There were few settlers in the west until after the Civil War. When they arrived one of the first things they did was build a schoolhouse made out of logs. Soon rural education districts were developed and the need for teachers grew dramatically. The struggle to provide those teachers grew as rapidly. The story of education in Minnesota  followed along that line and Steve Grineski captures it in his new book We Were Pretty Darn Good.

Teddy Roosevelt said that the farmer was the back bone of America and the need for education was absolutely necessary. His words and subsequent Country Life Commission in 1909 spurred an impetus. Soon chalk and blackboard became common place in schoolhouses in countryside America and progressive education was underway. .The story is in Steve Grineski's new book We Were Pretty Darn Good recently published by History Publishing Company.

Paul Theobold, Dean of Education at Buena Vista University, knows a great deal about history and education and said of Steve Grineski's new book that "Utilizing sources ignored by the vast majority of historians who rush to document America's urban experience, he demonsrates that there was a time in America when the countryside mattered, when genuine efforts were made to tailor rural education to the circumstances of life."

Author Steve Grineski has documented those efforts and  uncovered a virtual  mother lode of information and fact that brings alive a remarkable time in America  adding to the legacy of the world of education and the nostalgic world of countryside America that added immeasurably to the  growth of the United States.

Steve Grineski started his teaching career in 1975 as an elementary teacher. In 1984 he joined the Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) faculty and in 1989 earned his doctorate from the University of North Dakota. We Were Pretty Darn Good 9781933909523 was published by History Published Company in May, 2013. It is also available in e-book 1-933909295.It is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, and fine bookstores everywhere.

Nominations of "human angels" are pouring in for a national TV series that will tell the stories of everyday Americans who give of themselves to help others.

"We're finding there are so many people from every walk of life - young children and teenagers, the very elderly, rich people and poor - quietly extending their hands to others," said Jim Lindsey, chairman of  Angel Wings Entertainment, LLC, a company on a mission to find and inspire "human angels" across the country.

"So many of their stories have brought tears to our eyes. These are people who see a need and say, 'I can do something about this. I can help,' And with their gifts of time and service, they transform lives."

The company is still accepting nominations at www.AngelWingsEntertainment.com. Those selected as Angels will be featured in mini-documentaries and stand to win money for their charities. It's part of a multi-media effort to "shine a light on the best of human behavior" and inspire a national movement of giving and caring.

The effort is funded in part by an endowment from philanthropist John Shimer, who teamed with a like-minded group of veteran media and marketing professionals.

Shimer's work with a "human angel," a woman who established a vocational school in impoverished Uganda, inspired him to launch the Angels Among Us Project. That effort to recognize and reward service to others led to the creation of the media company, Angel Wings Entertainment. Shimer is a director of the charitable corporation Fortune Family Foundation.

"We need to see more stories about the good things people do, rather than all the bad," Shimer said. "If we want to see the best in human behavior, we need to be showing people what that looks like."

The Angel Wings Entertainment board includes Lindsey, a renowned brand builder and former vice-chairman of the top advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, as well as a leader of ad agencies McCaffrey & McCall and Hill Holiday/Wakeman & DeForrest.

It also includes CEO Tom Keegan, an entertainment industry veteran who has worked on more than 500 productions for ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and national syndication, including the Emmy Award-winning Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (ABC), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (motion picture for NBC), The Hollywood Reporter, Front Runners and Celebrity Sweepstakes.

Follow Angel Wings Entertainment on Twitter: @AngelWingsTV.

'No Room on the Fence' offers a new method of critical thinking and explains why it's important

ARTHUR, Iowa - Author, scientist and former teacher Merle D. Schramm was inspired to write his new book "No Room on the Fence: A Serious Discourse on Controversial Topics" (published by CrossBooks) after witnessing the lack of critical thinking and knowledge his students displayed.

"The students did not know the difference between democratic government and a republic form of government," he says. "Most students didn't know the biblical background of the framers of the U.S. Constitution. Many of the students could not name the early presidents."

When he dug deeper into the issue, he realized the flaw was not a lack of knowledge. Rather, it was as failure of critical thinking. "No Room on the Fence," he says, is intended to help any person research and think in a logical fashion. He believes it will help them learn not just to believe, but to think about what they believe.

"It is imperative," Schramm says, "that people need to return to scientific reasoning to get our nation back to a Christian basis. Our nation can survive only when a true revival takes place. And only God can do that."

"No Room on the Fence"

By Merle D. Schramm

Softcover | 6 x 9 in | 68 pages | ISBN 9781462728190

E-Book | 68 pages | ISBN 9781462728206

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Merle D. Schramm attended the Universities of Northern Iowa, Colorado State, South Dakota, California's UCLA, Northern Colorado and Montana State. He received his master's degree in science from the University of Colorado in 1977. He taught physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in high schools, elementary schools and junior colleges. He also worked as a pesticide research chemist with the Colorado Health Department and as a nuclear weapons research chemist and physicist at Dow Chemical Company. He and his wife have taught Sunday school classes for more than 60 years.

CrossBooks, a division of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, is a Christian publishing imprint committed to bringing more Christian voices into the publishing industry. Established authors, first-time authors, and authors anywhere in between can meet their goals and fulfill their vision for their books by publishing with CrossBooks. CrossBooks' innovative style of publishing blends the best of traditional and self-publishing. While our authors contribute monetarily to cover the cost of publishing, we maintain a strict moral and quality standard that every manuscript must meet for us to publish. For more information on publishing your Christian book with CrossBooks, log on to crossbooks.com or call 1-866-879-0502.

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