Editorial ReviewsFrom Publishers WeeklyFox, head of a girl's boarding school in New Jersey, writes about a strengths-based curriculum she developed and implemented with great success. She not only presents a workbook that can be utilized by educators and parents, but also offers a convincing argument in favor of over-turning outdated curriculums and teaching methods. Instead of focusing on weaknesses, Fox submits that children do far better when the focus is on their strengths. Childhood is for "creative dreaming," not preparation for standardized tests. Fox identifies three types of strengths: activity, learning and relationship strengths, and helps parents guide their children toward self-discovery, explaining that true strengths include not only what a child is good at, but what she enjoys and makes her feel strong. The book is written in a lively and engaging style, and sprinkled with anecdotes from Fox's teaching life and her own experiences as a student who was frustrated and uncomfortable in a traditional school setting. Clearly, writing is one of Fox's strengths, as is her inspiring passion for helping kids lead meaningful lives. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ReviewJenifer Fox makes a compelling case that our education system ("an anxiety-producing machine") is not working for students. Because that system focuses on labeling and fixing weaknesses rather than on celebrating strengths, Fox argues, students' abilities get overlooked or negated, leading many to abandon interest in school altogether. Renée Raudman delivers Fox's provocative message laced with plentiful anecdotes and illustrations in sometimes curiously distracting tones that often strike the ear as plaintive or wistful-sounding. Her reenactments of conversations are better, though overall her soft-spoken voice can seem overly emotional in a way that may distract some listeners from Fox's material until they re used to her style. Nonetheless, listeners will learn a lot from this provocative and practical book, which will strike a chord with many parents and teachers. --AudioFile --This text refers to the
Audio CD edition.
Review“When I was labeled ‘learning disabled,’ the educational system tried everything to fix me, from giving me purple-colored reading glasses to putting me through hundreds of hours of remediation. Through all these efforts to fix what was supposedly wrong with me, my strengths, gifts, and talents were not simply neglected or ignored, but negated. Jenifer Fox has taken a groundbreaking and important stand against the standardized deficit and remediation education that dominates the lives of millions of students. Philosophical yet extremely practical, innovative yet grounded in solid research on effective pedagogy, Your Child's Strengths is a must read for any student, parent and educator.”—Jonathan Mooney author of The Short Bus: A Journey Beyond Normal and Learning Outside the Lines
“Your Child's Strengths is a tonic for the regret one feels for all the children burdened by schools and a world preoccupied by weaknesses rather than strengths. Countless compelling stories illustrate vividly the theme, that focusing on children's strengths is the roadmap for all parents and teachers to give what we want inherently wish to provide: a means for children to find their own path. The Strengths Inventory and Affinities Program curriculum in the Appendix offer a remarkably practical means to start down the path and are worth a read by themselves, but then you would miss the journey of revelation the book evokes.”—Patrick F. Bassett, President, National Association of Independent Schools
"Jenifer Fox has vision, passion, intelligence, and experience. All show in Your Child’s Strengths, which contains a wealth of practical ideas for parents and educators who want to encourage among children the strengths that make possible the good life."—Christopher Peterson, Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan and author of A Primer in Positive Psychology
"Your Child's Strengths puts in plain view what has been in front of us all along – that education and character development always do best to first identify and deepen strengths, rather than to first (and too often exclusively) focus on deficit and weaknesses. Fox's approach is more interesting, more effective, and ultimately more humane."—Michael Riera, author of Staying Connected to Your Teenager:
How to Keep Them Talking to You, and How To Hear What They’re Really Saying “Your Child’s Strengths contains clear, interesting, step-by-step techniques for identifying and utilizing children’s cognitive and emotional strengths - an excellent starting point for any parent, teacher, or student who wants to take the more effective step of focusing on assets rather than liabilities. The wisdom contained in this remarkable volume will be a godsend, not only for those who are just beginning to try to understand a child’s learning style but also for those already battered by a misguided an educational system.”—Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., co-author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
“This is a brilliant, innovative, enormously practical, and hugely important work. Where positive psychology and strength-based philosophies usually stumble, this book soars, namely, in practical application. If teachers and parents would all read this and implement its suggestions, our broken educational system would be fixed in no time. Truly, this book could change the world.”—Edward Hallowell, M.D. author of Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood to Adulthood and Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
Product DescriptionAn essential book for parents and teachers that explores how children’s individual strengths create success With this groundbreaking work, educator Jenifer Fox is poised to change the conversation about education in this country. For too long, parents and teachers have focused on identifying and “fixing” kids’ weaknesses to improve academic performance. Passionately written and informed by Fox’s twenty-five years of experience, Your Child’s Strengths turns that flawed paradigm on its head. Fox’s strengths-based philosophy provides the tools to prepare kids for the future in a world that demands greater adaptability and creative thinking than ever before. Your Child’s Strengths will give parents and teachers the tools to discover strengths in three main areas: Activity Strengths, the tasks that make you feel engaged and energized; Relationship Strengths, the things you do for and with others that make you feel valued and competent; and Learning Strengths, the unique ways we approachand understand new information. All three strengths work in tandem. Pairing inspiring firsthand accounts of success with practical workbook tools and an outline of the award- winning Affinities Program Fox has implemented at her own school, this much- needed book is a user- friendly guide for parents, teachers, and administrators that will improve individual performance and an indispensable road map for young people and society to a future that plays to strengths.
About the AuthorJenifer Fox, Med has worked in day and boarding schools, single sex and coed schools, as a teacher and administrator for twenty-five years. She is currently head of the Purnell School in Pottersville, New Jersey. She holds a BS in communications from the University of Wisconsin– Madison, an MA in English from Middlebury College, and an MEd in school administration from Harvard University.
From AudioFileJenifer Fox makes a compelling case that our education system ("an anxiety-producing machine") is not working for students. Because that system focuses on labeling and fixing weaknesses rather than on celebrating strengths, Fox argues, students' abilities get overlooked or negated, leading many to abandon interest in school altogether. Renˆ©e Raudman delivers Fox's provocative message--laced with plentiful anecdotes and illustrations--in sometimes curiously distracting tones that often strike the ear as plaintive or wistful-sounding. Her reenactments of conversations are better, though overall her soft-spoken voice can seem overly emotional in a way that may distract some listeners from Fox's material until they're used to her style. Nonetheless, listeners will learn a lot from this provocative and practical book, which will strike a chord with many parents and teachers. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the
Audio CD edition.
.--David Horiuchi 
