paying enough attention to her and the kids.  Despite the fact that she still loved him, despite the fact that she had five kids, including some  young ones, she decides to move to New York and start a new life.  She had planned to take the kids with her but they balked (go figure).  Now it's Christmas, twelve years later.  Mick and Megan are still in love, Megan has made peace with most of the kids and Mick wants a New Year's wedding.  Now, Megan wants everything her way.  Sorry, I understand that some marriages may be intolerable but a parent who has other options does not move hundreds of miles away from where his/her children are if s/he wants to maintain a relationship with them.  Too many kids in this world are messed up because their parents are more worried about making the adults happy than doing what is right for the kids.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Review: Rachel's Contrition



About the Book:
Rachel Winters had nothing, won it all, and then lost everything

After the death of her daughter, grief-spawned delusions cause Rachel to lose her husband, her home, and custody of her son.

Help arrives from two unlikely sources: a young teen, Lilly, battling her own demons, and a tattered holy card depicting Saint Therese of Lisieux. 

As Rachel grows closer to Lilly and comes to know Saint Therese, unbidden memories from her edgy past reveal fearful mysteries of seduction, madness, and murder . . . and a truth that will haunt her forever.

My Comments:
It has all too often been my experience that what is published today as "Catholic fiction" are books praising big families and touting the benefits of Natural Family Planning.   I'm pleased to say that Rachel's Contrition doesn't mention Natural Family Planning or birth control one time.  It is the story of a mentally ill woman coming to grips with the death of an infant daughter who was left in a car.  It is also the story of a horribly dysfunctional family whose apartment she rents.  In the end, that part of the story just struck me as bizarre, it was just too unrealistic to ring true.  However, I did like Rachel's story.

Rachel grew up as the child of a single mom, a mom who went from man to man, using them and never really loving them.  She was from the wrong side of the tracks. In college she reinvented herself, got in with the right crowd and met and married a doctor.  However, she always felt like she was acting, like she was playing a role rather than being herself.  That insecurity, the death of the baby, and probably some post-partum depression caused her to have a breakdown.  Part of what helped her find her way back was St. Therese of Lisieux's Story of a Soul.  Though she was not Catholic she found herself in a Catholic church talking to a priest.  Still, it doesn't come across as preachy, but more along the lines of "you've tried other stuff, and it hasn't worked, how about trying this?".  It is one of those books where finding Jesus leads to healing in this life.  

Michelle Buckman is a good writer, a real wordsmith.  Though published by a small Catholic press, this is not an amateur production.   It is available both in  paperback and e-book.  I definitely recommend it.  I was thinking of giving it an "A" but the whole unrealistic resolution of the subplot about the other family makes me mark it down to a B+.  

I purchased this book with Amazon reward points and can say what I want about it (but as you know I say what I want about anything I read).

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here; some folks are forgetting that! Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

This has been blog tour week for me.  Books on tour are Ray of Light (Amish fiction), Catch a Falling Star (contemporary Christian fiction) and Undeniably Yours (contemporary Christian fiction)

Blog Tour: Ray of Light



About the Book:
Bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray brings inspirational romance to life in this sweet tale of love in the Amish community, Ray of Light, the second installment of her Days of Redemption series.

Roman Keim just wants a break from the family drama at his snowy Ohio home when he heads to an Amish snowbird community in Florida. There he meets Amanda Yoder and her daughter Regina who soon are warming his heart. But will Roman return to Ohio or will he stay and help the young widow embrace a second chance at love?

The author of the series Sisters of the Heart and Seasons of Sugarcreek, Shelley Shepard Gray delivers an honest, tender love story in Ray of Light, featuring the challenges of faith, family, and romance.

My Comments:
This book gave a different perspective on Amish life than what I've usually seen.  The families in this book are New Order Amish.  Amanda wears a peach colored dress; her daughter wears pink and they have a phone in the house.  I don't know what other differences exist between these New Order Amish and the Old Order Amish about whom many books are written. Also, instead of a farm in Ohio or Pennsylvania, much of this story is set in Florida.  

I enjoyed watching these two young (though not so young) people learn to love again.  Shelley Shepard Gray  brought forth how hard it must be to lose an only child in a culture that is very family-oriented (not that losing a child is ever easy).  Her in-laws are supportive of her--except when she starts to want to move on with her life.

