Huck’s Raft

The Learning-Centered University

Making College a More Developmental, Transformational, and Equitable Experience

Steven Mintz

"This work discusses how colleges are failing students and how we can address this issue"--

The Prime of Life

A History of Modern Adulthood

Steven Mintz

Steven Mintz reconstructs the emotional interior of a life stage too often relegated to self-help books and domestic melodramas. He describes the challenges of adulthood today and puts them into perspective by exploring how past generations achieved intimacy and connection, raised children, sought meaning in work, and responded to loss.

A Prison of Expectations

The Family in Victorian Culture

Steven Mintz

The stereotypical Victorian family, although represented in innumerable daguerrotypes, is as much fantasy as reality. The Victorian family took many forms, and in this ambitious and highly original book, Steven Mintz enters five different homes in order to shed light on critical aspects of middle-class character and family during the era. By investigating the private lives of five of the most famous and influential novelists—Robert Louis Stevenson, George Eliot, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Sedgwick, and Samuel Butler—Mintz traces patterns of intersection between family dynamics and larger cultural problems of authority, legitimacy, and discipline in nineteenth-century Britain and America. More specifically, he explores the struggles to achieve a personal independence within a Victorian home and the larger historical struggle to adapt the older traditions of deference, authority, and responsibility to the emerging realities of a democratic age.

America and Its Peoples

A Mosaic in the Making

James Kirby Martin, Steven Mintz

For PowerBuilder, PowerJ and PowerSite developers, the DataWindow object offers remarkable power -- and most developers have only scratched the surface of what it can do. Part reference, part tutorial, The Definitive DataWindow is the most systematic guide to the DataWindow every written -- covering everything from the basics to the most advanced skills and techniques. Leading PowerBuilder developer Richard Brooks begins with an in-depth look at the relationships between DataWindows, relational databases, and SQL -- demonstrating powerful techniques for returning data to applications more quickly and efficiently. Brooks reviews the Database Painter, showing how to automate interface conventions company-wide; then introduces the DataWindows control, in-depth. Readers will master every option and characteristic available to DataWindow developers; the strengths and weaknesses of each type of DataWindow; and much more. The Definitive DataWindow includes detailed coverage of graphing, edit and formatting masks, object-oriented techniques for creating specialized DataWindows, and hundreds of advanced tips and techniques, many never before published.

The Boisterous Sea of Liberty

A Documentary History of America from Discovery through the Civil War

David Brion Davis, Steven Mintz

Drawing on a gold mine of primary documents--including letters, diary entries, personal narratives, political speeches, broadsides, trial transcripts, and contemporary newspaper articles--The Boisterous Sea of Liberty brings the past to life in a way few histories ever do. Here is a panoramic look at early American history as captured in the words of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe and many other historical figures, both famous and obscure. In these pieces, the living voices of the past speak to us from opposing viewpoints--from the vantage point of loyalists as well as patriots, slaves as well as masters. The documents collected here provide a fuller understanding of such historical issues as Columbus's dealings with Native Americans, the Stamp Act Crisis, the Declaration of Independence, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Missouri Crisis, the Mexican War, and Harpers Ferry, to name but a few. Compiled by Pulitzer Prize winning historian David Brion Davis and Steven Mintz, and accompanied by extensive illustrations of original documents, The Boisterous Sea of Liberty brings the reader back in time, to meet the men and women who lived through the momentous events that shaped our nation.

Domestic Revolutions

A Social History Of American Family Life

Steven Mintz, Susan Kellogg

An examination of how the concept of “family” has been transformed over the last three centuries in the U.S., from its function as primary social unit to today’s still-evolving model. Based on a wide reading of letters, diaries and other contemporary documents, Mintz, an historian, and Kellogg, an anthropologist, examine the changing definition of “family” in the United States over the course of the last three centuries, beginning with the modified European model of the earliest settlers. From there they survey the changes in the families of whites (working class, immigrants, and middle class) and blacks (slave and free) since the Colonial years, and identify four deep changes in family structure and ideology: the democratic family, the companionate family, the family of the 1950s, and lastly, the family of the '80s, vulnerable to societal changes but still holding together.

