The Disengaged Teen by Anderson and Winthrop

THE DISENGAGED TEEN is a newly released work by Jenny Anderson, an award-winning journalist who reports on the science of learning, and Rebecca Winthrop, the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Their book is directed to both parents and educators and is subtitled “Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better.” We all know that especially since COVID students have had a more difficult time re-acclimating to a school setting and staying motivated and engaged. The authors also observed this situation in their own families and conducted extensive research – both qualitative and quantitative - prior to writing this text. Part I describes the four patterns of behavior they found: Passenger (tending to coast along); Achiever (focusing on grades and other external rewards, perfectionist); Resister (refusing to do participate); and Explorer (following interests and building necessary skills). Anderson and Winthrop caution against applying these labels to individual students, arguing instead that the behaviors are fluid. Part II of the book is an “engagement toolkit” with stories, exercises, and ideas so that adults can help to spark student learning and to make the distance between school and life be seen as less of a “chasm.” The authors point out that “resilient learners are not strong; they are flexible.” Anderson and Winthrop recently contributed a guest essay to The New York Times where they note: “Many recent graduates aren’t able to set targets, take initiative, figure things out and deal with setbacks — because in school and at home they were too rarely afforded any agency.” I also attended a recent one hour Family Action Network session where Charles Duhigg (Supercommunicators) posed some excellent questions while interviewing these authors about THE DISENGAGED TEEN. Due to the emotions involved, this may be a difficult book for parents to digest, but it is likely to be thought-provoking and worthwhile. 

Organization and Motivation ... part 3

These two titles deal with emotions: anger and fear and how those can often stand in the way of  accomplishment and better organization.

ZERO TO 60 by Michael A. Tompkins is subtitled “A Teen’s Guide to Manage Frustration, Anger, and Everyday Irritations.” Its primary focus is on dealing with anger and explaining cognitive and behavioral strategies to promote better communication and the de-escalation of situations where aggressive behavior can get out of control. Unfortunately, there was no table of contents in the eBook preview, but the author does make an effort to speak directly to troubled teens; “zero to sixty” is just the first of many analogies to driving a car. Tompkins, a licensed psychologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at UC Berkeley, emphasizes reducing speed to regain control, pulling over, and leaving anger by the side of the road. ZERO TO 60 received positive reviews from Booklist (“a must for social-emotional learning collections”) and Kirkus (“a welcome workbook for teens wishing to get a handle on their anger issues”). Each chapter contains worksheets to help with anger management skills as well as a summary of key points; near the end there are several pages with lists of helpful resources (books, web sites, etc.) for teens, families, and educators. (APA/Magination Press) ordered – 4 stars

STOP AVOIDING STUFF by Matthew S. Boone, Jennifer Gregg and Lisa W. Coyne reviews “25 Microskills to Face Your Fears and Do It Anyway.” The authors’ credentials, a social worker, professor of Psychology at San Jose State, and a practicing clinical psychologist, are impressive. They bring much needed insight to overcoming fears with practical suggestions in sections designed to build awareness, feel your feelings, free yourself of fearful thoughts, shift your view, and take small steps. Noting that avoidance is about control, the authors use each of the 25 short chapters (e.g., take perspective or practice gratitude) to describe a microskill by using stories and scientific background. This means there are many words, but, unfortunately, few images or diagrams appear to be interspersed. (New Harbinger)  3 stars