Jim Warford

Gratitude has become a daily intentional practice for me. I’m first and foremost grateful for my family and friends. I’m also extremely thankful for a lifetime spent in schools with colleagues who’ve taught me so much and made such a difference in my life. So, I’d like to share a few simple thoughts and wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

For over 30 years I have been helping teachers use technology in their classrooms. I believe in the power of Social Media to connect and communicate. Every day, I interact with colleagues, school leaders, teachers, and students I taught. Some, over 30 years ago and now many miles away.

Here’s what I’m hearing: Teachers feel more overwhelmed and frustrated than I’ve ever seen. Many teachers feel scared, lonely, and more than a little lost. Many miss the familiarity, security, and comfort of their classrooms. Because so many make sure their classrooms are warm and inviting places for all. But mostly… teachers miss their students!

So, I’ve been listening closely to what I’m hearing from educators right now and thinking about how we can best support each other during these difficult days. I’d like to share 3 things I hope we can keep in mind:

1. We Must Acknowledge What Fear Does to the Brain

My research for, The Chemistry of Culture, has convinced me that fear and anxiety often “slam the door” to our brain’s pre-frontal cortex. The area we depend on for problem-solving and critical thinking. Forcing so many teachers into distance learning overnight, often without training or support, has created the most challenging cultural dilemma we have faced. Now, more than at any time in my career, we must put Maslow before Bloom, and focus on Relationships before Rigor.

2. We Must Maslow Before We Bloom

We must put relationships first. Before we expect teachers to meet the needs of their students, school leaders must be willing to do the same for teachers. We must all actively listen, acknowledge, empathize, and most importantly: Trust in trust.

On top of that are the very real fears of this virus. I know outstanding teachers who have underlying health concerns who are being forced into classrooms where they do not feel safe. Some have told me they feel they must choose between the career they love and their health and family. That is a terrible place. And it is real.

3. We Must Celebrate and Affirm

All of us… school leaders, teachers, parents and students are doing the best that we can, the best that we know how to do. We must begin with that assumption and clearly communicate that we know how hard everyone is trying and working. We must be patient as we release control. If we want them to try new things, this will be the hard part: We must give them permission to fail. The only failure is not to try.

I’m proud to announce a new partnership with the Literal App in support of the Silent Servant Award given by the The Peter R. Foundation to high school students across America. Literal recognizes that our foundation… “works tirelessly to support high schools in their efforts to embed emotional/social intelligence in all their students”.

Literal recognizes our foundations’ effort to increase empathy by encouraging and rewarding student selfless community service are an effective strategy in reducing high school dropout rates.

They also recognize that reading is on the decline, and the decline has been increasing rapidly. Research shows clearly that poor reading skills are a major reason students drop out of high school. http://literalapp.com

Research reveals student brains are no longer wired for Black and White text. Teachers now face a new generation of readers who have been wired by social media to consume 150 characters and 90 second clips. 

Literal uniquely and, literally… puts books in a familiar and friendly group messaging format, and takes advantage of the same brain chemistry at work in social media apps. Forgive me, but it’s literally this simple: When reading becomes more engaging, students read more.

You can read more about our Literal App partnership here…

Sometimes, the hardest thing for us to see is right in front of us. So I’ll start with a blinding flash of the obvious… In both our personal and professional lives, relationships are everything!

The desire to connect with others is written into our DNA. Neuroscience confirms that effective relationships are based on trust. And our brains are hard-wired by millions of years of evolution with a need to trust and be trusted. Nowhere is this more important to remember than in the classroom. Honestly, these have been hard lessons for me to learn.

For 35 years I’ve been a tireless advocate for teachers using technology in the classroom. But if the COVID crisis has proved anything, it is that teaching with technology can only get you so far. The truth is computers can never do any of the most important things teachers do for students. And the more we move learning online, the more our relationships will be essential to both the learning and the emotional well-being of our students.

At the same time, as I listen to educators around the country and world, here’s what I’m hearing: Teachers feel more overwhelmed, more fearful and frustrated than I’ve seen in the past 50 years. Teachers say they’re working harder than ever trying to immediately “adjust” to on line teaching while still exploring a jungle of new platforms, apps, and sometimes flawed technology.