Driven To Distraction

Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood

Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey

Through vivid stories of the experiences of their patients (both adults and children), Drs. Hallowell and Ratey show the varied forms ADD takes -- from the hyperactive search for high stimulation to the floating inattention of daydreaming -- and the transforming impact of precise diagnosis and treatment.

Simplicity Parenting

Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids

Kim John Payne, Lisa M. Ross

A revised and updated edition of the classic, inspiring guide to raising calm and secure kids in a frenetic world, featuring a new chapter to address the modern parent’s concerns over setting limits and coping with social media “Brilliant, wise, informative, innovative, entertaining, and urgently needed . . . a godsend for all who love children, and for children themselves.”—Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of The Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness Today’s busier, faster society is waging an undeclared war on childhood. With too much stuff, too many choices, and too little time, children can become anxious, have trouble with friends and school, or even be diagnosed with behavioral problems. Internationally renowned family consultant Kim John Payne helps parents reclaim for their children the space and freedom that all kids need for their attention to deepen and their individuality to flourish. Accessible and thoughtful, Simplicity Parenting offers inspiration, ideas, and a blueprint for change: • Streamline your home environment. Reduce the amount of toys, books, and clutter—as well as the lights, sounds, and general sensory overload. • Establish rhythms and rituals. Discover ways to ease daily tensions, create battle-free mealtimes and bedtimes, and tell if your child is overwhelmed. • Schedule a break in the schedule. Establish intervals of calm and connection in your child’s daily torrent of constant doing. • Scale back on media and parental involvement. Manage your children’s “screen time” to limit the endless deluge of information and stimulation. • Cultivate a values-centric family culture instead of a child-centric culture. Model your authority, not your authoritarianism. A manifesto for protecting the grace of childhood, Simplicity Parenting is an eloquent guide to bringing new rhythms to bear on the lifelong art of raising children.

Far From the Tree

Parents, Children and the Search for Identity

Andrew Solomon

Solomon tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so.

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

John Mordechai Gottman, Nan Silver

John Gottman has revolutionized the study of marriage by using rigorous scientific procedures to observe the habits of married couples in unprecedented detail over many years. Here is the culmination of his life's work: the seven principles that guide couples on the path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship. Packed with practical questionnaires and exercises, The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work is the definitive guide for anyone who wants their relationship to attain its highest potential.

Brain Rules for Baby (Updated and Expanded)

How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five

John Medina

What’s the single most important thing you can do during pregnancy? What does watching TV do to a child’s brain? What’s the best way to handle temper tantrums? Scientists know. In his New York Times bestseller Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina showed us how our brains really work—and why we ought to redesign our workplaces and schools. Now, in Brain Rules for Baby, he shares what the latest science says about how to raise smart and happy children from zero to five. This book is destined to revolutionize parenting. Just one of the surprises: The best way to get your children into the college of their choice? Teach them impulse control. Brain Rules for Baby bridges the gap between what scientists know and what parents practice. Through fascinating and funny stories, Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and dad, unravels how a child’s brain develops – and what you can do to optimize it. You will view your children—and how to raise them—in a whole new light. You’ll learn: Where nature ends and nurture begins Why men should do more household chores What you do when emotions run hot affects how your baby turns out, because babies need to feel safe above all TV is harmful for children under 2 Your child’s ability to relate to others predicts her future math performance Smart and happy are inseparable. Pursuing your child’s intellectual success at the expense of his happiness achieves neither Praising effort is better than praising intelligence The best predictor of academic performance is not IQ. It’s self-control What you do right now—before pregnancy, during pregnancy, and through the first five years—will affect your children for the rest of their lives. Brain Rules for Baby is an indispensable guide.

