Success for Students & Parents

Jump-Starting Boys by Pam Withers and Cynthia Gill is the "first book on the market that empowers parents, helping them reclaim the duties and rewards of raising their children and navigate the influences of school and media. Filled with reassurance and support, the authors turn fear and guilt into can-do confidence. Through easy tips and action list sidebars, this is the most practical, readable book on the topic. Everyone knows that boys are falling behind in education. Largely left out of the discussion are parents of boys, who are most aware that their bright, eager sons hit an invisible wall somewhere near fourth grade, after which they become disengaged, discouraged, and disaffected. There are dozens of books on underachieving boys, but most parents brave enough to lift one off the shelf are instantly intimidated by the footnotes, graphs, case studies, and academic-speak addressed almost entirely to educators. What about the average guilt-ridden, frustrated mother or father of an underachieving boy?" (from Amazon.com)

With What the Rest of Us Can Learn from Homeschooling by Linda Dobson, traditionally schooled children can reap the same benefits as homeschooled children. This essential book for all parents and teachers offers practical ways to nurture individual growth, foster high self-esteem, and ensure academic success for every child, regardless of age, type of school, or religious background. Readers will discover what homeschoolers quickly find out—that life can be one big adventurous educational opportunity, even for kids who attend conventional schools. Inside, readers explore:

• The six principles of successful learning: curiosity, fun in learning, desire for success (not fear of failure), practice (not study), applying learned material to life, and intrinsic motivation
• How to put the "child" back into childhood by providing children with the opportunity to perform fun activities that enhance their abilities
• Why the community is a child's best classroom, and how to take advantage of it
• How to discover and honor a child's unique learning style and encourage his or her teacher to develop it

Homeschooling is changing the face of education, and now parents and teachers can effectively use its principles and techniques to develop brighter and happier children. (from Amazon.com)

Effective, Holistic Guide for Teaching Children in Any Educational Setting For the Children’s Sake imagines what education can be based on a Christian understanding of the meaning of life and what it means to be human―a child, a parent, a teacher. The central ideas have been proven over many years and in almost every kind of educational situation, including ideas that author Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and her husband, Ranald, have implemented in their own family and school experience. Includes a foreword by daughter and educator Fiona Fletcher. Every parent and teacher wants to give his or her children the best education possible. They hope that the teaching they provide is a joyful adventure, a celebration of life, and preparation for living. But sadly, most education today falls short of this goal.

• Simple and Practical: This user-friendly guide helps educators build a stable, enriching, and intellectually stimulating environment for children and also includes a list of additional resources 
• Immersive Teaching: Shows parents and teachers how children’s learning experiences can be extended to every aspect of life
• Proven Methodology: Used in school settings for 14 years, these easily applicable ideas will benefit parents and teachers in homeschooling, public school, or private school

Neil Postman suggests that the current crisis in our educational system derives from its failure to supply students with a translucent, unifying "narrative" like those that inspired earlier generations. Instead, today's schools promote the false "gods" of economic utility, consumerism, or ethnic separatism and resentment. What alternative strategies can we use to instill our children with a sense of global citizenship, healthy intellectual skepticism, respect of America's traditions, and appreciation of its diversity? In answering this question, The End of Education restores meaning and common sense to the arena in which they are most urgently needed. In this comprehensive response to the education crisis, the author of Teaching as a Subversive Activity returns to the subject that established his reputation as one of our most insightful social critics. Postman presents useful models with which schools can restore a sense of purpose, tolerance, and a respect for learning." (from Amazon.com)