| 9781607744740 |
| (pbk.) |
| 1607744740 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... East Library | Paperback | 371.192 N621P | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Finally, a book that demystifies our daunting education system by giving parents the insights and strategies they need to build positive relationships with teachers and connect to their children's learning in productive ways.
Involved Parents = Better Students
How do you ensure your child gets the best education possible when U.S. schools have become overburdened, test-driven institutions that rank only average worldwide? Decades of research confirm that when parents engage with their children's learning, kids do better in school--and life. This straight-talking guide helps you:
* understand the critical role you play in your child's education,
* connect with educators in respectful ways,
* encourage a love of reading in your kids,
* minimize homework meltdowns and disorganization,
* support students who struggle academically,
* help children navigate social situations and bullying, and
* fuel your child's mind and body for learning.
Parent involvement looks different for every family and every child. Packed with real stories and tested strategies, The Parent Backpack demystifies our complex education system and gives you the insights you need to help your kids thrive.
Author Notes
ML Nichols is director of The Parent Connection, a nonprofit parent education group. While serving in leadership roles in her own district and on Parenting magazine's Mom Congress on Learning and Education, she launched www.theparentbackpack.com. ML lives in the Boston area with her husband and two daughters.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this approachable guide, Nichols offers practical advice to parents on everything from how to select a kindergarten program to how to write appropriate e-mails to your child's teacher. Nichols, the director of the Parent Connection, a nonprofit parent education group, has extensive knowledge of the ins and outs of the early years of a child's education. All parents will benefit from the early chapters providing specifics about the current generation of elementary schools, and suggestions for what parents can do to ensure their children's success within the changing system. Nichols is well versed in both the budgetary and curricular strains on the system and current best practices in various subjects and classroom management. The final chapters run the gamut of parenting and education topics, from bullying to technology and even health, but each feels important and contributes to the larger framework. "Top Ten Takeaways" at the end of each chapter are provided for easy reference, and sample scripts for how to interact with teachers are particularly useful. Throughout, Nichols successfully balances her frustration with the system with heartfelt optimism regarding the role that parents can play in making their children's school experience positive, claiming that "there's never been a more challenging or more exciting time to do this." Agent: Mollie Glick, Foundry Literary & Media. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Parents who can wade through the repetitive first part of Nichols' how-to will unearth commonsense guidance about ways they can support their children's education through respectful communication with their teachers and schools. Nichols, a self-styled parent educational consultant and blogger, endorses and provides a good overview of the new, more rigorous Common Core State Standards that most states have adopted for their public schools. This description is complemented by easy-to-digest explanations of developmental milestones, children's varying learning styles, the matrix of cognitive processes involved in learning to read, write, and organize work, and the intricacies of academic interventions. But perhaps Nichols' most important and oft-repeated advice is the most obvious: read to your young children every day, and say thank you to their hardworking, dedicated, and skilled teachers.--Saper, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist
Excerpts
Excerpts
How to Use This Book The Parent Backpack for Kindergarten through Grade 5 is divided into three parts. Part one provides you with the big picture--the insights and perspective you need to be involved in your kid's education in the right ways. These first four chapters give you a solid foundation for understanding your child's journey, where education stands today, the important role you play as a parent, how to get involved, and what to expect. Part two gives you the background, practical tips, and tools you'll need to navigate the many different phases you'll discover as a parent of an elementary student--from learning to read to managing the social-emotional journey and communicating with teachers. Part three provides you with everything you need to know to support your children's learning at home, including how to fuel little brains and bodies, end homework battles, and coach your kids on advocating for themselves. If you're feeling eager to jump ahead to a chapter that deals specifically with an issue that you need help with now, by all means, do that. This book can be read from beginning to end or by skipping around to relevant chapters. Be sure to read the first few chapters so you gain an understanding of the system, where it's been, where it's headed, and why your role in your child's educational journey is so crucial. It's important to understand where things stand and what to watch out for so you can be an effective advocate for your child. Throughout the book, I share stories about real kids, real parents, and real teachers who have grappled with the same questions and situations that you might be experiencing. The names have been changed, but all of these stories are based on situations that I either experienced or heard about in consultations, interviews, or focus groups. Each chapter also ends with a list of Top Ten Takeaways. These are key summary points from each chapter: what to consider, to avoid, and to do. You can refer back to these takeaways after you've read the book. They are the reminders that we all need--that I still need--no matter how hard we try to parent well around education. It's not always easy to do, especially in this busy, activity-crazed world we live in, but it is doable. Getting involved in your child's education today is tricky. No matter what zip code you live in or what school your child attends, there has never been more controversy about how we educate our children. Most of our schools struggle with test-driven mandates, higher expectations, underfunded budgets, and teachers who need more support. Add to this our hypercompetitive culture, and it all adds up to growing tension and fear among parents, teachers, and kids. Tension that trickles down even to our kindergarten classrooms. Expectations for student achievement turn some reasonable, levelheaded parents into unreasonable watchdogs, who often watch the wrong things, while other parents run the other way and hope for the best. Our world is changing faster than our schools. Connecting to our children's learning has never been more challenging--or more important. Our system has become so overburdened that in most schools, we parents have to advocate for our children more than ever before. But how we do that makes all the difference. The more parents we have who support education and advocate for their kids' needs in effective ways, the better our schools will be. It's up to parents and teachers to work together so that our children do get the best education possible. I hope that The Parent Backpack helps to bridge the gap between parents and teachers. I hope it inspires you to support, encourage, and guide your children to do the best they can, knowing that their best will look different every day, and to cherish those questions that keep your kids' curiosity alive. I hope the tools in each chapter help you advocate effectively for what your child needs. Most of all, I hope The Parent Backpack helps you discover and celebrate the joy within your child's journey. Excerpted from The Parent Backpack for Kindergarten Through Grade 5: How to Support Your Child's Education, End Homework Meltdowns, and Build Parent-Teacher Connections by M. L. Nichols All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. vii |
| Introduction: What I Wish I Knew Then | p. ix |
| Part 1 Education Today: Insights and Perspective | |
| Chapter 1 Understanding Your Child's Journey | p. 2 |
| Chapter 2 Your Role in a Changing System | p. 27 |
| Chapter 3 Building Bridges to School and Learning | p. 43 |
| Chapter 4 Kindergarten Matters | p. 70 |
| Part 2 Connecting to Your Child's Learning | |
| Chapter 5 Words that Work with Teachers | p. 90 |
| Chapter 6 Why Jack Likes to Read-and Write | p. 111 |
| Chapter 7 It's All About the Teaching | p. 135 |
| Chapter 8 Balancing Academics with Connection and Confidence | p. 153 |
| Chapter 9 When Your Child Needs More Support | p. 168 |
| Chapter 10 The Social and Emotional Realities of Bullying | p. 188 |
| Chapter 11 Thinking, Learning, and Technology | p. 206 |
| Part 3 Supporting Your Child's Learning at Home | |
| Chapter 12 Guiding Homework, Projects, and Studying | p. 224 |
| Chapter 13 Fueling Your Child's Brain and Body | p. 242 |
| Chapter 14 Coaching Kids to Organize and Self-Advocate | p. 261 |
| Glossary of Edu-Terms | p. 278 |
| Bibliography | p. 292 |
| Index | p. 300 |