Permission to Feel

Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive

Marc Brackett, Ph.D.

The mental well-being of children and adults is shockingly poor. Marc Brackett, author of Permission to Feel, knows why. And he knows what we can do. "We have a crisis on our hands, and its victims are our children." Marc Brackett is a professor in Yale University’s Child Study Center and founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In his 25 years as an emotion scientist, he has developed a remarkably effective plan to improve the lives of children and adults – a blueprint for understanding our emotions and using them wisely so that they help, rather than hinder, our success and well-being. The core of his approach is a legacy from his childhood, from an astute uncle who gave him permission to feel. He was the first adult who managed to see Marc, listen to him, and recognize the suffering, bullying, and abuse he’d endured. And that was the beginning of Marc’s awareness that what he was going through was temporary. He wasn’t alone, he wasn’t stuck on a timeline, and he wasn’t “wrong” to feel scared, isolated, and angry. Now, best of all, he could do something about it. In the decades since, Marc has led large research teams and raised tens of millions of dollars to investigate the roots of emotional well-being. His prescription for healthy children (and their parents, teachers, and schools) is a system called RULER, a high-impact and fast-effect approach to understanding and mastering emotions that has already transformed the thousands of schools that have adopted it. RULER has been proven to reduce stress and burnout, improve school climate, and enhance academic achievement. This book is the culmination of Marc’s development of RULER and his way to share the strategies and skills with readers around the world. It is tested, and it works. This book combines rigor, science, passion and inspiration in equal parts. Too many children and adults are suffering; they are ashamed of their feelings and emotionally unskilled, but they don’t have to be. Marc Brackett’s life mission is to reverse this course, and this book can show you how.

Huck’s Raft

A History of American Childhood

Steven Mintz

Like Huck’s raft, the experience of American childhood has been both adventurous and terrifying. For more than three centuries, adults have agonized over raising children while children have followed their own paths to development and expression. Now, Steven Mintz gives us the first comprehensive history of American childhood encompassing both the child’s and the adult’s tumultuous early years of life. Underscoring diversity through time and across regions, Mintz traces the transformation of children from the sinful creatures perceived by Puritans to the productive workers of nineteenth-century farms and factories, from the cosseted cherubs of the Victorian era to the confident consumers of our own. He explores their role in revolutionary upheaval, westward expansion, industrial growth, wartime mobilization, and the modern welfare state. Revealing the harsh realities of children’s lives through history—the rigors of physical labor, the fear of chronic ailments, the heartbreak of premature death—he also acknowledges the freedom children once possessed to discover their world as well as themselves. Whether at work or play, at home or school, the transition from childhood to adulthood has required generations of Americans to tackle tremendously difficult challenges. Today, adults impose ever-increasing demands on the young for self-discipline, cognitive development, and academic achievement, even as the influence of the mass media and consumer culture has grown. With a nod to the past, Mintz revisits an alternative to the goal-driven realities of contemporary childhood. An odyssey of psychological self-discovery and growth, this book suggests a vision of childhood that embraces risk and freedom—like the daring adventure on Huck’s raft.

Age Norms and Intercultural Interaction in Colonial North America

Jason Eden, Naomi Eden

This interdisciplinary study examines how age norms shaped the experiences of Europeans, Native Americans, and African Americans in colonial North America, exploring how diverse population groups conceptualized the human life course and how they adhered to culturally specific sets of beliefs about the young and old. Utilizing evidence drawn from a variety of secondary and primary sources, the authors also show that, as various cultural groups interacted in colonial North America, their views of specific age cohorts evolved and clashed in important ways. Although age is a category of analysis often overlooked by scholars, this book demonstrates that it was pivotal for everyone who lived in early North America, including the various Native American tribes that inhabited the eastern part of the continent. It also addresses the different ways that European colonists experienced the human life course in three geopolitical regions: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the South. It further explains how age norms played a significant role in both the development of racialized slavery in North America and in relationships between Europeans and Native Americans. This study reveals that even within the uneven power dynamic often present during colonial encounters, African American and Native American attitudes and practices related to human aging proved resilient and influential. Overall, by examining how early Americans viewed and treated children, youths, and older adults, this book is one of the first to systematically explore the deep historical roots of age norms in territories that would eventually become a part of the United States. Many of the beliefs about human aging that emerged during the colonial period continue to shape approaches to childrearing, education, health care, and numerous other issues. Furthermore, this study—in addition to providing unique and valuable historical information—offers readers alternative ways of understanding and approaching the human life course, making it relevant to both policymakers and scholars working in a variety of fields.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