I know elementary teachers who are still feeling the pain of not being able to say “goodbye” to their students last March. I know high school teachers who’ve taught in the same classroom for years, who now have no idea what “school” will look like when students return, or even if they will return.

For our teachers, school leaders must put relationships first. Before we expect teachers to meet the needs of their students, school leaders must be willing to do the same for teachers. We must actively listen, acknowledge, empathize, and most importantly: Trust in trust. Now, more than at any time in my career, we must put Maslow before Bloom, and focus on Relationships before Rigor.

In my book, The Chemistry of Culture, I wrote that… “If your culture is broken, you can’t fix anything else.” Trust is the foundation for relationships and relationships are the foundation of culture. How is your culture? And how do you know?  For more information contact me at: warford.jim@gmail.com

Even before the current COVID crisis, psychologists reported that empathy is declining in our culture, and most dramatically in the young. At the same time, research in the fields of neuroscience and social psychology is clearly showing that, while competition is innate to humans, so is empathy. In my book, The Chemistry of Culture, I point out neuroscience has revealed that our desire and ability to trust and help each other has been hard-wired into our brains by human evolution.

By better understanding the brain chemistry of culture, we can improve our ability to collaborate and to empower each other. Neuroscientists like Harvard’s Paul Zak are showing how culture changes the chemicals in our brain. Scientists are learning how the brain’s chemistry creates the chemical foundation for our outward behaviors. And as they better understand the brain chemistry behind our relationships, they are learning how our culture creates a cocktail of drugs in our brains and, like a delicate dance, the chemistry of our brain both governs, and is governed by, our culture.

What we’ve learned from this neuroscience research is good news: We are indeed capable of creating a better, more humane, and empathic culture than we currently have. These lessons are cause for hope. Because empathy impacts far more than our personal relationships, it shapes the way we see and experience the world around us and how we interact with others who share our space. But we’ve learned that do so, we must be intentional in our actions.

Prior to the current COVID crisis concern about the decline of empathy and other social-emotional skills, were already growing among educators. Given the unprecedented and sudden shift to virtual learning from traditional face-to-face learning that teachers were forced to make… it is now more important than ever for us to understand the practical applications of exercising empathy in our student’s daily lives, and how we can recognize and reward their empathy in our classrooms and schools.

That is one reason I’m so excited to have joined the Peter R. Marsh Foundation as Program Director. Our Silent Servant Student Award Program offers schools a free Action Plan they can use to reward and recognize students who exercise empathy through Service Learning. It’s a fast, free and effective way that schools can be intentional about improving empathy in all their students.

For more information contact me at: warford.jim@gmail.com or here through www.jimwarford.com.

It’s time for a change… but this is a personal, not a political post. After 15 years as Senior Advisor to the International Center for Leadership in Education, ICLE, and over 20 years of commitment to increasing the three R’s of Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships in schools, I left ICLE earlier this year.

I have always believed that Relationships, ICLE’s third “R”, is not the only the most important, it is absolutely essential. As my friend, Ray McNulty first said, “Relationships make the Relevance possible”. And It’s only when those first two R’s are firmly established that we even have a shot at Rigor for all students.

I learned these lessons from my own life, and I write about them in my new book, The Chemistry of Culture, and in my Blog here at www.jimwarford.com. I’m at a point in my life that I only want to spend time on what is most important to me. And I want to focus on Relationships as the foundation for creating effective culture.

My new home for this work will be the Peter R. Marsh Foundation, a non-profit, 501 (c)(3) here in Washington State, where I have assumed the role of Program Director. Our mission at the Peter R, Marsh Foundation is to promote and support Social Emotional Learning, SEL, in high school students. It feels so good to be back in the non-profit world.

Through our Silent Servant Award, we will recognize and financially reward students across America who unselfishly provide voluntary service in their communities. We will offer resources and support for schools choosing to make Relationships, and their school culture, a priority.

In my new position, I will continue to write, speak, and develop resources to help support schools and communities in building better relationships, stronger social emotional learning, and a more positive, effective culture. The Peter R Marsh Foundation is passionate about Servant Leadership and Service Learning. Our goal is to inspire today’s youth to greater empathy by making service to others a priority in their lives.

As a result of the pandemic and growing racial unrest, I believe our Foundation’s vision and mission has never been more important or needed. I have been writing and speaking for some time about the growing body of brain research showing the damage being done to our students’ social-emotional skills by their increasing use of technology.

