December 1976 RAIN Page 3 RAIN is a monthly information access journal and reference serv,ice for people developing more satisfying patterns that .increase local self-reliance and press less heavily on our limited resources. We try to give access to: * Solid technical support for evaluating a~d implementing new ideas. * Ecological and philosophical perceptions that can help create more satisfying options for living, working and playing. *Up-to-date information on people, events and publications. LEARNING Applesauce, $5/yr. from: National Alternative Schools Program School of Education University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01002 A nice newsprint format self-described as "a blend of ideas and happenings in alternative education." The latest issue included a mammoth resource listing complied by Miriam Wasserman and Linda Hutchinson of the Education Exploration Center in Minneapolis. The next issue will focus on vocational education and some curriculum developed by an alternative school for working ·class women. They are also working'on a '76-'77 directory of alternative schools which, judging from their '7 5-'76 direc- ' tory, should be worth waiting f~. (LdeM) The Wheelwright's Shop, George Sturt, 1923, $6.95 from: Cambridge University Press 32 E. 57th Street New York, NY 10022 An autobiographical account of operating a wheelwright shop in England in the late 1800s, but of greater value as a guide to the value of apprentice learning and learning by doing. The book gives a strong sense of how interdependent the designs of things become and how much greater valued are-the skills Of workers when there isn't so much wealth that everything can be overdone. So many things we do seem rude and awkward that it's good to get a sense of'how things become more mellow and well-fitting when enough time has passed to work off the rough edges apd find more complete solutions to problems. (TB) ' Innovative Graduate Programs Directory, 2nd Edition, April1976, cost unknown, available from: Learning Resources Center Empire State College Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 In 1970-71 I published an alternate community weekly newspaper in Miami, Florida. We maintained a post office box and got on many unusual mailing lists. After the paper ceased publication, we kept the post office box and continued to receive mail. In 1974, while working as a researcher and community liaison on a public tv show for older people, I received an announcement in the post office box proclaiming a new master's degree program called Community Information Specialist. My god, I thought, that's what I am-I never · 'knew what to c~ll myself. And off I went. Now there's an easier way to find a graduate program attuned to the times. This Directory. It's not all-inclusive, and the descriptions are in.complete (mostly from the college catalog), but it's a gooel place to.start. The uniqueness of the programs included (in over 200 subject areas ranging from adult education to water resources.manage- . ment) are either graduate credit being given in a new field or external degrees in traditional fields. While·there have been guides to alternate schools and colleges, this is the first listing of experimental graduate programs, most of them on the master's degree level. The directory is arranged alphabetically by name of college or university, with a subject index referring you to the·school with a program in that field. (RE) Master of Science in Biomedical Communications College ofMedicine University of Cincinnati 231 Bethesda Ave. Cincinnati, ·OH 45267 513/872-5652 Joe Bakan A new program begun in fall of 1976 training communications specialists in health care education and delivery systems to assist in the interaction between health professionals and patients. Study areas include: health care environment and delivery systems, media, learning theory and instruction~! methods, applied behavioral science and communications and behavioral measurement, statistics and research design. (RE) Master of Science in Ecosystem Management Farallones Institute/Antioch College West 1516 Fifth St. Berkeley, CA 94710 415 I 5 24-115 0 Helga Olkowski This is as close as anything comes to being a graduate education program in appropriate technology. It is conducted by Farallones and accredited through Antioch College. .~ "Developed to create a professional · level manager-planner who has an un- " derstanding of basic principles in biology and ecology, who has skills in methods of manipulating the plant-animalhuman interface, .and who can operate with knowledge of social needs and economic realities. The focus is on the ecosystem because this concept ties together organisms, their needs and their life-supporting environments. The term management is used to imply the use of intelligent methods to affect changes in ecosystems but not to dominate or control. Planning concerns both design--and administrative functions. A . strong base in systems theory is included so as to maximize the use of integrated ideas from many disciplines in design and program development." The program is looking for students who are "capable of independent study, who have .at least an elementary knowledge of biology, who are committed to using scientific methods of investigation and who are interested in ecological problems and motivated by a desire to affect social change through developing and implementing environmentally sound solutions.". (RE) I Cricket Monthly, $10/9 issues, from: Walnut Lane Boulder, CO 80301 A good children's magazine with stories, i few poems, project suggestions and creative writing and drawing contests. Because selections are designed for 512-year-olds, Cricket would be good to have in a school library or a family with more than one child in this age bracket. (Lauri deMoll)
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