Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Book Review: Your Child's Strength's

Your Child’s Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them
THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
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YOUR CHILD’S STRENGTHS: DISCOVER THEM, DEVELOP THEM, USE THEM
By Jenifer Fox, M.Ed.
Published by Penguin Group (USA)
Publication Date: February 2008
Price: $24.95
334 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780670018765
Four Star Rating ****
WORKED IN DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOLS AS A TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATOR FOR 25 YEARS
HEAD OF PURNELL SCHOOL IN NJ
BS IN COMMUNICATION FROM U OF WISC
MA IN ENGLISH FROM MIDDLEBURY
M.ED. IN SCHOOL AD FROM HARVARD
THE AFFINITIES PROGRAM AND THE LEADER OF THE STRENGTHS MOVEMENT IN SCHOOLS
TRUE YOU WERE A STRUGGLING STUDENT IN HIGH SCHOOL?
WRITTEN NUMEROUS ARTICLES AND PRESENTED WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ON THE TOPIC OF SCHOOL REFORM, TEACHING STRUGGLING STUDENTS, PARENTING, AND BUILDING ON STRENGTHS TO REALIZE HUMAN POTENTIAL. JENIFER’S EXPERIENCE AS AN ACTOR AND A WRITER MAKE HER AN ENGAGING AND COMPELLING STORYTELLER AND SPEAKER.
HER SPECIALTY IS IN “TURN-AROUND” BUSINESSES WHERE SHE IS ABLE TO LEVERAGE THE STRENGTHS OF AN ORGANIZATION TO CHANGE IT FROM AN INSTITUTION IN A STRUGGLING WEAKENED STATE TO ONE THAT THRIVES BOTH CULTURALLY AND FINANCIALLY ON ITS STRENGTHS.
TOUR COMING UP IN MARCH

“Simply put, strengths are the things that we do to make us feel energized and alive when we do them. Every single person has strengths. Children’s innate strengths are like wires connecting their unique inner qualities to their promise as adults. Those wires have life’s most potent energy flowing through them, and we as adults have the power to amp up or damper down their energy flow. When the energy is turned up and strengths are developed to their fullest, people’s passions light up. Life becomes meaningful and enjoyable even in the face of conflict. Strengths are what push people to that place. They are the things that keep our curiosity engaged, that step out ahead of us and beg us to follow. They are what we would do if money, prestige, and responsibility were inconsequential. Our strengths speak to us with a persistent, urging voice that begs us to take notice, to unleash them, and in doing so, we put our best selves forward—not just in school, but on the job and in our relationships with others.” (Pp 72).


Educator and author, Jenifer Fox, M.Ed. has written a new, thought provoking book about the focus of our educational system. Our current system, forces children to keep up with the group and focuses on fixing childrens’ weaknesses to improve their academic performance. In her new book, Your Child’s Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them, Fox argues very effectively that we must focus on our children’s individual strengths, creating success and building on that foundation to help them thrive in school and in life. For example, Ms. Fox relates in her book that she was a strong student in English and Writing, but not so hot in Math. Only after she began to write out longhand the problems she was encountering in Math did the numbers make sense. In other words, but playing to her strengths, she was able to open a doorway to knowledge in a field that had been previously closed to her, thus changing her entire educational, and possibly her life experience. This is part of what makes this book so great; Ms. Fox is an example of her own theory, and why it works.

Fox demonstrates to us how to identify a child’s strengths, based on their natural actions, how to encourage those strengths once they’ve been identified and how to help your child implement those strengths. The book is divided in 3 parts: (1) Current ideas and practices that contribute to a child’s feeling of weakness; (2) An explanation of what strengths are, focusing on three in particular; activity strengths (tasks that make children feel engaged and energized, relationship strengths(things students do with others to make them feel engaged and energized, and learning strengths (the ways we all understand and approach new information; (3) A variety of exercises that parents, teachers and children can use to discover and develop their strengths. The basic underlying idea is for children to discover their own unique path to success.

The strength movement and the award-winning Affinities Program outlined in this book conclusively have demonstrated in the classroom to have been very successful, and to have affected positive, permanent changes in children that make them more adaptable, resilient and competitive. It is a user-friendly guide for parents and teachers alike. This book is a sensible alternative to a failing and outdate educational model. Recently, the Strengths model has been adapted in the boardroom as well as the classroom. Best Buy has made a substantial investment in developing strengths in its corporate environment. Overall, this book is a great book. By simply listening to your child’s like and dislikes and not imposing our likes on him, we have taken the first steps to developing a happy, independent, intelligent child. The book and the movement are both worth recommending.

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