If you want a better culture through improved relationships, increased empathy and service learning, you must be intentional in how you work on it. I am grateful to be part of offering a simple step on the path forward. It’s time for a change.

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear from educators across the country who are struggling with the current COVID-19 crisis. Teachers and school leaders are being forced to do new things. Immediately. Like move their classes on-line while learning to use Zoom for the first time. I will confess that I do miss being there with you, on the front lines. But, I would like to share some thoughts for you to consider.

First, I believe in technology. For over 25 years I’ve been a technology advocate, helping educators use more technology in their classrooms, helping them find their own path to Blended Learning. But… the most important things being done in our classrooms can never be done by a computer.

It’s important to remember: What is most often happening now… is not Blended Learning. In most cases it is some combination of home schooling, distance learning, or online schooling. As educators are forced to adopt new methods too rapidly, without training or support, lots of words are being misused and methods poorly implemented.

There are philosophies and research guiding Blended Learning instructional delivery, with theories and pedagogies that are enacted in intentional ways. So, we need to guard against miss-using language that we already have in our schools with students, parents, and political leaders. Some politicians will use this crisis to call for us to adopt practices that are simply not good for students.

Across America, many schools have been pitted against each other in a competition to prove who can transition from face to face learning to virtual school the fastest!  In reality, some school districts are just trying to do something to avoid the perception that they’re doing nothing. At the same time, normal school operations, budgeting, maintenance, staffing, all continue.

In many places, schools won’t re-open this year! Let that sink in. I’ve been in education 48 years and never experienced anything like this before. It is also a time that will shape us – and the very nature of schooling – far into the future. What we’re doing right now is something completely different. Schooling and its purposes can change dramatically when a society is in shock and crisis. What we’re doing today is teaching and learning in COVID-19.

K-12 schools, colleges, and universities have been shut down. Teachers and professors have had to reimagine what their teaching looks like from a distance and what is even possible for students to learn and do in their own homes.

Educators are working from home. Many are also parents and/or caretakers for sick and elderly family members, and they’re not only still trying to work, but also manage their own children’s school assignments and their families’ needs.

Photo by Julia M Cameron on Pexels.com

Most troubling, students have been cut off from physical social interaction with friends teachers, and coaches. This is not business as usual and it is unethical to act as if it could be. No one should expect the “COVID-19 Schooling” happening now to be anything close to usual.

Let me be clear: It is impossible to “transform” face-to-face teaching and learning into COVID-19 teaching and learning overnight. And even if that was possible, doing so will have a serious downside for children.

In my recent book, The Chemistry of Culture, I survey the research documenting the dramatic decline of social/emotional skills like empathy among today’s young people. Many neuroscientists, psychologists, and sociologists it a crisis. The COVID crisis will only accelerate that decline. What happens to a culture when it loses empathy?

But there is an upside to this crisis. We have a great opportunity to slow the testing rat race. By taking away tests (most state mandates are already lifted), and thinking differently about grading, maybe we can determine how to help our students, and each other, during this life-altering moment.

Whenever we do return to whatever our “new normal” will be, what will our schools look like? How will we move forward with what we’ve learned from this crisis? Will we be able to find a new and better balance between technology and teacher?  These are some of the questions I explored in, The Chemistry of Culture. It’s now more important than ever to find the answers. 

Given that it’s highly unlikely the future of education will contain less technology. How will we find the right balance for our children and our culture? Remember, the most important things being done in our classrooms, particularly for our most at risk students…  can never be done by a computer.

If you want Empathy to increase in your school, you must work at it. You must plan for it, budget for it, and schedule for it. Here’s a great example from a middle school in Maryland:

American culture is in crisis. Our culture, like every culture, is built on the relationships between the individuals within it. And relationships rest on a foundation of trust. When trust breaks down, culture breaks down. I just spent two years researching the science behind this situation for my new book, The Chemistry of Culture. Scientists say the evidence for the breakdown of our culture is everywhere.

Anxiety, depression, and declining interpersonal skills are epidemic. Entering college freshmen are half as empathetic as they were in 2000. The CDC reported that in the previous decade teen suicides were up almost 60%.

