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Title: A Smile as Big as the Moon: A Special Education Teacher, His Class, and Their Inspiring Journey Through U.S. Space Camp by Mike Kersjes, Joe Layden ISBN: 0-312-30314-9 Publisher: Griffin Trade Paperback Pub. Date: February, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Love it, love it, love it!
Comment: Being somewhat of an idealist working in the field of special ed., I am frequently frustrated by the barriers placed in front of me by administrators, special ed. directors, program managers, etc. This book reminds me that it's worth the battle...that our kids really can touch the sky. As I'm sure you can tell, I love this book! Kerjes is honest and humorous in his portrayal of the struggles he faced in bringing his kids to Space Camp. It's inspiring, and even better, it's TRUE!
Rating: 5
Summary: A special-ed wish-fulfillment fantasy
Comment: I don't quite dare hope that I'll ever find a special education teacher for my kids who's as determined, ornery and willing to dream big dreams as Mike Kersjes, but it's sure nice to think so. As the parent of one child with learning disabilities and one with fetal alcohol effects, I've often been frustrated by the careful modesty of the goals proposed for challenged children -- the very lack of specialness in special education. What I like about this book is the fact that with really well thought-out planning -- not just wishes or hopes or good will but real nitty-gritty planning and thinking about what the kids would need to get them to Space Camp and then seeing it through -- the students were able to succeed beyond their own or anyone else's imagining. It's a matter of deciding what's best and making it happen, rather than making the best of what's happened already. I'd sure like to see more of that outside of the pages of books. (A note regarding the cover of the paperback edition: Did the illustrator read the book at all? Despite the sweet little March of Dimes-style children shown gazing moonward, the book is about big, troublesome, oversized, irreverent, unhygeinic teen-agers. Compelling, but not so cute.)
Rating: 5
Summary: Kids and Space are Special
Comment: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." Albert Einstein.
For Kerjes, sticking with coaching football at Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan would have been easier than navigating the loops necessary to get to Space Camp. At stake was setting a precedent: They were pioneers, the first in line. Would they fail, only to have NASA close the shuttle doors to Space Camp for all children with special needs?
What happened was a miracle: Kersjes class was the first group of children with special needs to not only attend Space Camp but, in the process, run circles around the neuro-typicals and gifted children from other schools across the U.S.
But look further than this softcover version; the rights have been bought by Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures. Surely the book and screen version will be mandatory curricula in teacher's colleges nationwide.
Go for it, Mike Kersjes!
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Title: A Smile as Big as the Moon : A Teacher, His Class, and Their Unforgettable Journey by Mike Kersjes, Joe Layden ISBN: 0312273142 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 23 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Teacher : The One Who Made the Difference by MARK EDMUNDSON ISBN: 0375708545 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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