A Mind at a Time: America's Top Learning Expert Shows How Every Child Can Succeed by Mel Levine
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Book Reviews of A Mind at a Time: America's Top Learning Expert Shows How Every Child Can Succeed
Book Review: Mel Levine opened my eyes and my heart
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read the professional reviews and they are interesting, but as a parent they are glossy and shiny but don't ring with the truth I found in this book. The first time I read a Mel Levine book I cried. Because finally someone understood just what my child FELT. I was also enraged because here was a learned professional espousing what I always knew in my heart to be true but the education system in our rural community was so hopelessly out of date, change of this scope is decades if not centuries away.
But, what this book did give me was a new vocabulary. It opened my eyes to the fact that many teachers are rigid and many simply do not have the resources in the existing structure of the school system to meet the needs of, not only my child, but as many as half the children in their classroom. And in all honesty, some teachers should not be teachers. With luck and perseverence, I MAY be able to influence my child's teachers, but I can not change this system in his lifetime.
What I can do, is change how I talk to my child, how I reinforce their learning in the home, and more importantly how I talk to him about his frustrations in his classroom.
I am my child's best advocate. After reading this book, I was better armed with tools and ideas for addressing my child's educational needs, and my informed input was better received by his educators.
Having a child with "special needs" has no easy cure and will always be a source of anxiety for me. But Mel Levine's books (I've read four of them) help arm me for the on-going fight for his rights as a student.
Book Review: The Keys to a Child's Academic Success
Summary: 5 Stars
Mel Levine stresses the importance of parents and teachers taking the time to identify each child's strengths and learning style --and he clearly explains how to do exactly that. Then you can better determine what method of instruction would be the best match to the child's particular way of thinking. This effort will in turn help the child increase his level of performance as well as his degree of self-esteem as he becomes more confident that he is capable and indeed CAN accomplish goals. As a teacher and parent, I feel that nurturing the "social and emotional intelligence" of a child goes hand-in-hand with attention to developing his "cognitive intelligence". The way we choose to discipline and communicate with children on a daily basis plays a very important role in how a child perceives himself. The more he feels understood and valued, the more effort he will put to the task of accepting the responsibility to change for the better. As a pre-school teacher, I believe that it is important to begin building a foundation for academic success and a healthy sense of self-esteem long BEFORE grade school begins. If you have preschoolers (ages 2-5), in addition to the outstanding academic guide addressing cognitive intelligence-- "A Mind at a Time", I highly recommend a very practical discipline and communication reference called "The Pocket Parent." This book offers hundreds of specific skills and strategies to help parents and teachers communicate more effectively with young children.Book Review: Technically Proficient w/Solid Advice for Parents/Teachers
Summary: 5 Stars
"A Mind at a Time" dives deep into hard wiring of children and offers us an insight into their needs that we can use to adjust how we approach their education. As an elementary school teacher in a private school, we were asked to read this book for an all faculty discussion this quarter. I found it very helpful in understanding the diverse instructional needs of all of the children in my class. I was also able to use some of the suggestions in the book to develop Individual Learning Plans for my entire class that are not too cumbersome or take away from the curriculum.
Last quarter we read and discussed "The Child Whisperer" by Matt Pasquinilli. These two books are profoundly different, but powerfully complimentary. Where Levine talks about the individual needs and learning styles of our children, Pasquinilli describes the basic emotional foundation and communication skills that all children need to start school with. I strongly recommend reading both books to get an enhanced understanding of what children need in order to learn.
Book Review: An eye-opener and food for thought
Summary: 5 Stars
I first picked up this book because I believe that every child is an individual and has individual needs. When I started reading the book I finally found someone else who believes that too. Levine carefully looks at each "learning disability" and breaks it down into various components. Upon reading, I began to see many of my own RSP students more clearly. Susie doesn't just have ADD,she has problems with auditory distrators. For those naysayers, perhaps Levine is ahead of his time, perhaps he has seen somethings others haven't yet (remember, there was a time when folks that blood-letting was appropriate). For me and several of my professional friends, this book is an inspiration to look more deeply at each student and it gives us the tools to do so. It is heavy reading, I will admit. I actually took the content and created a graphic reading guide to go with it for my staff because you can get lost in it if you are not a careful reader. This is not casual bedtime reading.Book Review: Brilliantly Simple
Summary: 5 Stars
Dr. Levine teaches that it is more helpful to understand HOW a child behaves and not WHY a child behaves in the way he does. What a brililantly simple idea - a paradigm shift. If you think in this way, then you can go to work immediately on finding the solutions that fit your child. After reading "A Mind at a Time", I saw my son's behavior in terms of HOW and was able to start to address it. (For years my wife and I had been discouraged and tried absolutely everything with little effect.)
Recently I came upon "Behavior Coaching" by Dr. Scott Hall who seems to be of the same school of thought with Dr. Levine. "Behavior Coaching" takes the theory of "A Mind at a Time" and directly employs it in a step-by-step action plan for improving your child's behavior. Great companions, "A Mind at a Time" and "Behavior Coaching", get them both to help you hone your parenting skills.