The statistics became all too personal for me recently when, in a school where I have worked, a student left school, alerted their social media network, and then live-streamed their suicide. This happened in a school I know well. It is a good school, with a highly empathetic Principal and a caring staff. Trust me, if it can happen here… it can happen anywhere. And it does.

It was like a punch in the gut and I posted about it. Then took it down. Some people believe we should not talk about such things openly. I believe they are wrong. Left untreated, a deep wound to our flesh will not heal itself, and the crisis in our culture must be called out and addressed.

Of course, we must take care to never add additional anguish to those whom this tragedy has touched. We must never identify victims, locations, or even communities directly. But we must begin to bring this crisis out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Then we must act. The future of our society may depend on it. In so doing, we may also find meaning in our pain, help heal the wounds, and begin to prevent more suffering.

 I was touched directly by this crisis in a school I love. It has changed me. It has strengthened my commitment to make a difference. For over two decades now we have been turning our schools and teachers into testing machines. We have made student data our single focus. Enough is enough.

The pendulum has swung way too far. It’s now cutting into hearts of our students and the very fabric of our culture. It is ripping apart the social and emotional connections that bind us to one another. It’s time to change our focus. It’s time to understand the why behind we must, Maslow before Bloom!

There is good news. Scientists say that we most certainly CAN solve this problem. Culture is based on relationships, and our behavior determines our relationships. Behavior is learned, and Neuroscience is unlocking the brain chemistry behind building better relationships and culture. I survey some of the science behind these statements in, The Chemistry of Culture.

 In the coming months I will be announcing the changes I am making and exactly how I intend to support the work of building better relationships in our schools and improving school culture. If I’ve learned anything it’s that: If your culture is broken, you can’t fix anything else.

Norman Sales says that he didn’t choose to teach the ELL class at Farrington HS in Honolulu. He thinks the class chose him. Norman is now in his 6th year of teaching students still learning to speak English, and does not think of switching classes any time soon.

One reason Norman connects strongly with his ELL students, is because so many of their stories are similar to his own. Norman moved to Hawaii from the Philippines and often felt like an infant in his new home. And he readiloy admits he is still learning and acclimating along with his students. He speaks their languages and he knows and understands the culture of the households they come from.

This interview with Norman Sales is the first of a new series in this BLOG where I will share space with some of the teachers who have inspired me. Let’s begin by hearing from Norman Sales:

Jim Warford: What expectations do you have for your students?

Norman Sales: More than anything, I want to help my students so that they can transition to the mainstream classes, maybe to the early college classes, and maybe to the AP classes. I want them to have the opportunities that may be difficult for them to achieve if they do not test out from the WIDA at the end of the year. I want them to be successful.

Jim Warford: What are some of your biggest successes?

Norman Sales: One of my biggest successes is the higher percent of students exiting the ELL program. When I started teaching the class in 2013-14, just 47% exited. In 2016 we had a 78% exit rate. I know these are just numbers, but I take pride in the numbers. I also know that there are numerous other factors in these passing rates, but I am proud nonetheless.

I have also seen my students in AP classes with some of them taking AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition. The AP Language teacher this year just told me that one of her current students wrote his gratitude essay to me.

Another success is that I’ve engaged my students in rigorous lessons and activities. I’m proud that teachers from Farrington and other schools come and observe how I conduct my academic discussions with ELLs. My ELLs have presented at a faculty meeting about a Quad D Lesson project they worked on collaboratively with students in the Art classes.

A recent personal success for me was when some of my students told me I ask difficult questions! I like to say that they meant I ask rigorous questions, because they said that to me after I asked them if the author we were reading at that point achieved his purpose.

Professionally, I think a success is becoming a teacher leader. I joined the Farrington Teacher Leadership Cadre, TLC, last year and have returned for a 2nd year. I am hoping to remain in TLC as long as possible. My colleagues also voted for me to lead the ELA department this year. I am at a position where I can advocate not only for my ELLs but all our GAP students.

Jim Warford: What have been some of the biggest barriers you have encountered teaching ELL students?

Norman Sales: Since I attended school in the Philippines my entire life, one of the biggest challenges I had to overcome is the diversity of the classrooms here in Hawaii. I went to school with people from my small hometown and I was taught by Filipino teachers. There is also the ethnic diversity. At first, I didn’t know how to reach my non-Filipino students. There is the diversity of skills even if everyone is ELL. I didn’t know how to address all the evident and unnoticeable differences that were present in my classroom. Because of that diversity, my classroom management wasn’t strong when I started teaching.

