7 Steps to Help Boys Love School - Teaching Strategies to Reduce Frustration & Spark Passion | Ideal for Parents & Educators in Homeschooling & Classroom Settings

Linda Gilliam's book, The Seven Steps to Help Boys Love School: Teaching to Their Passion for Less Frustration is a must read for educators and parents of children ages two through nine. She accurately analyzes and provides effective options for the pressing issue of how to effectively work with boys in the current school setting.Ms. Gilliam provides a philosophy for readers that is researched based as well as meeting the criteria of common sense. Boys, young boys, need to be active. Young boys and girls are wired differently and while we agree children should have the same opportunities regardless of gender---current brain research shows boys have different needs as they are growing and developing. Every point that Ms. Gilliam suggests for making boys love school, works for girls too. The myriad of ideas she suggests throughout her book supports every one of her philosophical planks. A few points: --Limited screen time --Reading to children daily --Individualizing learning to children's interest --Make recess mandatoryMs. Gilliam spends some time developing responses to current questions about how we educate our young today including: "Why are we still educating children the way we have done it for years?" "Why do we ignore he current research around how children learn?" "Why do we not work with the latest information about brain development and gender differences?"Many traditional teaching methods are punitive and are not successful in the long term. The time word strategy of "one size fits all" is failing dramatically in meeting the needs of young boys. Research has proven this and yet we keep using failing methods---repeatedly. Ms. Gilliam has dedicated a large segment of her book providing parents with "How to Instructions" for influencing change: both in the larger school picture and individually with their own child. Again many research studies have proven that parent involvement enhances children's achievement levels.The author stresses the important developmental theory that emphasized children in preschool through primary years need to be active not academic. Having children "still" for hours does not provide effective learning environments. Activity promotes brain development--not sitting still completing work sheets. Children will become successful students and excel at academics if they are allowed to be active learners in the preschool-primary years. Again, research proves that children five to eight years of age have to be taught differently than older children.In the chapter labeled "Learning How to Teach to Their Passion, Ms. Gilliam sets forth "The Seven-Days of the Week Overview" that outlines the seven steps teachers and parents need to follow to have boys love school. As you continue reading you realize that boys, especially boys, need to see a reason to learn.This book is very readable. Stories from teachers individualizing their curriculum to meet the needs and interests of their students mixed with quotes from educators and philosophers will keep readers engaged and turning the page to reach the conclusion. Using the methods Ms. Gilliam advocates, teachers and parents will be able to help boys learn to love school. Using boys' interests and passion as the foundation for teaching will engage boys in learning and reduce frustration for all.I recommend this book to any person who cares about children and also wishes to improve he educational system to benefit all children. As Ms. Gilliam says, we are losing a lot of brainpower as boys drop out of school in part because they are not successful readers.It is a political, an educational and a parental issue. This book can motivate teachers to change their teaching and motivate everyone to work to change rules about how children are taught. Through out the book Ms. Gilliam offers hands on doable solutions to help children. Based on her forty years of teaching this author consistently "walks her talk" and provides practical strategies to support her philosophical ideas. As an early childhood educator, college educator, parent and grandparent I heartily encourage you to read this book.Sally SkeldingRetired Early Childhood FacultyConference presenterLiteracy advocate