Books about Underachieving from Amazon.com

Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. While Emily is working hard at school and getting As, her brother Justin is goofing off. Hes more concerned about getting to the next level in his videogame than about finishing his homework. Now, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than twenty years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home. He shows how social, cultural, and biological factors have created an environment that is literally toxic to boys. He also presents practical solutions, sharing strategies which educators have found effective in re-engaging these boys at school, as well as handy tips for parents about everything from homework, to videogames, to medication..
Price: $10.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For any parent who has ever been told, "your child isn't performing up to his or her potential," this book has the answer. Renowned clinical psychologist Michael Whitley, Ph.D. offers a proven ten-step program to motivate underachieving children This easy-to follow book identifies the six types of underachievers from the procrastinator to the hidden perfectionist to the con artist, and it presents the ten steps to help children succeed in school-and ultimately, in life..
Price: $4.64 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Drawing on a large body of empirical evidence, former Harvard President Derek Bok examines how much progress college students actually make toward widely accepted goals of undergraduate education. His conclusions are sobering. Although most students make gains in many important respects, they improve much less than they should in such important areas as writing, critical thinking, quantitative skills, and moral reasoning. Large majorities of college seniors do not feel that they have made substantial progress in speaking a foreign language, acquiring cultural and aesthetic interests, or learning what they need to know to become active and informed citizens. Overall, despite their vastly increased resources, more powerful technology, and hundreds of new courses, colleges cannot be confident that students are learning more than they did fifty years ago.

Looking further, Bok finds that many important college courses are left to the least experienced teachers and that most professors continue to teach in ways that have proven to be less effective than other available methods. In reviewing their educational programs, however, faculties typically ignore this evidence. Instead, they spend most of their time discussing what courses to require, although the lasting impact of college will almost certainly depend much more on how the courses are taught.

In his final chapter, Bok describes the changes that faculties and academic leaders can make to help students accomplish more. Without ignoring the contributions that America's colleges have made, Bok delivers a powerful critique--one that educators will ignore at their peril.

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Price: $12.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Kids Left Behind: Catching Up the Underachieving Children of Poverty examines critical studies on high-performing, high-poverty schools to identify how schools can fulfill the mission of educating all students to proficiency, especially students at risk. The authors identify eight best practices and then further break those down into specific strategies, often using real-life examples from successful schools..
Price: $25.88 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A parenting specialist and child psychologist helps tackle a headache for parents and kids alike--homework--and gets underachievers back on track.

Is your child constantly bored or frustrated at school? Has homework become more of a family crisis than a learning exercise every evening? As any parent of a school-age child can tell you, helping children to achieve at school and get into a good college is a primary concern. Parents are starting to worry about this when their children are still very young, knowing that the work habits and study skills their children develop in elementary school will affect their performance in middle school, high school, and eventually, college. Unfortunately, bad habits on the part of kids and parents can result in poor academic performance and tense parent/child relationships.
Now, in Overcoming Underachieving, Dr. Ruth Peters--a trusted child psychologist who has helped thousands of children and their parents solve scholastic problems--tackles kids' academic underachievement head-on, and presents a clear strategy that has worked for her clients and can work for almost all kids who aren't performing as well as they could. With a practical program targeted for parents of children from first through the twelfth grade, this book gives concrete advice about how to:
-reward performance
-build a child's self-concept
-help kids battle apathy
-identify common behavioral patterns among parents and children that lead to academic underachievement

As the market is inundated with new study aids and guidebooks and expensive tutors, Dr. Peters's straightforward, strategic plan is a breath of fresh air for parents and children. Overcoming Underachieving is the best tool for helping your kids get the better grades they want and deserve.
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Price: $2.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Praise for the First Edition:

"Barr and Parrett have provided educators, policy makers, and parents with an outstanding resource. If you're serious about leaving no child behind, this is the one book you need to read."
-Bill Scott, Executive Director
Kentucky School Boards Association

Praise for the Second Edition:

"We now have the tools to ensure that all our students are successful-what a glorious time for schools, thanks to Robert Barr and William Parrett!"
-Nancy Golden, Superintendent
Springfield Public Schools, OR

Improve achievement for all students with winning strategies that respond to NCLB requirements!

Demonstrating that both struggling students and low-performing schools can show dramatic improvement, the authors provide lessons learned from experienced teachers to help educators effectively instruct students who are disadvantaged, culturally diverse, or who may be at risk. Featuring the voices of students, teachers, and administrators, this field-tested guide reviews NCLB mandates and encourages educators to:

• Establish priorities that focus on student learning
• Create a school and classroom climate of respect
• Maintain high expectations for academic performance
• Rely on results-driven instructional and assessment practices
• Collaborate with parents and families

Saving Our Students, Saving Our Schools, Second Edition, is a valuable resource for educators who want to ensure positive school change and support academic success for their students.

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Price: $28.85 [Notify me when price goes down.]

John Holt, the "grandfather" of homeschooling, shook up the education establishment and launched many parents' thoughts about better ways to teach their children In this book he lays out his basic arguments about how schools fail our children, and he offers a wealth of inspiring ideas for what to do about it.

The Underachieving School is a collection of essays and articles written and compiled by Holt, each brimming with inspiration and ideas on how to teach children--taking into account the ways in which children actually learn. Through his original thinking, clear and thoughtful writing, and firsthand accounts of what does and doesn't work in education, this book shows us the difference between learning and schooling..
Price: $2.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Help your child succeed!

If your child is falling behind in school, you know what heartache is —watching the struggle, feeling the frustration, yearning to help —but what can you do?

You can do a lot! In Overcoming Underachieving two nationally recognized experts in children's school problems show you how to become your child's advocate, coach, and guide through the educational process. Using numerous case examples, they help you pinpoint your child's unique learning patterns and the problems that interfere with learning, behavior, and achievement.

This information-packed book provides dozens of creative, parent-tested tools to help your child overcome difficulties with reading, math, handwriting, study skills, memorization, attention span, and many other problems that affect school success. With the help of Overcoming Underachieving, you can:

• Learn proven methods of assessing your child's patterns of learning and behaving
• Describe learning and behavior problems clearly to teachers and other educators
• Develop strategies that use strengths to overcome weaknesses
• Set goals your child really can achieve
• Find out how to improve your child's behavior and self-esteem

Emotional support is important, but you can give your son or daughter even more. Find out how in Overcoming Underachieving. .
Price: $18.81 [Notify me when price goes down.]

 

Make a breakthrough with underachieving and at-risk students!

Little compares to the thrill of seeing a young mind come alive with wonder. But despite the best efforts, there are always students who seem unreachable, unteachable. So what can educators do to make learning fun and rewarding for all students?

Breaking the Learning Barrier for Underachieving Students provides a strong theoretical understanding of learning styles, focusing on at-risk, or "dramatic" learners and why traditional teaching methods fail to meet their educational needs. Offering innovative yet practical teaching strategies, disciplinary policies, and lesson plans designed to engage even the most reluctant learners, Nelson demonstrates the importance of the principles that guide his groundbreaking work with at-risk students:

• Learning requires active involvement, participation, and effort from the learner
• Learners need dramatic elements to gain meaning and inspiration
• Teachers must consider the values and preferences of the learner
• Learning must be fun

Using Nelson’s classroom-tested strategies to modify existing lessons and the learning environment so that these conditions are met, you will be amazed by the progress you can make with every student in your classroom!

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Price: $29.94 [Notify me when price goes down.]