The book is the second in a series and I have not read the first.  The  main couple makes a cameo appearance--he is a missionary to Belize and while they are engaged, she goes to visit him.  I never knew that the Amish had missionaries.  There are references to some backstory that those of us who have not read the first book wonder why are included as they add nothing to this story.  

In short, this was a relatively short interesting read about two charming people from a slightly different Amish community.

Thanks to the folks at Litfuse for providing a complimentary review copy.  Grade:  B.
Meet Shelley:
Shelley Shepard Gray is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the "Sisters of the Heart", "Seasons of Sugarcreek", "Secrets of Crittenden County", and Families of Honor series. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town's bike trail.

Learn more at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com.

One Day in Apple Grove: My Review


About the Book:
Caitlin Mulchahy doesn't have much time for socializing now that her sisters' handyman business is thriving. For Dr. Jack Gannon—former Marine medic—keeping the residents of Apple Grove healthy is a welcome distraction from the haunting memories of his time served in Iraq. Although the two have lived in the same small town their whole lives, Cait and Jack barely know each other. That is until a stray puppy leads them to the same place at the same time. But it will take more than one adorable canine to get these two together—it'll take a whole town.

My Comments:
I enjoyed this sweet charming small town romance.  Caitlin and Jack bond over a rescued puppy and help each other reach beyond the hurts they are experiencing in life.  It's part of a series so there are a lot of characters that seem to have little role.  I found the writing to be a bit overdone at times and the story is just a basic romance with a couple of steamy scenes but it was a fun mindless read.  Grade:  B-

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Review: Big Sky Summer


About the Book:
With his father's rodeo legacy to continue and a prosperous spread to run, Walker Parrish has no time to dwell on wrecked relationships. But country-western sweetheart Casey Elder is out of the spotlight and back in Parable, Montana. And Walker can't ignore that his "act now, think later" passion for Casey has had consequences. Two teenage consequences! 

Keeping her children's paternity under wraps has always been part of Casey's plan to give them normal, uncomplicated lives. Now the best way to hold her family together seems to be to let Walker be a part of it-as her husband of convenience. Or will some secrets-like Casey's desire to be the rancher's wife in every way-unravel, with unforeseen results?

My Comments:
The premise is on the unrealistic side--two times they were intimate, two times they took the normal precautions and two times it failed and kids were the result.  Walker was in the kids' lives as a family friend but now that they are living in the neighborhood he wants more--he wants to be a dad and a husband.  

Casey lost her parents when she was young and was raised by emotionally distant grandparents and loving servants.  Her music is her life and she wasn't willing to give it up to marry Walker, even if she was pregnant. However, the third time the balloon broke....

I liked the story.  Linda Lael Miller tells a face-paced fun romantic story even if it doesn't make sense and honestly, other than the fact that they were both nice people, I don't see what these two saw in each other.  Even they say they get along better in the bedroom than out--and yes,  we are in the bedroom with them.  I look forward to seeing Walker's sister married off in a future book.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley  Grade:  B-

Question:
When does "no" really mean "yes", or put another way, do actions speak louder than words?  If I tell a guy I don't want to be intimate with him, is it ok for him to physically try to change my mind, not by attacking me and overpowering me with superior strength but rather by seducing me?  Does the fact that I put myself in a situation in which intimacy is likely to happen make any difference?  At one point in this book Casey says she doesn't want to be intimate with Walker.  At that point they were sleeping together.  He managed to change her  mind.  He never forced himself on her, but by starting things (and she didn't protest) he went against her previously stated desires.  

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Blog Tour: Catch a Falling Star



About the Book:

Is life about accomplishing plans . . . or wishes coming true . . . or something more?
Dr. Kendall Haynes’s plans to have it all—a career, a husband, a family—are eluding her. Now that she’s thirty-six, she needs to stop wishing upon a star and face reality: Some dreams just never come true.

Air Force pilot Griffin Walker prefers flying solo in the air and on the ground—until a dangerous choice ejects him from the cockpit. His life becomes even more complicated after the sudden death of his parents makes him the guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother. There’s no way his life will ever get back on course now.

When their lives collide during a near tragedy, Kendall and Griffin must decide if they can embrace the unexpected changes God has waiting for them.

My Comments:
I really liked both main characters in this book.  Both are very intelligent professionally successful people.  Both have had some real problems in their personal lives.  Both are afraid of being hurt; both eventually...
As an older couple (late 30's) they have to work at integrating established lives and deciding whether their lives can be meshed.

