CATEGORIES & SUBJECTS:
Parenting & Families | Parenting (General); Parenting & Families | Family Relationships | Education; Child Development; Children with Learning Disabilities; Individual learning differences in children; Non-Fiction | Education | Learning Style; Cognition (process of thought) of children
Anyone with a child in the school system knows that the educational process does not allow for one-on-one assessment of a child's learning abilities. A child either keeps pace or in many cases, falls behind. Dr. Mel Levine has written an excellent book on what a child needs in order to grow, learn, and develop his or her full potential. Different minds learn differently," says Dr. Levine, one of the best-known education experts and pediatricians in America today. That is a problem for many children, because most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, these children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the schools they are in. In A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents, and others who care for children, how to identify these individual learning patterns. He explains how parents and teachers can encourage a child's strengths and bypass the child's weaknesses. This type of teaching produces satisfaction and achievement instead of frustration and failure. Different brains are differently wired, Dr. Levine explains. There are eight fundamental systems, or components, of learning that draw on a variety of neurodevelopmental capacities. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all eight. Using examples drawn from his own extensive experience, Dr. Levine shows how parents and children can identify their strengths and weaknesses to determine their individual learning styles. Some students are creative and write imaginatively but do poorly in history because weak memory skills prevent them from retaining facts. Some students are weak in sequential ordering and can't follow directions. They may test poorly and often don't do well in mathematics. In these cases, Dr. Levine observes, the problem is not a lack of intelligence but a learning style that doesn't fit the assignment. Drawing on his pioneering research and his work with thousands of students, Dr. Levine shows how parents and teachers can develop effective strategies to work through or around these weaknesses.
It would be wonderful if all children learned at the same rate and possessed the same aptitude for learning. But that is not the case. Each child is a unique individual. Many of the behavioral problems we see surfacing today stem from the fact that a child becomes frustrated, bored, overwhelmingly challenged, or discouraged by the educational process, and their actions are often a result of what is lacking in the education system. There are a variety of topics found in the book, including development of memory, language, and motor skills. Educators, or parents who have a child who is experiencing difficulties in this area, will really appreciate this Dr. Levine's book. It is an excellent resource with a valuable message. Those parents or individuals with the authority to make changes in the system should read it and take it to heart. A Mind at a Time is well researched, and is well written.