How to Talk So Kids Can Learn : At Home and In School

Rating:
Summary: Every teacher, experienced and new, needs this book!
Review: After a frustrating first year of teaching at a junior high school, I was about ready to give up the teaching career all together. I picked up this book one evening because I liked the cartoon drawings in it (it looked like it would be fun to read). I couldn't put it down. I learned so many things that I cannot wait to use my second year of teaching. I especially appreciated the chapter on praising children. I never realized what a negative impact that too "straight-forward" praise (such as "You're so smart!") could have on a student. Now I look back when I was a kid, and I hated it when people would constantly say that to me, because I always felt like, "okay, i'm smart....so what?" I thought I wouldn't be allowed to make a mistake. Those types of teachers that would say things like, "oh, don't worry about that assignment/paper/project...you are smart..you can do it," well, that didn't make me feel any better. The best teachers I had were the ones that gave me specific examples of things that I was doing right in class.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent - A must for educators
Review: I loved this book. It goes along with "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk." In fact, the book uses the same formula and layout. The communication techniques are the same, with different examples which show how they can be used in a school setting. I found the cartoons really helpful and I liked all the great examples. I especially liked all the illustrative dialogues between the teachers in the book; the authors really take the time to explore all the criticisms of their approach and do a good job of refuting them.

The one thing the book doesn't do, because it is so focussed on communication, is really address specific school problems, like students who don't do homework. If that's what you're looking for, this book may not be enough, but the communication skills taught in it are still valuable as part of dealing with such issues. Thus, if you've read the first book you might find it repetitive. If you haven't, and you're a teacher, I'd suggest you buy this one instead.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read for every teacher and education major
Review: Wow. This book made a lot of sense. What I like best is the layout. Not only does it practically apply theories (particularly those of Ginott), it tells you how to do so in a user-friendly way. There are checklists, comics, and even dialogues to help teachers (and parents too) see and understand how the techniques described by Faber and Mazlish work. The day care where I currently work uses extreme discipline techniques (and requires teachers to punish moreso than negotiate), so I have not been able to fully practice this method and really see whether or not it works in that setting. However, this book helped me look at children in a different way and respect them even more. The tips on parent-teacher conferences helped me successfully hold my first parent-teacher conference. I did use the method in a student conference with my CCD kids, and it helped me see all the children's point of views and understand the roots of the misbehavior (though we are currently still working on the issues, but the method has a long-term approach moreso than short-term one). Parents should pick up this book at a library and check it out. Teachers, read it and read it and read it some more (and highlight it like crazy)!