Books About Education & Learning

The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child, by Dr.Selznick, describes a common, but poorly understood group of characteristics.

SHUT-DOWN LEARNER SIGNS
The following typically start to emerge in the upper elementary grades, becoming much more pronounced by high school:

• A sense that the child is increasingly disconnected, discouraged, and unmotivated (shut down)
• Fundamental skill weaknesses with reading, writing, and spelling, leading to lowered self-esteem
• Increased avoidance of school tasks such as homework
• Dislike of reading
• Hatred of writing
• Little to no gratification from school
• Increasing anger toward school

The Knowledge Deficit: Closing the Shocking Education Gap for American Children (Kindle Edition)

The Knowledge Deficit illuminates the real issue in education today — without an effective curriculum, American students are losing the global education race. In this persuasive book, the esteemed education critic, activist, and best-selling author E.D. Hirsch, Jr., shows that although schools are teaching the mechanics of reading, they fail to convey the knowledge needed for the more complex and essential skill of reading comprehension. Hirsch corrects popular misconceptions about hot issues in education, such as standardized testing, and takes to task educators' claims that they are powerless to overcome class differences. Ultimately, this essential book gives parents and teachers specific tools for enhancing children's abilities to fully understand what they read.