While I wouldn't call the book preachy, it is definitely Christian fiction and has too much religion if you don't like religion with your fiction.

I'd like to thank the folks at Litfuse for sending me a review copy.  Grade:  B+

Celebrate the release of Catch a Falling Star (Howard Books) with Beth K. Vogt by entering to win a Romantic Weekend Getaway and RSVPing for her June 4th Author Chat Party.


FallingStar300

  One "lucky" winner will receive:
  • A $200 Visa Cash Card (Perfect for a weekend stay at a hotel or B&B!)
  • Catch a Falling Star and Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt (Swoon-worthy!)
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 3rd. Winner will be announced at the "Catch a Falling Star" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 4th. Connect with Beth for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Beth will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of Catch a Falling Star and join Beth on the evening of June 4th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 4th!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Blog Tour: Undeniably Yours



About the Book:
When Meg Cole's father dies unexpectedly, she becomes the majority shareholder of his oil company and the single inheritor of his fortune. Though Meg is soft-spoken and tenderhearted--more interested in art than in oil--she's forced to return home to Texas and to Whispering Creek Ranch to take up the reins of her father's empire.

The last thing she has the patience or the sanity to deal with? Her father's thoroughbred racehorse farm. She gives its manager, Bo Porter, six months to close the place down.

Bo's determined to resent the woman who's decided to rob him of his dream. But instead of anger, Meg evokes within him a profound desire to protect. The more time he spends with her, the more he longs to overcome every obstacle that separates them--her wealth, his unworthiness, her family's outrage--and earn the right to love her.

But just when Meg begins to realize that Bo might be the one thing on the ranch worth keeping, their fragile bond is viciously broken by a force from Meg's past. Can their love--and their belief that God can work through every circumstance--survive?

My Comments:
While I liked the two main characters of this rather religious Christian romance I found the whole story unbelievable.  Meg is the poor little rich girl who only wants to be like everybody else, so she leaves home after college, gets a "normal" job and lives on the paycheck .  When called home after her father's death, she now has to manage his oil company and her uncle won't allow her to pass the job to him--just because he is qualified to run an oil company and she isn't.  The climax scene got very unrealistic as well--I won't say more.  

Becky Wade does a  good job of presenting the theme of responding to the vocation God has given you--whether or not that vocation is what other people would have you do.  

I 'd like to thank the publisher for making a complimentary review copy available for this tour.  Grade:  B-


Becky Wade is celebrating her latest swoon-worthy novel, Undeniably Yours (Bethany House), with a Kindle Fire giveaway and hosting an Author Chat party on Facebook {5/29}!

UndeniablyYours

One winner will receive:
  • A Kindle Fire
  • Undeniably Yours and My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 28th. Winner will be announced at the "Undeniably Yours" Facebook Author Chat Party on May 29th. Connect with Becky for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Becky will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of Undeniably Yours and join Becky on the evening of May 29th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 29th!

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival


Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here; some folks are forgetting that! Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

I have two posts this week.  The first is about a devotional Bible for women.  The second is a book about a man whose wife went missing. 

Friday, May 17, 2013

First Wildcard: NIV Real Life Devotional Bible for Women

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!



Today's Wild Card Insight Notes author is:


and the book:

Zondervan; Special edition (March 19, 2013)

***Special thanks to Rick Roberson for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Lysa TerKeurst is a New York Times bestselling author and national speaker who helps everyday women live an adventure of faith. She is the president of Proverbs 31 Ministries, author of 15 books, and encourages nearly 500,000 women worldwide through a daily online devotional. Her remarkable life story has captured audiences across America, including appearances on Oprah and Good Morning America. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and five children.

Visit the author's website.


SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

This Bible will help you live up to your God-given potential. Insightful daily devotions written by the women at Proverbs 31 Ministries help you maintain life's balance in spite of today's hectic pace. Dive into the beauty and clarity of the NIV Bible text paired with daily devotions crafted by women just like you---women who want to live authentically and fully grounded in the Word of God.





Product Details:
List Price: $34.99
Hardcover: 1536 pages
Publisher: Zondervan; Special edition (March 19, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0310439361
ISBN-13: 978-0310439363


AND NOW...SOME SAMPLE PAGES (CLICK ON PAGES TO ENLARGE):






My Comments:
I've been enjoying the devotional pages in this Bible, though I haven't gotten through very many of them.  This edition does lack the Deuterocanonical books.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Review: The Face of the Earth


About the Book:
When Mitchell Brannon’s beloved wife of twenty years kisses him goodbye one morning, he has little idea that his life is about to change forever. Mitch returns from work early that evening, surprised Jill’s car isn’t in the garage. But her voice on the answering machine makes him smile. “Hey, babe, I’m just now checking out of the hotel, but I’ll stop and pick up something for dinner. Love you.” Hours later, Jill still hasn’t returned, and Mitch’s irritation turns to dread.

