School Sense: How to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School [Paperback]

Tiffani Chin PhD (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Parents are provided with the information they need to make the most of their children’s elementary school experience in this useful reference. Recognizing that all children and parents have their own needs, strengths, and weaknesses, this guide offers a range of suggestions and examples to help parents learn how schools work and how to accomplish specific goals for their children. Choosing schools, communicating with teachers, and helping children with homework and projects are some of the topics covered.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Most parents, despite their best intentions, are ill equipped to help their children devise pie charts, write book reports, stick to a homework schedule, calm themselves before taking tests, take notes and deal with the many other potentially intimidating aspects of elementary school education. That's where Chin's valuable book comes in: the author, who founded EdBoost, a nonprofit corporation that provides educational services to families, has a dozen years of experience researching tutoring and education, and her extensive knowledge adds an authoritative edge to this handbook, which primarily deals with academics but also covers discipline and other social aspects of elementary school. Chin's first solo effort after coauthoring Tutoring Matters explains virtually everything parents need to know to help their kids flourish from kindergarten to their departure for middle school. Chapters focus on choosing a school; getting involved (in parent-teacher conferences, volunteering, etc.); helping with homework, reports and projects; pursuing enrichment activities parents and children can do at home; and handling special situations, like gifted and talented education and learning disabilities. Chin takes a "more is more" approach, and she acknowledges that parents should take her recommendations with a grain of salt. But even if they adhere to just a portion of her sage, sincere advice, children will benefit.
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Review

"School Sense is the best ‘how to’ book on education available. Even the most savvy parent can learn a lot." -- Meredith Phillips, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Public Policy and Social Research, University of California, Los Angeles

"A readable and comprehensive guide . . . This information will help parents support their children as students and help students succeed." -- Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., director, Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Johns Hopkins University

"Chin tries reach[ing] parents who have few resources, minimal time, and a small budget...Highly recommended for all public libraries." -- Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189166140X
• ISBN-13: 978-1891661402
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,657,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Tiffani Chin!, June 27, 2004

By 

Adam Miller (Santa Monica, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School Sense: How to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (Paperback)

My child and I have already begun to reap the benefits from this insightful and accessible book. By following Dr. Chin's recommendations, I've been able to become a better tutor to my son. My improvement in this area has been reflected in his grades and our relationship. Thank you for writing such a helpful book, I owe you one!

2.0 out of 5 stars Lots of common sense, but a bit misguided, February 3, 2011

By 

Kimberly Sacha "raisin99" (Sammamish, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: School Sense: How to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (Paperback)

This book is largely common sense for parents with some useful insights into the schooling system. Decent overview, but if you already know your child has special needs (is gifted, has learning disabilities, etc.), skip this one and get a book geared for parents of children with your specific needs.

Dr. Chin answers questions such as "What's the least amount of involvement I can do while still looking like an involved parent?" (p. 72) and "My child will not do her homework - I always end up doing it for her. Is this okay?" (p.126)

Some specific criticisms I have of this book are:

The full title of this book is "School Sense: How to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School," but I suspect that the author and I define "success" for elementary students in vastly different ways, although Dr. Chin never actually states her definition.

"School Sense" does not back up statements with research and although she describes how to use make a bibliography, does not include one herself!

Dr. Chin is very supportive of homework, but doesn't address what is an appropriate amount. (See NEA: 10-20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level thereafter. Not just for the quicker students - for all students.) Research does not support the usefulness of homework past this amount. Also, Dr. Chin says homework should be top priority. I think many people (even highly academic & "successful" adults) would agree that family comes first. Research also supports the idea that family dinners are much more valuable than school drill & kill exercises.

I highly disagree with Dr. Chin's idea that parents should be tutors. Most are not trained teachers nor do they have the disposition required to tutor. The tutoring dynamic can be really hard the parent-child relationship. Many parents only have a couple of hours a day with their children. Does it really benefit anyone to spend this precious time on homework?

So overall, I don't feel that I learned much from this book and suspect the only reason I even finished reading it was to see if the end was more helpful than the beginning, but it wasn't.

5.0 out of 5 stars SCHOOL SENSE: an eye opener, August 31, 2004

By 

L. Sue Shultz (West Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: School Sense: How to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (Paperback)

This book is a MUST for parents who want an insiders view on how to help their children through the maze of the school system.
Although written from an inside view of the LAUSD most of the matieral is applicable to any school system anywhere in this country! So-o very helpful, and easily readable !