Customer Reviews

Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Elaine McEwan's latest book, "10 Traits of Highly Successful Schools," is another in a series of informative and pragmatic books for parents, educators, administrators, and school board trustees.

This particular book is aimed at parents, and shows us the path to "meaningful" involement in public education. Rather than ubiquitous parental involvement initiatives such as fund raising, helping out in the office, and running booster clubs, Elaine teaches you how to measure and evaluate the quality of your child's school. There's nothing quite like factual knowledge to hone your own critical-thinking skills.

For the sake of your child, and others less fortunate than yours, read and learn what Elaine has to say on this hot topic. Your final exam will take place soon.

I have just read "10 Traits of Highly Successful Schools" and wish that this book had been written ten years ago. I teach and can attest to the nature of educational jargon, especially that aspect where the very definitions of words change on a regular basis. Parents can never be sure just exactly what is going on in the schools because what they are told often means something quite different from what they hear. Elaine McEwan does not write in the language of education but in the language of effective communication. Her book is a straight forward, easily understood, no nonsense way of evaluating schools. Her knowledge and insights of the public school system are extensive and will give the reader resources with which to effectively weigh both sides of school issues and will be a definite asset in drawing objective conclusions based upon real observation and research. I would recommend "The Conspiracy of Ignorance" by Martin L. Gross as a companion reader to "10 Traits of Highly Successful Schools."˙

Elaine McEwan has written another practical book that will help parents with specific questions to ask, specific things to look for in your child's school (or any school in an area you plan to relocate to). All parents want a GOOD EDUCATION for their kids, and with all the reforms and changes currently going on in education, it's difficult to sort through the jargon, the methods, the claims of different educational practices. This book will give you SPECIFIC and PRACTICAL information to use in assessing the school district you're looking at for your own child. I WISH I'D HAD THIS BOOK before my daughter went to school (5 years ago). It would have saved my a lot of time, effort, and research. Ms. McEwan is a person of distinction, with much experience in the educational field. She simplifies a complex area with USABLE INFORMATION, as well as a VALUABLE BIBLIOGRAPHY to use to find more helpful information. I can't go through the book to give you chapter-by-chapter listings......I've lent the book to other parents who have also used the book to great advantage! There is so much mis-information out there on education, or "studies" regarding education that simply are opinion by educators......you deserve to see something REAL and PRACTICAL. Ten Traits of Highly Successful Schools is that answer. Ms. McEwan's other book (Angry Parents--Failing Schools) is another USEFUL AND HELPFUL book. Parents who are already embroiled in attempting to work within the system in their school district will identify with the stories of people just like them in this book. You aren't alone out there! READ BOTH BOOKS, YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID. I am.

I just finished reading Elaine McEwan's latest book -- 10 TRAITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS; the book is sure to be another five-star winner! The book offers a succinct, crystal-clear explanation of what people should look for and expect in a quality school. Only an experienced educator such as Elaine could have articulated so explicitly the inner workings of a public school while at the same time making sure the explanations make sense to the general public. 10 TRAITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS should be considered a necessary purchase for everyone who really wants to bring about education reform in America.

We always say how important education is to us, but often times we fall down on the job as parents and community members by not following up. The author of this book arms parents with enough concrete information (and sources to find even more information) to evaluate schools. Though she focuses on public schools, much of the information would be applicable to private schools too. I thought she was spot on in her descriptions of good and bad principals as well as good/bad teachers. In short, as educators, we need to be accountable -- enough of throwing up our hands. It's time to realize that we are behind other countries, especially in math, and it's time to adopt strong standards, not fuzzy ones. Occassionally, the author overstates or overgeneralizes (or perhaps is just overopinionated), but I see that as a relatively small flaw in a very useful and pragmatic book. She did a good job on the annotated bibliography and web site description.

Elaine McEwan's latest book, 10 TRAITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS could only have been written by someone who thoroughly understands the inner workings of a public school system. McEwan helps readers to ask the right questions when they approach a school -- questions that will require school personnel to produce hard evidence instead of "pie in the sky" answers.

In this book, McEwan takes the mystery out of educationeze and translates the school jargon into everyday laymen's language.

If the public is to have a part in bringing about education reform, they have to feel confident when they approach the school bureaucracy. McEwan's book gives laymen just the right amount of background knowledge to help them advocate for real education reform.

Elaine McEwan has made the complicated seem simple in 10 TRAITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL SCHOOLS.

As a school board member as well as a parent and taxpayer, I really appreciate Elaine's latest book. I meet her for the first time at a lecture she gave recently, but have been reading her for some time. This latest book has an excellant list of resources including an outstanding model mission statement and a chapter on math that I'm showing to all the fellow members of the math curriculum review committee I am on.

The worst book on education I have read. Over-and-over through this book the author makes blanket statements about cooperative learning, bilingual education, whole language (I do agree with her some on this one) condemning them and stating that these can hurt students and especially at-risk students. Education is not that simple and to give exaggerated negative information about these practices is obnoxious and harmful to the thousands of educators who apply them successfully in the classroom.