When the police come up empty, Mitch enlists the help of their next-door neighbor, Jill’s best friend, Shelley, to help search. As days turn into weeks and weeks into months, Mitch and Shelley’s friendship grows ever closer––and decidedly more complicated. Every lead seems to be a dead end, and Mitch wonders how he can honor the vows he made to a woman who has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth.

My Comments:
None of  us like death, but at least with death you know where you stand.  In this book Mitch doesn't know where he stands.  When his wife disappears the police question him as if he might be the reason for her disappearance, or whether she chose to disappear.  As they look into clues Mitch  finds he has his moments of doubt--doubt she will be found, doubt about their marriage, doubt about himself.  In a non-preachy manner this book looks at what fidelity means in a Christian marriage and at what point the bond of marriage is broken.  It is a book about people of faith, about churchgoers who pray, but it is also a book about very real, very human people.  I enjoyed this book, which I received through Edelwiess and recommend it.  Grade:  B+.

Deborah is celebrating with a fun "Date Night" Giveaway (win a $200 Visa Cash Card!) and an Author Chat Party on Facebook! {5/30}
Face-of-Earth300
   One winner will receive:
  • A $200 Visa Cash Card (Use that to catch up with a loved one – your spouse, friend, sister, mom…whomever!)
  • The Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney
Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 29th. Winner will be announced at the "The Face of the Earth" Facebook Author Chat Party on May 30th. Connect with Deborah for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Deborah will also be sharing a sneak peek of her next book and giving away books and fun gift certificates throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Face of the Earth and join Deborah on the evening of May 30th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP todayTell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 30th!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival


Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here; some folks are forgetting that! Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

I know this post is a little late but we've been busy today.  Congratulations to my daughter and all her classmates!

Not much blogging this week.  I did write about standardized testing in schools and I'd love to hear your opinion.  

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Standardized Testing and School Accountability

Every year schools these day go through the ritual of standardized testing. There will be pep rallies, breakfast will be served, pencils given out and prizes given to kids with perfect attendance during the ritual. Schools want to make sure they get every point possible out of every student, and with good reason; it is these scores that determine whether schools are "good" or "bad" and often, whether the school's administrators keep their jobs.

Everyone has an opinion about these tests. On the one hand many associated with the school system hate them. They say they spend their lives teaching the test and they have no time go get creative, to nurture kids with talents not measured on the yearly test. They claim that holding them responsible for test scores ignores the fact that kids who do poorly often come from poor home situations and that there is little if anything they can do about those situations. They give homework they claim, but no one does it. Why should the teachers be blamed if the kids do not do the work and therefore do not do well on the tests? They also mention the millions of dollars spent on the tests that could better be spent lowering class size or otherwise doing things to actually help kids who are having trouble. On the other hand you hear plenty of stories of schools that are failing the kids. You hear of high school graduates who cannot read and write well enough to fill out a job application or who cannot make change when the cash register tells them to hand the customer $1.32. You hear of teachers who send out notes with grammatical errors or who do not appear to understand the material they are supposed to be teaching. Something clearly needs to be done. Standardized testing, the theory goes, allows us to identify kids who are not making the grade and make them repeat it. It can also identify schools that aren't doing their job.

My thoughts? I think there is a place for standardized testing, but I think they are way overused. For the record, I do not think weight control should be the responsibility of the schools, but let's say it was. Let's say we decided that keeping kids at a good weight was to be the goal of every school. As a result, a school system decides it is going to have weigh ins on the first and last days of school, at which time they will also check the students' height and plot the kids according to the height/weight chart showing what the kids should weigh. Now, if you accept that weight control is the school's job, this yearly weigh-in doesn't sound unreasonable--except that anyone with two eyes could pick out which kids really have a weight problem, just as any decent teacher in your school should be able to tell you which kids have reading problems or math problems. Yes, there are probably a few kids "on the edge" that I couldn't tell were "too heavy" or "not heavy enough" without actually measuring/weighing them, but for the most part, people who know what to look for don't need a scale to answer that question.

