Picturing the Presidents

How we see, and understand, the President of the United States, is primarily the job of one man: the chief White House photographer.  Several recent books (and some older ones) are of note here:

The newest release is by Eric Draper, the photographer who was the chief White House cameraman for the eight years of the George W.Bush presidency. " Front Row Seat: A Photographic Portrait of the Presidency of George W. Bush." is published by University of Texas Press.

It follows on the heels of the recently released book "The President's Photographer: Fifty Years Inside the Oval Office," (published by National Geographic, 2010) which traces contemporary photographers inside the White House. This particular book was the basis for the public TV documentary of the same name.

Photographer Pete Souza, the man who currently holds the title of chief WH photographer, is also the author of these related books: "The Rise of Barack Obama" (Triumph Books, 2008) ; "Images of Greatness: An Intimate Look at the Presidency of Ronald Reagan (Triumph Books, 2004); "Unguarded Moments: Behind-The-Scenes Photographs of President Ronald Reagan" (Summit Publishing, 1993).

Also of note: "The Clinton Years: The Photographs of Robert McNeely," (Callaway, 2000) and "George Herbert Walker Bush: A Photographic Profile," (Texas A&M Univ Press, 1997)

Modern literacies fit with the common core

The Common Core State Standards and the integration of technology into education are issues that go beyond college and career readiness and reach into the quality of life for students, writes Kent State University's William Kist, in the current issue of Ed Leadership. In this article, Kist suggests some strategies to boost new literacies, such as giving students the chance to read screen-based texts including video to meet close-reading requirements and experiment with digital writing and collaborative writing.

New Lesson Plans Released for Annual Newspaper-in-Education Week

Newspaper In Education Week (March 4-8) is celebrated annually during the first full school week in March. This year, the American Press Institute is partnering with the Newseum on curriculum that emphasizes the newspaper as an educational resource.

Lessons focus on the following topics:

Newspapers in Your Life

• What’s News Where?
• The First Rough Draft of History

In the Newsroom

• The Fairness Formula
• Planning for the Unpredictable

Media Literacy

• Where News Comes From
• Evaluating the News