With this groundbreaking work, educator Jenifer Fox is poised to change the conversation about education in America. 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 you approach and 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.
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"This just reinforces all our philosophies about raising children. Children need empathy and respect and it isn't helpful to focus on failures and punishment. It is also interesting to think about my own strengths and what things make me thrive. "
— Joni (5 out of 5 stars)
“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.”
— Publishers Weekly“Brilliant, innovative, enormously practical…this book could change the world.”
— Edward Hallowell, MD, author of Driven to Distraction" Interesting idea on teaching, but it should have been shorter. I could have gotten all the information from a half-hearted skimming. Its redeaming feature is the activities to find strengths at the end. "
— Adam, 11/13/2013" This book gave fantastic, practical tips for helping children recognize their strengths. "
— Rachelle, 6/30/2012" Some good content but the authors perspectives sometimes irritated me. I just couldn't force myself to finish it. A good skim would have gotten the point across for me. I did like the sample tests/ evaluations in the back. They were fun for my kids and I to do. "
— Mary, 7/23/2011" This book changed the way I saw myself, by giving me a better understanding of why I struggled in school. Read this book as a gift to your child, "
— Patti, 1/25/2011" Some great gems in this book "
— Barbbends, 1/24/2011" This was an intriguing book. I loved the creativity and optimism presented. The end has a lot of great activities you can try on either a student or your own child. "
— April, 1/14/2010" I'm all for focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses--and Fox's program is inspiring. "
— Michael, 1/4/2010" So far, this is a great book to understand strengths for kids. Its more for pre-teen and teenaged kids but gives you options on how to apply it to younger kids. I'm reading through the workbook and am going to try some of it on my daughter. "
— Nausheena, 6/24/2009" EXCELLENT!! Read this book to not only discover your child's strengths but yours as well.... <br/>A must read for anyone who has children or who teaches them! "
— Carla, 12/11/2008Jenifer 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.
Renée Raudman is an actor and Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator. She has performed on film, television, radio, and on stage and can also be heard in several video games and hundreds of television and radio voice-overs.