Also, my teacher preparation was in teaching English and not in language acquisition and development which I think are as important as my ELA curriculum. I feel bad for the first group of kids that I taught because I didn’t know many strategies that would have helped them test out. I started taking Professional Development seriously.

My mentors, Jessica Kato, Angie Koanui, and Sherilyn Waters were really helpful. The ELL department at Farrington is collaborative. A lot of people think I am with the ELL department, but I am actually, and was always, with the ELA department. Maybe that says a lot about the work I do with the ELL kids.

The most recent barrier is when WIDA transitioned to computer-based testing and when the State of Hawaii changed the requirements for kids to test out, making it hard to compare data over time. I am still trying to figure out how best to help my students since the testing change in 2017.

Jim Warford: You mentioned your shock at discovering Hawaii’s incredible diversity compared to your hometown in the Philippines. I know that, like most mainlanders, until I began working here in the islands I had no real appreciation either. Can you tell us a little more about what that diversity looks like in your classroom?

Norman Sales: I’ve only been teaching sheltered English classes at Farrington. Even if they are all ELLs, their abilities and experiences vary. Some of them are long term ELLs and some of them are recent immigrants from the Philippines, Chuuk, or from the many other islands in Micronesia and Polynesia. The ethnic diversity is also another thing that I wasn’t used to. Back home, we all shared the same practices and traditions.

The cultures of my students are also diverse. And when I say culture, I am not only referring to ethnicity or race. Their culture is complex – I have students who are gamers, some of them listen to K Pop, some of them are into visual arts, there are basketball players, and so on. There are other cultural aspects that are hidden from the surface -students view gender roles differently, discussion etiquette vary from student to student, and socio-economic backgrounds. They also have similarities. Many of my students talk about family separation through divorce, separation, or immigration. Even that contributes to the diversity in the classroom.

Jim Warford: Can you tell us a little more about how you use www.socrative.com in class? And how have the students responded?

Norman Sales: Here’s how I’ve used Socrative.

1. I would create a “Short Answer” prompt from the teacher dashboard. It could be as simple as generate 3 universal questions. Students have unlimited chances to turn in responses.
2. Students generate questions on their team and they turn in individual questions through their phones or a computer.
3. Once all questions are turned in, there’s a discussion on the quality of the questions. Which one would yield to more conversations and more literal questions are addressed. Students also have the chance to consolidate similar questions.
4. Once questions are narrowed down through answering literal questions and through narrowing down similar questions, students then vote on which questions they want to talk about in the succeeding discussion.
5. Students take the chosen questions back to their groups and they prepare by answering and looking for evidence.

Jim Warford: What one thing would you suggest to any new ELL teacher starting out?

Norman Sales: I am often frustrated. I’ve developed a habit of taking a break to take a deep breath in the middle of a class activity just to reboot. The frustration sometimes come from plans that are failing or from other million things that are happening in the classroom. Sometimes progress take awhile to be evident in student work, interactions, and observations. And that for me is frustrating.

In other words, patience is key. And I know teachers are the most patient individuals in this universe, but ELL teachers or content area teachers who are teaching ELLs must carry an extra dose of patience everyday. The student who rarely speak may not start interacting with everyone in the classroom until April (school year in Hawaii ends in May).

You may have a new student from moving to your classroom from a different teacher after finding out that the student is misplaced or a new student from another country a week before the WIDA test. You’ll have a student who will be copying all his or her responses from the text you are reading because the student doesn’t have an idea of what is plagiarism, inference, or textual evidence. There will be other factors too just like changes in the curriculum or assessments.

But do not let your patience run out. It’s worth it once you see progress, and do not forget to celebrate the small victories.

Jim Warford: Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Norman.

You will find much more about Norman Sales and Farrington HS in my new book, The Chemistry of Culture, at: amazon.com/author/jimwarford You can also get a 20% discount direct from the publisher, Rowman and Littlefield at: www.rowman.com and using promo code RLEGEN19

How trusting is the staff in your school? Do they collaborate freely and effectively? How innovative are they? Do they feel empowered to participate in the decisions that impact them the most? Are they committed to your school’s vision, or just compliant? Are these things getting better or worse, and how do you know?