Taking the analogy further however, since the schools are docked for every pound over the ideal, they start teaching the tricks that most Weight Watchers members figure out by themselves. Wear heavy clothes the first day you are weighed, lighter clothes the last time. Don't eat crawfish the day before a weigh-in. Exercise and sweat before a weigh-in, but wait to drink until after you step on the scale. Now, these "tricks" don't have any long-term effect on weight, or more precisely, on fat, but if the goal is one more pound off on the scale, they'll help. In the same way, schools teach "test taking" skills that have little to do with reading and writing and mathematics, but can add a few points to the average score. What about the kids who fail? Keeping to the weight analogy, if a child is too heavy in 4th grade or 8th grade we are going to require that she/he repeat the grade--but we don't offer extra PE, we don't send them to a diet class, we don't send them to the doctor--we just make them do those grades again and hope they either figure out how to lose weight, or grow into their weight. All too often that is what happens when a child performs poorly on standardized tests. Unless a child meets the narrow qualifications for special education, failing a standardized test does not necessarily qualify him/her for extra help or an alternate teaching technique.

I think frequent standardized testing of middle or upper class kids in schools primarily populated with such kids is probably a waste of time.  Put simply, these are the kids whose parents are involved with their kids and who know what they want from a school.  They know if their kids are reading from a grade level textbook and know if they can do so.  If the child is having trouble, the parents generally know it and are trying to solve the problem whether by putting pressure on the school for additional help, working with their child outside of school and/or paying for tutoring or enrichment activities.  Significant time devoted to standardized testing or test preparation is simply documenting the obvious.

On the other hand, I think of a couple of stories I read in the paper in New Orleans.  About ten years ago a girl was getting ready to graduate from a New Orleans public neighborhood high school.  That in and of itself tells locals that 1) the girl's family was poor and  2) she lacked either the academic ability to get into a magnet school or the gumption to apply.  In general kids who could get out of those schools did.  This girl was slated to be the valedictorian at her school, however she was unable to pass the math section of the required exit examination so she was unable to graduate with her class.  The article also noted that her ACT score was a 11.  The girl and her family thought it was unfair that she couldn't graduate simply because she did not test well.  Perhaps she was a bright, well-educated student who truly had trouble with all those bubbles but I think it is more likely that she was hard-working girl who was never taught what she needed to know.  She was probably a good kid who did all her homework, even when her classmates did not.  I venture to say that the school did not demand via the tests and/or projects assigned in class that the students perform on a high school level; if they did, chances are this girl (and most of her classmates) would have failed.  While this girl and her family were proud of her good grades, they did not realize those grades did not mean she was learning what most people expect from students in her grade.  Unfortunately, her family decided to blame the test, not the school.

Another story that comes to mind was told by a local newspaper columnist who often wrote about racial issues (he is African-American).  He said that his nephew's standardized test scores were bad and that like many African-Americans, he (the columnist) blamed the tests, as it is well-known that African-Americans do not do as well on them as European-Americans.  He knew his nephew was bright and knew he was doing well in school; therefore, the problem had to be the test.  Well, one day he went to visit the school and saw the books the class was using.  He said that at that point he realized that his nephew was acing second grade.  The only problem was that the sign on the door said fourth grade, and his nephew was nine, not seven.

Is it fair to force a child to repeat a grade because she or he did not pass a standardized test, even though she or he did well in class?  Is it fair to pass a child who cannot perform at normal level for that grade?  Do I think that standardized testing is only indication of whether a child will be successful as an adult?  No.  Do I think that standardized tests will tell in a real hurry whether a child can read or do math at an appropriate level?  Yes.  Do I think a few points difference in a standardized test score is really all that significant?  No.  Do I think standardized tests have their place?  Yes.  What about you?

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival


Hello, and welcome to Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. To participate, go to your blog and create a post titled Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival. In it, discuss and link to your posts for the week--whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids. I'm mostly a book blogger so my posts are generally book reviews, some Catholic, some not. Make sure that post links back here; some folks are forgetting that! Once you publish it, come back here and leave a link below.

We also have a yahoogroup; signing up for it will get you one weekly reminder to post.  Click here to sign up.

I'm a proud bragging mom this week.

My older daughter, ready for the Prom

My youngest!

Two book reviews from me this week:  A Christian romance set during/at the Chicago World's Fair and a secular romance set in a beach town.

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