The Genius in Children

Parents have thousands of questions. How can we learn from them? What should we do when Isaac won’t get up in the morning? When Mattie keeps getting into trouble? What about dyslexia and the dreaded ADHD? How do we help Ellen stand up to peer pressure? What if our children are harassed? What if their report cards or their test scores are disappointing? What if the homework looks too easy? Too hard? What if they fail? What do you do when your child comes home and says, “Nobody will play with me!” or “The science teacher doesn’t know how to teach!”? What do you do if you hear from another parent that your child is being picked on by the teacher—and your child has said nothing about it? What if your son starts getting interested in boys—and vice versa? What do you do when your son starts using language or behavior you know he never learned at home? When your children try to play you and your partner off against each other? How do you get Marilyn to clean up her room or to do her homework? How do you get Wayne to obey you? Thousands. But very few such questions have generic answers that are any good, because people are different and each relationship is unique. Hence, this is a book of moments in the lives of children, their parents, and their teachers. These are stories of unique characters in action. They do, however, illuminate some of the principles of education and some of the disciplines we need to be good stewards of our children’s genius.