In my new book, The Chemistry of Culture, available now on Amazon, I introduce and describe the 3 components of The Culture Framework: Trust, Empowerment, and Collaboration. And why Trust is the essential foundation of any effective culture. But first, in chapter 4 we examine the rapidly accumulating data pointing to the dramatic decline in social emotional skills like empathy across all demographic groups in our society, but most markedly among the young.                                                  

As educators, the time has come to better understand that empathy is one of the essential skills for building trust and creating a more effective culture. An empathetic school is one that recognizes and helps teachers achieve their professional goals, career needs, and personal priorities outside of school. In other words, the whole person. To put it simply, we must emphasize and exercise empathy, and in Part 2 of The Chemistry of Culture, we examine specific strategies to do just that.

The hard truth is that, for the past 2 decades many of the major educational trends impacting our schools have been moving us away from the idea of creating a culture that nurtures empathy. The relentless focus on testing, data, and accountability while arguably necessary and well-intended, too often meant there was little time left over for culture or relationship building.

As school leaders we must face the fact that the measurable declines in our soft skills like empathy and all the related inter-personal skills are not just confined to our students. They are having an equal impact on the younger teachers and administrators entering our profession. There is a growing mountain of scientific evidence confirming these declines are real. We must face the fact that they will not reverse themselves on their own. We must act.

The rapid increase of instructional technology in our classrooms and schools brings with it a difficult dilemma. Many school leaders have pushed for more, faster integration of technology for the past 20 years. While at the same time more teachers are seeing and thinking about, its negative impact on their students and their classroom culture. The supporters of ideas like Blended Learning are growing. But as ICLE Senior Fellow, Wes Kieschnick, reminds us in his book, Bold School… “Technology is awesome. Teachers are better!”. But what is the role of the teacher?

In Chapter 13 you will meet Sean Witwer, a Special Education teacher at Farrington HS in Honolulu, HI who’s been following Wes Kieschnick’s Bold School lead by using a #BoldSchool Blended Learning strategy that allows him to use technology to deliver more personalized instruction. By using computers, he can deliver course content through direct instruction and differentiate according to each student’s individual needs. Mr. Witwer has totally re-invented his classroom, and empowered students with greater responsibility for their own learning. In so doing, he has found the time to build better relationships and a more caring culture.

Individual teachers have been experimenting with different forms of technology like the “flipped class” for years. Master flippers, like Bozeman High School’s Paul Andersen have achieved remarkable success. Using technology, Paul totally re-invented his science classroom, raised test scores, and was named Montana’s Teacher of the Year. Paul even did what many educators dream about. Using Game Theory, he turned his science class into a video game! You can see how on his YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/4qlYGX0H6Ec

But here’s the essential question: How does empathy develop in a technology-driven learning environment? How can we use it to create better relationships? While it’s most certainly true that technology can be one of a teacher’s most useful tools… But at what cost to our students’ interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence? We often feel stuck on the horns of a giant dilemma.

We need much more research to fully understand what is lost when our students learn online. Are we directly contributing to the decline of empathy? And if the culture surrounding us does in fact shape our brain’s capacity for trust, then we need to be providing our students and schools with as many opportunities as possible for exercising empathy.

At Farrington HS, everyone is teaching and learning. Teachers learn from teachers, students learn from students and teachers, and teachers regularly collaborate to create interdisciplinary, real-world lessons. At Farrington, teachers have the autonomy to experiment freely without fear of failure. They are entrusted to lead professional learning for their peers, because they trust teachers to know their students best and have the experience, expertise, and heart to move the school forward.

Farrington is a Model School because they’ve created a “learning culture” where everyone is both teaching and learning. This is a culture that has chosen to emphasize empathy, a culture where every Professional Development session begins with empathy exercises where teachers build relationships, practice reading body language, hearing voices, making eye contact, and reading facial expressions. At Farrington they do not leave empathy to chance.

The Chemistry of Culture introduces The Culture Framework® which can be used by school leaders as a map to guide the process of creating the 3 things needed for building a culture of learning and innovation: Trust, empowerment, and collaboration. It’s now at amazon.com/author/jimwarford or you can get a 20% discount direct from the publisher, Rowman and Littlefield at: www.rowman.com using promo code RLEGEN19