Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education

ISBN: 0393356841

Author: Bauer, Susan Wise

Condition: New

If you read only one book on educating children, this should be the book. With a warm, informative voice, Bauer gives you the knowledge that will help you flex the educational model to meet the needs of your child. -San Francisco Book ReviewOur K-12 school system isnt a good fit for all-or even most-students. It prioritizes a single way of understanding the world over all others, pushes children into a rigid set of grades with little regard for individual maturity, and slaps disability labels on differences in learning style. Caught in this system, far too many young learners end up discouraged.This informed, compassionate, and practical guidebook will show you how to take control of your childs K-12 experience and negotiate the school system in a way that nurtures your childs mind, emotions, and spirit. Understand why we have twelve grades, and why we match them to ages. Evaluate your childs maturity, and determine how to use that knowledge to your advantage. Find out what subject areas we study in school, why they exist-and how to tinker with them. Discover what learning disabilities and intellectual giftedness are, how they can overlap, how to recognize them, and how those labels can help (or hinder) you. Work effectively with your childs teachers, tutors, and coaches. Learn to teach important subjects yourself. Challenge accepted ideas about homework and standardized testing. Help your child develop a vision for the future. Reclaim your families priorities (including time for eating together, playing, imagining, traveling, and, yes, sleeping!). Plan for college-or apprenticeships. Consider out-of-the-box alternatives.