Laurie Halse Anderson (born October 23, 1961) is an American writer best known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2009 for her contribution to young adult literature.
She was first recognized for her novel Speak, published in 1999.
Laurie Beth Halse was born to Rev. Frank A. Halse Jr. and Joyce Holcomb Halse in Potsdam, New York. She grew up there with her younger sister, Lisa. As a student, she showed an early interest in writing, specifically during the second grade. Anderson enjoyed reading—especially science fiction and fantasy—as a teenager, but never envisioned herself becoming a writer.
Anderson attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School, in Manlius, New York, a suburb of Syracuse.
During Anderson’s senior year, she moved out of her parents' house at the age of sixteen and lived as an exchange student for thirteen months on a pig farm in Denmark. After her experience in Denmark, Anderson moved back home to work at a clothing store, earning the minimum wage. This motivated her to attend college.
Twisted is a 1986 horror and psychological thriller starring Christian Slater, Lois Smith, and Tandy Cronyn.
One evening, the Collins family discovers their maid, Mrs. Murdock, dead at the end of their steps; her neck is broken. Evidently, she had an accident; now they need a new babysitter for an upcoming party. The sensible Helen meets little Susan Collins at the discount market and likes her, so she offers to do the job. She does not know Susan's teenage brother Mark: technically skilled and good in school, but restive and cunning. Mark also listens regularly to German marching music from the Third Reich. As soon as the parents have left, he psychologically terrorizes Helen and his sister with electronic tricks. Williams (Karl Taylor), a school jock whom Mark burned earlier in science class, is out for revenge; Mark murders him with a fencing sword.
Ultimately, Mark himself is killed when Helen knocks him onto a spiked German helmet. Mark's parents come home to find the house in shambles; they blame Helen and have her arrested, unaware that Mark lies dead upstairs. Secretly, Susan dons her late brother's glasses and proceeds to listen to his Nazi music and the cycle begins anew.
Twisted is an anthology of horror short stories edited by Groff Conklin. It was first published in paperback by Belmont Books in May 1962 and reprinted in 1967. British paperback editions were issued by Horwitz in 1963 and Four Square Books in 1965. It has also been translated into Spanish.
The book collects fifteen novelettes and short stories by various authors, together with an introduction by the editor. The stories were previously published from 1843-1961 in various magazines.
Praxis is a live album by Cecil Taylor recorded in Italy in July 1968 and released on the Greek Praxis label as a double LP. It features the first solo piano performance released by Taylor but has yet to be released on CD.
Praxis, a transliteration of the Greek word πρᾶξις (derived from the stem of the verb πράσσειν, prassein "to do, to act"), means "practice, action, doing". More particularly, it means either:
Eastern Christian writers, especially those in the Byzantine tradition, use the term "praxis" to refer to what others, using an English rather than a Greek word, call practice of the faith, especially with regard to ascetic and liturgical life.
Praxis is a key to understanding the Byzantine tradition, which is observed by the Eastern Orthodox Churches and some Eastern Catholic Churches, because praxis is the basis of the understanding of faith and works as conjoint, without separating the two. The importance of praxis, in the sense of action, is indicated in the dictum of Saint Maximus the Confessor: "Theology without action is the theology of demons."
A Praxis test is one of a series of American teacher certification exams written and administered by the Educational Testing Service. Various Praxis tests are usually required before, during, and after teacher training courses in the U.S.
In order to be a teacher in most states in the US, the Praxis test is required. It usually consists of two separate tests, Praxis 1 and 2. In some states, alternative teacher certification programs allow prospective educators to obtain licensure without taking Praxis tests.
The Praxis I, or Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST), consists of three exams: reading, writing, and mathematics. In most colleges and universities, a passing score must be earned for admission to teacher education. In most states, a passing score must be earned before the teacher education graduate can apply for his or her teaching license or certificate.
The Praxis II assessments cover many different subject areas. Each state requires a different combination of Praxis II exams for certification. In many states, these include a content knowledge and a pedagogy exam. In some states, students must pass these exams before being accepted into the student teaching component of the program. Many states use the Praxis II tests as a way to determine highly qualified teachers status under the No Child Left Behind Act. The Praxis II School Counseling specialty exam is used by some states as a licensure requirement to practice professional school counseling.