Warner, Sower Get Textbook Published

Laverne Warner and Judith Sower took a different approach to writing their recently-published textbook for early childhood education students, “Educating Young Children from Preschool through Primary Grades.”

Instead of approaching the book from a curriculum perspective, the two wrote from a grade-level perspective, according to Warner, professor and coordinator of the early childhood education program.

“There really was no textbook to prepare our students for teaching in the public schools because there are so many things that they need to know that are not addressed in the standard text,” said Sower, lecturer in the early childhood education program.

“I’m proud of the book. I think it has something to contribute to the field; it’s a little out of the ordinary,” she said. “I’ve used curriculum books in the past and what makes this different is that we’re telling stories of teachers while we’re giving the information that students need to know as a prospective teacher.”

Chapters addressing pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first through fourth grades individually, as well as chapters on technology and special education, set their book apart from other texts because those kinds of things are not often included in other books, Warner said.

“The book is actually based on what instruction would look like in each grade level,” Sower said. “So someone who is going to major in early childhood education has a feel for what it’s like to teach in a pre-k classroom, a kindergarten, first, second, third or fourth grade classroom.

“We cover things like dealing with parents; we have a chapter on the computer and how to integrate it into the classroom at the different levels; we have one on becoming a professional; (chapters) dealing with the things that you’re going to need in the public schools that are generally not covered in your coursework,” she said, adding that legislative issues such as the impact of the “No Child Left Behind” initiative and changes in special education laws were also included.

In addition, both drew upon their personal experiences working in public schools to create characters in the book to let students know what to expect as teachers.

Warner taught in public schools for 10 years before coming to SHSU in 1975, and Sower spent 12 of her 18 years in public schools teaching special education before coming to SHSU five years ago.

“The first grade class in some respects is autobiographical because we defined a first-year teacher, and I recalled some of the things that happened to me as I went into the classroom for the first year,” Warner said. “Mrs. Sower, because of her special education background, has an autobiographical chapter.

“We are hopeful that there’s not a lot of overlap. When you talk about public school classrooms, there’s always the same routine kind of activity that goes on in every classroom, such as taking attendance, saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag, going to the library, all of that,” she said. “But we tried to, as we’d write these chapters, establish an ambiance that represented who that teacher was and what she was doing in the classroom.”

Because education laws vary from state to state and the book will be used nation-wide, the two also included information about education across the country.

“In my third grade chapter, for instance, I talk about state-mandated testing in other states because the book is not just for Texas, it’s for the whole country,” Sower said. “The same thing with technology; I have what they’re doing with technology in Hawaii and different states. So we’ve tried to pull things from across the United States to bring into the book.”

Warner and Sower also took surveys from across the country to get feedback for a section they call “What Teachers Are Saying.”

“We have several comments made by teachers on those surveys about computer labs, support they get from their principals or districts, dealing with special needs kids and those sorts of things,” Sower said.
The book, which was released on June 1 and was published by Allyn and Bacon, has already received lauding reviews.

“The prose is easy to read and interesting,” said University of North Texas assistant professor Patsy J. Robles-Goodwin. “It is as though a mentor teacher is talking you through the chapter.”

The book is already available in the university bookstores and has been assigned as the required text for classes in the second summer session and fall semesters.

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
June 18, 2004
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