That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week: Helping Disorganized and Distracted Boys Succeed in School and Life [Paperback]

Ana Homayoun (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 5, 2010

At last, the solution for getting disorganized boys back on track.

Missed assignments. Lack of focus and enthusiasm. Falling grades. For too many boys and their frustrated parents, these are the facts of life. But they don't have to be.

Top academic counselor Ana Homayoun has helped turn even the most disorganized, scattered, and unfocused boys into successful young people who consistently meet their personal and academic challenges. She does this by getting back to basics- -starting with a simple fact: Most boys needs to be taught how to get organized, how to study, and-- most important--how to visualize, embrace and meet their own goals.

With an accessible and no-nonsense approach, Homayoun shows how to:

• Identify their son's dis-organizational style

• Help him set academic and personal goals he cares about

• Design and establish the right "tools of the trade"

• Complete assignments without pulling all-nighters

• Help him tune out social pressure and fend off anxiety

Much more than a study guide, this insightful, user-friendly book provides a road map for the success too many boys have trouble finding--in school and in life.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Homayoun, an educational consultant, has seen plenty of boys who score high on standardized tests but earn poor grades. Often the reason is that boys are not as good as girls at multitasking, a crucial skill that requires organization. She reports complaints from parents of boys chronically losing homework, forgetting tests, and not turning in assignments. She cites research on differences in how girls and boys learn, and examines them in the context of the distractions of technology, from video games to the Internet. Homayoun also looks at contributing factors, from sleep deprivation to overly involved parents. She helps parents to identify the particular style of their son’s disorganization—procrastinator, scatterbrain, slacker, underachiever—and how to tailor a program that will help him. Among the suggestions: goal setting, self-competition, breaking down tasks into steps, scheduling to avoid stress and manage extracurricular activities, and using an assortment of tools, including binders and planners. Helpful advice for parents struggling with disorganized boys—or girls. --Vanessa Bush

Review

"That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week provides an innovative and practical approach to helping boys find success. Ana Homayoun presents straightforward, easily implementable solutions that will help transform the lives of boys and parents. A wonderful read!"
-Michael Gurian, author of The Wonder of Boys and The Minds of Boys

"Ana Homayoun gets it! Combining an extraordinary feel for what boys face in schools these days with an enormously shrewd, practical sets of tips on how to get organized and excel, this book hits a home run. All parents and teachers as well as students (yes, I think girls could find it useful, too!) will find that this book makes school less of a struggle and more of a pleasure. Brief, to-the- point, and clear, this book is an invaluable, unique tool."
-Edward Hallowell, M.D., author of Super Parenting for ADD and Driven to Distraction

"Filled with practical advice for the parents of disorganized boys (and that's an awful lot of young boys), Ana Homayoun's That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week teaches us how to help our sons navigate through a school environment that is less than kind to distracted and disorganized young men."
-Madeline Levine, Ph.D., Author of The Price of Privlege

"Homayoun, an educational consultant, has seen plenty of boys who score high on standardized tests but earn poor grades. Often the reason is that boys are not as good as girls at multitasking, a crucial skill that requires organization. She reports complaints from parents of boys chronically losing homework, forgetting tests, and not turning in assignments. She cites research on differences in how girls and boys learn, and examines them in the context of the distractions of technology, from video games to the Internet. Homayoun also looks at contributing factors, from sleep deprivation to overly involved parents. She helps parents to identify the particular style of their son's disorganization--procrastinator, scatterbrain, slacker, underachiever--and how to tailor a program that will help him. Among the suggestions: goal setting, self-competition, breaking down tasks into steps, scheduling to avoid stress and manage extracurricular activities, and using an assortment of tools, including binders and planners. Helpful advice for parents struggling with disorganized boys--or girls."
-Vanessa Bush, Booklist December 2009

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399535594
• ISBN-13: 978-0399535598
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Reference
  • #22 in Books > Education & Reference > Schools & Teaching > Parent Participation

More About the Author

Ana Homayoun is the founder of Green Ivy Educational Consulting and the author of That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week: Helping Disorganized and Distracted Boys Succeed in School and Life and The Myth of the Perfect Girl: Helping Our Daughters Find Authentic Success and Happiness in School and Life. She is a frequent presenter to teachers, parents and students on how to incorporate organization, time-management and personal purpose into the classroom and school community. She talks about the intersection of technology, socialization and learning in today's school culture, and it's effects on teens and young adults.

Follow her online at:

www.anahomayoun.com
www.facebook.com/MythofthePerfectGirl
www.twitter.com/anahomayoun
www.greenivyed.com/blog

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read -- simple, practical tips! January 15, 2010

By Malinda Whitson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Excellent book. It offers great advice and seemingly easy-to-implement tips on how to help your son perform better in school (and to help him enjoy other areas in life). It will help you re-think the whole "homework time is a nightmare" scenario. I especially appreciate the author's positive approach and her explanations for why certain strategies should be considered. It makes perfect sense. She also lists and explains different types of "dis-organizational" styles. They are dead on. Who knew that other boys have similar traits? And who knew that there were simple techniques, specific to their style, to help them get organized and more focused on their work? If your son needs some homework and organization strategies, get this book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Down to earth, practical guide to helping boys (and girls) succeed January 19, 2010

By Jeff Jefferson

Format:Paperback

As an educator for the past 7.5 years, I have seen a number of disorganized boys and their parents struggle to figure out school and how to be successful. Having successfully worked a number of years with disorganized boys, Homayoun clearly understands the individual students with whom she works. The book starts off with identifying the specific issues your child is having with school, then the proceeding chapters are framed around actual or composite students' issues and how Homayoun deals with these students. She is refreshing, funny, and understands the technological temptations that young boys have, especially in this day and age and offers simple suggestions that work, such as having your child put away his cell phone in a "technology box" until he finishes his homework. Or structuring your work time in 30 minute segments with appropriate breaks in order to maintain a healthy work pace. She reminds us that, as adults, we too should model organization for students if we are to expect them to be organized. And that being organized at any age will maximize the time we have to do what we really want to do--be it meet up with friends, write a book, get a few more hours of sleep, or take a class in something that we've always been interested in. Highly recommended.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST READ FOR ANY PARENT WITH A CHILD GETTING READY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL May 17, 2010

By Pen Name

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Homayoun's core belief that a child who has a set and predictable time, place, and strategy for doing their school work makes so much sense. You've heard it before. The experts all agree. BUT SHE TELLS YOU HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. Her strategies and systems are so easy to implement. She offers many alternatives for different kinds of families, households, and different kinds of kids. I've even implemented some of her strategies for my highly gifted, but somewhat disorganized, 2nd grader. They have taken a lot of stress off of our whole family and given him much more control over his life - and as she promises over and over in the book (a promise the book keeps) - given him much more free time to PLAY.