Customer Reviews

Emotion: The on Off Switch for Learning

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Way back in 2000, I saw Priscilla Vail speak and then bought this book. Her ideas were instrumental in helping me create a classroom where all students felt safe and were comfortable enough to take risks. This is particularly important in the middle school math class. To ensure that everyone be successful thinkers, we have to value mistakes as learning opportunities. Working in math is no different from playing a sport or an instrument that needs to be practiced. While some may go on to play in the majors or the Philharmonic, most people just need to feel confident, comfortable, and competent. After creating generation after generation of people who think that they are "not good at math" because they did not understand what they were doing in high school, it is time to examine what our desired outcome should be. From there we can work backwards to reach that goal.

I highly recommend this book for the new teacher. Often, new teachers (and some veterans) take it personally when children do not understand what they are trying to teach. This leads to a reaction that is the opposite of what the students need. Teachers need to take responsibility for the atmosphere in classrooms. If they get angry because students ruined the excellent lesson plans by not getting the new concepts, they have misunderstood the role that teachers play. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You can increase your odds if you run that horse around to make him really thirsty and you make that water look awfully tasty. It's all been said before and many will say it again, but Vail presents it well in this book.

Distilling complex research into manageable bites, and writing in plain English, Vail brings knowledge of current brain research on emotion into everyone's bailiwick. Great job! Author, please keep writing. I love your style, your content, your zest and your compassion

for parents, teacher and families.

This wonderful book offers alternative ways of looking at the issues that all students deal with in school. It offers ways of dealing with these situations by all adults.

I have bought several copies for teachers and parents .... and all have found 'wisdom' in the pages ... for all students.