Review of Education Essays from My Perspective: 50 Years as a Professional Educator Offering Pearls of Wisdom for Your J

Nzube Chizoba Okeke · Post by **Nzube Chizoba Okeke** » 02 Jul 2021, 07:52

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Education Essays from My Perspective: 50 Years as a Professional Educator Offering Pearls of Wisdom for Your Journey, Book 1" by Dr. Marsha Diane Akau Wellein.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Dr. Marsha Diane Akau Wellein is a female educationist who finds herself seemingly drowned in a masculine society. Men dominate the school system, so it looks odd to see a female among them. This is the time Diane becomes a teacher. More than that, she becomes the first principal of a Guam summer school. Moving further, she works with the 9th Regional Readiness Command and inspects the communication style in Waiawa Correctional Centre. All these sum up to give rise to the world of experience Diane unleashes in this essay. In addition to the best practices to be used in schools and colleges, she discusses ideal leadership and communication skills. You don’t want to miss the practical and detailed educational pearls Diane shares in this book, do you?

A holistic and multi-subject discussion is what Diane does in Education Essays from My Perspective: 50 Years as a Professional Educator Offering Pearls of Wisdom for Your Journey, Book 1. She uses the subject of education to address many social-political matters. I am awed by this creativity.

One major thing that gives rise to this holistic analysis is authority. It is one thing to write, but another to write with authority. Diane does not only write with authority here; she is an authority. There is absolutely no guesswork in her propositions. Suffice it to mean that Diane is experienced in what she wants to pass across. That is awesome.

Another unique thing about this essay is the presentation of the points. Diane points out some wisdom of early researchers but doesn’t base her work on them. She gives her notes and personal opinions on each subject she discusses. This is scarce in the library of academic theses and researches today. Even when some try to make individual claims, they still make references to what has been said. I love this work for that.

However, I do not feel comfortable with the multiplication of some subjects. The discussions on professional development and staff/student evaluations are spread out in different chapters but on the same topics. In other words, discussions on subjects should be addressed accordingly without a rigmarole around them.

The use of one-sentence paragraphs does not also go down well with me. Diane uses some sentences that are too long to be a single sentence. It blurs comprehension. Compound and complex sentences are acceptable, but not this. Here’s an example: “Finally, because my first full-time teaching experience was at the Hawaii Job Corps Center in Koko Head (now located in Waimanalo), on the island of Oahu, many ‘best practices’ included the following: use concrete rather than abstract terms, demonstrate rather than discuss if possible, and bring into discussions examples from students’ own backgrounds and experiences.” Many of these run-on sentences affect the readability of this book. For this reason, I take away one point from the rating.

Though the enormity of the errors can be forgiven, the number makes me deduct another point from the overall rating. Therefore, I rate this work 2 out of 4 stars.

As a practical essay on workable academic approaches and leadership versus communication skills, this book will serve students, teachers, administrators, and managers well. Hence, I recommend it to anyone within the vicinity of education.

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Education Essays from My Perspective: 50 Years as a Professional Educator Offering Pearls of Wisdom for Your Journey, Book 1
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Humeyra Karakas · Post by **Humeyra Karakas** » 06 Jul 2021, 06:09

Such a valuable review on such a great book.
Thanks.

Deprise Evans · Post by **Deprise Evans** » 06 Jul 2021, 09:03

This sounds like such an informative read. Educators, administrators and management are such valuable aspects of any service. From working in my family business, I have learned that the administrators and/or managers can really set the tone for how things are done and the overall environment. Despite its errors you've stated, I might just have to give this book a read. Thank you for such a great review!

Jarbek · Post by **Jarbek** » 09 Jul 2021, 07:39

Gives courage to most women especially in our continent not fill inferior when it comes to work.

NISSE · Post by **NISSE** » 15 Jul 2021, 21:52

Its unfortunate that there are so many errors in this educational guidance.Thank you for the honest review!

Palang9239 · Post by **Palang9239** » 19 Aug 2021, 16:50

I wish I would have had a copy of this book when I first started teaching. It is one that should be part of every educator's library, written In a clear and comprehensible way, sharing ideas and suggestions to use in the classroom and explaining educational concepts in a simple. The writer also shares her believe that teaching and learning are to be enjoyed as it enhances comprehension and retention of the presented materials.
Zack Childress, in his evaluation of the book, seems more concerned with the mechanics of writing rather than the content and fails to appreciate the value of this book in a teaching environment.