Adventures in Parenting

If you have a child who isn’t experiencing success in school, don’t assume it’s exclusively your child’s fault. After all, who decided that the only way to learn was to sit in straight rows, or listen to a teacher lecture, or concentrate quietly for long periods of time?

Isnt’ that comforting to hear those words if you have a child who is having problems at school? Cynthia Tobias’ book Every Child Can Succeed gives you hope that something can be done for your child.

I recommended Tobias’ first book The Way They Learn. In this book Every Child Can Succeed, she gives practical suggestions on how to motivate and enhance each child’s success. By understanding their learning style, you can make the most of what would help them learn.

For example, she says for the Concrete Sequential learner who works best with a plan, give them an oversized calendar. For the Abstract Sequential child who needs to think things through without rushing, give him the job of researching the family vacation. For the Abstract Random learner who needs to have a feeling of accomplishment, let them know how their work will affect people they love. For the Concrete Random learner who are driven by the need to keep things moving, they are motivated by a sense of adventure and intrigue.

The chapter on Making Teachers Your Allies is especially useful in approaching the teacher about your child’s learning style.

I found it somewhat difficult to keep up with the characteristics of each of the four learning styles, and how to work with each. But after I got familiar with the terms, and begin to see the tendencies in myself and my children fitting into the categories, it began to make perfect sense.

So if you get confused at the beginning, give yourself time to digest it. The concepts will prove to be very helpful.