'We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.'Huck Finn escapes from his alcoholic father by faking his own death and so begins his journey through the Deep South, seeking independence and freedom. On his travels, Huck meets an escaped slave, Jim, who is a wanted man, and together they journey down the Mississippi River. Raising the timeless and universal l issues of prejudice, bravery and hope, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was and still is considered the great American novel.

Kids' TV Grows Up

The Path from Howdy Doody to SpongeBob

Jo Holz

In the early days of television, suburban families welcomed TV into their homes as an electronic babysitter that would also teach their children about the world. Children's programming soon came to play a key role in the development of mass culture, promoting the shared interests, norms and vocabulary through which children interact with peers and define themselves as a cohort. This social history examines the forces driving the development of children's television in the U.S., from its inception to the present. Analyses of iconic programs reveal how they influenced our concept of childhood.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Illustrated)

Mark Twain

Refusing to be civilized by Southern society or cowed by his drunken father's lashings, young Huckleberry Finn decides he has only one option left: fake his own death and hop a raft down the Mississippi River. Instead of carrying him far from trouble, though, Huck's raft delivers him to a place of moral uncertainty.Mark Twain unwinds Huck's harrowing journey to manhood with satirical wit, revealing the troubled history of the American South, where slavery held sway long after the Civil War ended. Huck's relationship with runaway slave Jim forces him to confront his beliefs about friendship and freedom.

Modern Motherhood

An American History

Jodi Vandenberg-Daves

How did mothers transform from parents of secondary importance in the colonies to having their multiple and complex roles connected to the well-being of the nation? In the first comprehensive history of motherhood in the United States, Jodi Vandenberg-Daves explores how tensions over the maternal role have been part and parcel of the development of American society. Modern Motherhood travels through redefinitions of motherhood over time, as mothers encountered a growing cadre of medical and psychological experts, increased their labor force participation, gained the right to vote, agitated for more resources to perform their maternal duties, and demonstrated their vast resourcefulness in providing for and nurturing their families. Navigating rigid gender role prescriptions and a crescendo of mother-blame by the middle of the twentieth century, mothers continued to innovate new ways to combine labor force participation and domestic responsibilities. By the 1960s, they were poised to challenge male expertise, in areas ranging from welfare and abortion rights to childbirth practices and the confinement of women to maternal roles. In the twenty-first century, Americans continue to struggle with maternal contradictions, as we pit an idealized role for mothers in children’s development against the social and economic realities of privatized caregiving, a paltry public policy structure, and mothers’ extensive employment outside the home. Building on decades of scholarship and spanning a wide range of topics, Vandenberg-Daves tells an inclusive tale of African American, Native American, Asian American, working class, rural, and other hitherto ignored families, exploring sources ranging from sermons, medical advice, diaries and letters to the speeches of impassioned maternal activists. Chapter topics include: inventing a new role for mothers; contradictions of moral motherhood; medicalizing the maternal body; science, expertise, and advice to mothers; uplifting and controlling mothers; modern reproduction; mothers’ resilience and adaptation; the middle-class wife and mother; mother power and mother angst; and mothers’ changing lives and continuous caregiving. While the discussion has been part of all eras of American history, the discussion of the meaning of modern motherhood is far from over.