Louisiana Guide Books

"I was not there, yet I was there. No, I did not go to the trial, I did not hear the verdict, because I knew all the time what it would be..." So begins Grant Wiggins, the narrator of Ernest J. Gaines's powerful exploration of race, injustice, and resistance, A Lesson Before Dying. If young Jefferson, the accused, is confined by the law to an iron-barred cell, Grant Wiggins is no less a prisoner of social convention. University educated, Grant has returned to the tiny plantation town of his youth, where the only job available to him is teaching in the small plantation church school. More than 75 years after the close of the Civil War, antebellum attitudes still prevail: African Americans go to the kitchen door when visiting whites and the two races are rigidly separated by custom and by law. Grant, trapped in a career he doesn't enjoy, eaten up by resentment at his station in life, and angered by the injustice he sees all around him, dreams of taking his girlfriend Vivian and leaving Louisiana forever. But when Jefferson is convicted and sentenced to die, his grandmother, Miss Emma, begs Grant for one last favor: to teach her grandson to die like a man.

The author makes it clear exactly where these prohibitions came from. Plantation society was rigidly hierarchical, after all, particularly on the heels of the Civil War and the economic hardships that came with Reconstruction. The only permissible path upward for hard-working, ambitious African Americans was indirect. A meteoric rise, or too obvious an appearance of prosperity, would be swiftly punished. To enable the slow but steady advance of their clan, the black women of Cane River plot, plead, deceive, and manipulate their way through history, extracting crucial gifts of money and property along the way. In the wake of a visit from the 1880 census taker, the aged Elisabeth reflects on how far they had come.

When the census taker looked at them, he saw colored first, asking questions like single or married, trying to introduce shame where there was none. He took what he saw and foolishly put those things down on a list for others to study. Could he even understand the pride in being able to say that Emily could read and write? They could ask whatever they wanted, but what he should have been marking in the book was family, and landholder, and educated, each generation gathering momentum, adding something special to the brew.

Praxis II®: Education of Exceptional Students (0353, 0382, 0542, 0544)

About the contents:

Introduction

• How to use this book

• Overview of the exam

• Proven study strategies and test-taking tips

• FAQ

Part I: Review of Specific Special Education Test Sections

• Core Content Knowledge (0353): Understanding exceptionalities; legal and societal issues; delivery of services

• Learning Disabilities (0382): Characteristics of individuals with learning disabilities; delivery ofservices

• Mild to Moderate Disabilities (0542): Assessment; curriculum and instruction; structuring and managing the learning environment

• Severe to Profound Disabilities (0544): Characteristics of learners; assessment; curriculum and instruction; structuring and managing the learning environment

Part II: Full-Length Practice Tests

• Each practice exam includes the same number of multiple-choice questions as the actual exam

• Complete with answers and explanations for all questions

Ranging from Alliums (onions, chives, and garlic) to Zingiber (ginger), the volume's first section provides horticultural information for each of the sixty-three herbs found in the National Herb Garden's Culinary Garden, including common and botanical names, family, place of origin, hardiness, and general light and soil requirements. Botanical sketches accompany many of the entries. Each entry also includes a short history of the herb, gardening basics, and suggestions for using the herb in your kitchen. Culinary herbs without Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Status are included in a separate section, with an explanation of their history and ornamental value. An informative introduction to this section compares several different definitions of the word herb, explains the advantages of fresh over dried herbs, describes the proper storage and use of spices, and suggests the best timing and methods for harvesting herbs.

In the second part of the book, HSA members offer classic and creative recipes for more than two hundred dishes incorporating a variety of herbs. Learn how to use the aromatic and flavorful herbs in your garden to enhance stews and casseroles, create dips and pestos, and add a new dimension to your favorite liqueurs. Among the mouth-watering recipes featured are Lemon Basil Tea Bread, Chicken Linguine with Fennel and Tarragon, Five-Herb Pasta Salad, and Rosemary Fizz.

The concluding section of the book contains a fascinating personal tour of the two-and-one-half-acre National Herb Garden, which lies in the heart of Washington, D.C., at the center of the United States National Arboretum, and of its various themed areas, including the Knot Garden, the Antique and Heritage Rose Garden, the Dye Garden, the Colonial Garden, the Native American Garden, the Beverage Garden, the Medicinal Garden, and many others. Complete plant lists accompany the description of each garden.

Green thumbs and gourmets alike will find inspiration in these pages to look at herbs in new ways--perhaps to see beyond their cupboards and into their own yards for ways to liven up their meals--and will gain the knowledge and confidence to grow and use herbs effectively. More than a gardening book, more than a cookbook, The Herb Society of America's Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs will prove to be an indispensable companion for all herb lovers.