MSI Press Blog

Just up! MSI Press associate, Anne Laforge, retired English and literature teacher, interviewed author Steven Greenebaum when he came to California on a book tour and swung through San Juan Bautista, location of MSI Press's The Literary Center. (He also gave a lecture at two interfaith sites; we have video from one of those presentations and will post it at some point in the future.) Listen to the podcast about  One Family: Indivisible  on our podcast page on our website by clicking  HERE . Take a look at Steven's book -- Amazon has a Look Inside . Throughout history we have divided ourselves into groupings of "us" and "them".  One Family: Indivisible  engagingly   invites the reader into the deeply spiritual and lifelong journey of the author to find a way to acknowledge our differences without dividing and subdividing ourselves into competing tribes. It is a journey of mountain tops and deep valleys, but it leads to the inclusivity and mutual respe...

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example that is bound to make the time spent in lockdown more fun: #231 What’s the Matter? Matter is everywhere, but what exactly is it, anyway? Matter is something that is observable with some of our five senses. Matter has weight and takes up space. It is all around us. To help your child understand the concept of matter, as well as its various phases, here are some facts to share and activities you can try: (1) Discuss what is and is not matter. (For instance rocks, milk, and air are matter; ideas, words, and feelings are not.)  (2) Make a chart of what you come up with. Look around your home, even take a walk or a drive to find examples around you.  (3...

Communication No running, No jumping, No talking, No shoes – No shirt – No service.   Speaking in this style of negative phrasing is as common and ingrained as answering the telephone with “Hello.”   To the majority of society, the message is direct, concise, and typically easily understood.    Unfortunately, children with autism struggle with deciphering statements requesting the negation of an action. While it is not impossible for these children to learn some regularly used negative statements, it takes more effort and exposure to the exact phrasing to produce understanding. If we look carefully at the information provided by current researchers and practitioners of autism we could pinpoint some of the children’s receptive communication difficulties.   Autism causes deficits to varying degrees in the ability to understand verbal sounds and attach meaning to them.    Further, if the children do understand the individual spoken w...

With time to be filled while locked away in quarantine, self-isolation, or sheltering in place. memoirs can become delightful reading material -- escaping into other worlds, experiencing other lives. Here is one of our favorites: Tucker and Me by Andrew Harvey: INTRODUCTION   My first memory involves being slapped in the face. I think psychologists put some measure of meaning into your first conscious remembrance. When people who know me read about this first memory, they are probably going to say, “Okay, now that explains a lot.” Well, I can’t blame them for that because in many ways I feel the same. I had just finished my lunch and was watching Sheriff John, a local Los Angeles daytime TV show for kids. I’m guessing I was only a few years old at the time because I remember still sleeping in somewhat of a crib contraption. Sheriff John was not an actual law enforcement official, but he wore a uniform that looked real to me and worked in an office that seemed pretty ...

Laura Dabbs works at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she is pursuing her MA-TESOL degree.  Laura teaches Community English Classes at UAB and formerly taught ESL and GED classes in Georgia at Dalton State College.  Working at a diverse university as afforded her the opportunity to see first-hand how personality traits, learning styles and learning strategies play a role in a variety of educational and professional situations.  Laura and her family have enjoyed a multi-cultural household by hosting foreign exchange students from various locations around the world. Her book, co-authored with Betty Lou Leaver,  The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom: Bringing Hidden Dynamics to Light for Individual and Group Harmony and Success . explains why some classrooms become dysfunctional and suggests what to do about them. The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom was released in September 2019. A sequel for teacher education is planned for this year. R...

This excerpt from Julia Aziz's Lessons of Labor seems quite appropriate for the stresses we deal with during today's pandemic. Fear in any situation has a relative in fear in any other situation. in Facing Fear  Once I was ready to get out of the shower, the doula recommended that we leave for the hospital. She checked my cervix, reassuring me that I was far enough along in the process to warrant a move to the final birthing destination. Before gathering all my belongings, I had a crisis of faith. How would I ever manage the pain of labor while sitting in the car for 30 minutes? At home, I could walk outside and bend over with every contraction, impossible activities for the front seat of a car. I even started to debate just staying home (my doula was a homebirth midwife, after all). Then, reason, or rather my husband’s calm rationality, took over, and we decided to go with the plan already in place. Internally, I said to myself, “I can do this because I have to ...

Exceptional teachers Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly have put together a book that can help any parent through this extended period of sheltering in place. Packed with home activities for learning, readers can pick any number that appeal to them or fit their personal family circumstances. Here is one example that is bound to make the time spent in lockdown more fun: #144 Steal the Beat From a very young age, parents and teachers use song and rhyme to teach children information. From teaching the different sounds animals make in “Old McDonald” to learning the letters of the alphabet in the “Alphabet Song,” children grasp concepts and information easier when it’s presented in rhyme or song or both! Keep that in mind when you see your child struggling with a difficult task or concept. Try brainstorming with your child a rhyme that might help her spell a certain word or remember a definition.  It is usually easiest to utilize a song that everyone is familiar with. Song...