Customer Reviews

The Teenagers' Guide to School Outside the Box

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The Teenagers' Guide to School Outside the Box is inspiring! It's perfect for any teen who is looking to do something "different" with their high school experiences other than choir or student council. This book full of interesting ways to "break out of the box" and explore the world of alternative learning experiences, and it shows you step-by-step how to get the most out of opportunities like study abroad, adventure camps, job shadowing, internships, volunteering, etc. I loved the first-person stories by teens--they made me realize that I can do something as wild and crazy as climb a mountain in Tibet or do an apprenticeship with a blacksmith, all during high school! Before reading this book, I never knew just how much is out there. Now I do. If you read this book, you too will realize that there's a whole world out there to explore!

I'm a tenth-grader and I found Ms. Greene's book to be very helpful. My mom was always tired of me complaining about all the boring after school stuff at my high school so she got me this book. I was really excited after reading it because of all the great ideas she wrote about. I never knew that high school kids could take college courses-I'm already planning on taking some at the university next year. It will get me really excited about college. This book also gave me some other great ideas. I liked her chapters on finding an internship and being a youth apprentice. It really opened my eyes as to what's out there. I also liked all the examples she put in the book from other teens out there because it really made everything she talked about seem much more real. Ms. Greene is a very good writer and I am definitely recommending this book to my friends as well. Thanks.

Excellent book. Well written. I teach high school kids and every student gave it great reviews. My school district is thinking of making it a recommended reading book for all teenagers.

When I picked up this book, I knew I was looking for something to do this summer, but I had no clue what. This inspiring book gave me more ideas than I knew what to do with, from volunteering to studying abroad to interning. Now, I have a great internship this summer with a newspaper, thanks to all the great tips in this helpful book.

I'm a junior in high school and I've been reading this book bit by bit this semester to look for ways I can enhance my college applications. I've done all the typical high school stuff like being assistant editor of the newspaper, run track, and am the president of a couple of clubs, but I really want to stand out when I apply to colleges next year. I found a lot of great ideas in this book for doing just that--such as finding a study abroad program for this summer--I found one in Italy--and organizing a service program at my school.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking to be a unique applicant in the college admissions process--especially if your college counseling office isn't very helpful at providing good ideas to students--mine sure isn't.

I bought this book for my two daughters after reading about it in a newsletter. I thought the title and premise sounded interesting: a book aimed at teens who are looking for "something more" from their high school experience than just joining a team sport or working on the high school yearbook. Not that these activities aren't great--they are--but some teens want to "go outside the box," just as this book's title implies. My girls were interested in filling their weekends with some interesting activities, and this book gave them--and me--a ton of ideas.
For instance, the chapter on study abroad has given both of my daughters the idea that they'd like to spend next summer studying abroad in Europe. This book tells them exactly how to find a good program, how to prepare for departure, and what to expect while studying abroad. The chapter on mentoring gave them the idea to both look for an adult to teach them more about a hobby they enjoy doing. One has located a watercolorist to teach her more about the art in exchange for helping out at her studio; my other daughter is shadowing a pediatrician once per week, and has a wonderful mentor who is teaching her lots about the field.
I am enthusiastically recommending this book to other parents, in the hopes to get more teens out in the world, doing things that will help them better understand themselves.

I picked up this book at the recommendation of my summer school teacher, and it really helped me find some meaningful activities to do to help me figure out what I'm really interested in. For example, I wanted to get more involved in the arts, but living in a small town there's not that much opportunity here to take organized classes. This book inspired me to offer my time for free to a local artist in exchange for her teaching me how to draw, something I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

I also started volunteering at a local animal hospital because I'm thinking about eventually becoming a vet, and this book showed me how to find organizations that are happy to take volunteers. Overall, I just loved the personal examples from other teens who have done similar things, and shared these stories with my friends to help inspire them. Overall, I think this book will be great for any teen like me who needs a jump-start to get their summer heading in an amazing direction!

I'm 16 and in the eleventh grade, and my mom gave me this book after she read about it in a newsletter. I needed some help finding activities to do this school year that would help me get excited about school again. It worked!

The book showed me exactly how I could enroll in a college course at a local university, which is working out great so far because I was getting pretty bored in high school math, and now I can take advanced calculus with freshmen in college. Before I read this book, I never knew that an opportunity like this existed.

This book also gave me the idea to find a mentor in a subject I'm interested in, who can help me get more out of it than I could in high school. On the campus where I'm taking the calculus class, I also found a graduate student in math who's willing to be my mentor and tutor me in advanced math.

If you're kind of tired of what your high school has to offer, check out the unique ideas provided in this book. Don't miss the chapters on job shadowing and apprenticeships, too--they've given me even more ideas I plan to try out this year!

The Teenager's Guide.. is basically a cheap, glossed-over rehash of the Teenage Liberation Handbook.

If you've already read the aforementioned TLH, skip this book, because there is nothing very new or remotely inspiring in it. I couldn't even read the book in its entirety.

Filled with FYI boxes, bullet listings, and cheesy cartoon illustrations throughout, this book tells you of the various offerings out there such as apprenticeships, volunteerism, mentoring, study abroad, and taking classes outside of your high school.

In the section discussing mentoring, the author gives, IMO, some rather silly advice. She suggests you go out, find a person whom you would like to be your mentor and...ASK them if they will be your mentor. Yes, you ASK them verbally or in writing "will you be my mentor?". Personally, I think this is probably the surest way to scare a potential mentor away, not to mention what a vague and confusing question it is.

Greene also fails to mention how to search for information and resources on teaching yourself a subject, rather than just taking a class.

Overall, the Teenager's Guide has a very limited persepctive of "school outside the box." If it isn't in the form of a class or "service learning" opportunity, you can forget about learning whatever you're interested in.

If you want a REAL and truly life-changing guide to learning outside of school, I cannot begin to recommend the Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn.