Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids: What Parents Need to Know, What Parents Need to Do [Paperback]

Linda Bress Silbert Ph.D. (Author), Ed.D. Alvin J. Silbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 2007

This easy-to-read guide will help parents help their children succeed in all stages of their educations. The Silberts work with parents to help figure out and address the root of a child's problems in school, instead of just treating the symptom: the bad grades. The book provides examples and techniques, and contains many real-life anecdotes about the students and parents the Silberts have worked with. The chapters are organized using S+T+R+O+N+G, an acronym that stands for Self-esteem + Trust + Responsibility + Options + Needs + Goals, the six interconnected areas central to the development of emotionally, socially, and intellectually strong kids. This is a great book for educators as well as for parents.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Silberts have provided a much-needed book on a very timely subject. Increasing numbers of children are performing at a sub-par academic level This performance, the authors point out, invariably is the symptom of situations that result from myriad problems that can be solved with proper child-parent rapport. The authors, as an aside, have presented, but in an inoffensive manner, the fact that the average parent, although `caring', or believing him/herself to be, often unthinkingly employs the least effective, and perhaps even the completely wrong, tactic. The average reader will be able to identify, almost immediately, many of the circumstances involved in their own personal case. The parent who is too involved with the necessity of making a living to have sufficient time for the child; the result of a broken home; too stringent rules; the overextended student: the student with undiscovered hearing problems; the one with attention deficit, or perhaps just a slower ability to learn - parents often set standards that the child is incapable of achieving; the child who does not gain a sense of `being part of the family' - a not unusual situation today where the child may be in day care in the morning, the ward of a baby sitter in the afternoon, rushed through dinner and being put to bed at night with little actual contact with the family; and many more causative situations. The book presents a large mass of important material in a very easily read series of simplified case studies, with subsequent succinct discussion of suggested solutions. It is a book that should provide the reader with an invaluable insight into the child's problem, and coincidentally necessitate the parent to indulge in some introspection to solve it. I should like to have seen a little further expansion on the subject of instilling a sense of `trust' in a child, because of the difficult and unsafe environment of today's world. However, the book does stress that a parent should realize his/her capabilities and seek professional aid when necessary where material of this nature easily can be obtained. I strongly recommend this book for any parent whose child is experiencing difficulties in school, or for any parent, for that matter. They may gain an insight to some of their own, possibly less than acceptable, parent-child thought or action patterns. -- John H. Manhold, Psychological Counselor and Past President, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine

Review

Why do bad grades happen to good kids? That is something I think every parent wants to know. All I can say is look no further than this wonderful book. It doesn't matter what type of grades your child has achieved - this book is just one of those things you should read regardless of anything else. It makes you think and see problems so much more clearly then you did before.

Also I think this excellent guide will help parents to understand more if they do happen to have a child who isn't getting good grades. The authors teach you why this is happening and what you can do to help your child using the STRONG Learning Program.

There are tales from kids themselves who are low-achievers. Many of them all share the same problem - their parents are too demanding and they feel overwhelmed. Linda and co aim to break down the problems into easy chunks so these youngsters can manage more easily.

Every parent needs to take responsibility and can relieve their child's work burdens by simply dedicating a few moments to help them with their homework,for instance. This is just one of the ways in which the authors recommend to improve your child's learning. Each chapter is broken into sections and filled with invaluable advice. Every problem there ever can be is included and solved.

This guide uncovers student's problems and helps communication skills between parents and their children. From increasing their confidence and self-esteem to improving responsibility and trust. It might sound hard but if you read the advice Linda and Alvin provide, it really can be quite simple. Also why not let your child read this? If it can help parents then it might provide solutions for students too.

A well-written book with a bright intriguing cover, packed with useful advice to cherish and share with others.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Beaufort Books (August 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825305772
• ISBN-13: 978-0825305771
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,196,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative book that actually makes you think, October 26, 2007

By 

Venkatesh Garani - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids: What Parents Need to Know, What Parents Need to Do (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to parents of all children. This book is wonderful no matter what type of student your child is. Many books I have read about helping you raise your children are mostly filled with common sense ideas, are rather boring, and are pretty bland. This book actually causes you to think about how you interact with your children and things that you could say or do in various real situations. It is beautifully written with entertaining anecdotes that you want to remember and repeat to your friends. The Silberts have created a book that parents will want to keep on their bookshelves and refer to for years to come.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Easy Read for a Difficult Problem, October 3, 2007

By 

E. Purcigliotti "NYS, K-12 educator" (Kent, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids: What Parents Need to Know, What Parents Need to Do (Paperback)

I wish Drs. Linda and Al Silbert had written this informative book when I was teaching. I would have recommended it to all those parents who wanted and needed help with raising their children. Their advice is "user friendly" for parents of all ages and educational levels. At times, I found this book truly inspirational.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for parents, October 2, 2007

By 

A West Coast Reader (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Bad Grades Happen to Good Kids: What Parents Need to Know, What Parents Need to Do (Paperback)

Chapters include:

Developing STRONG Kids

Building Self-Esteem

Creating Trust

Teaching Responsibility

Providing Options

Meeting Needs

Achieving Goals