Category Archives: Book Review
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance [Book Review]
In her groundbreaking book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth – a psychology professor and 2013 MacArthur Fellow – introduces us to David. She recounts how while taking a freshman high school algebra course, David’s first math test came back with a D. In her interview with David, she asked him how…
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How Parents Can Help Teens Navigate Risk
One of the most memorable memories recounted in Augustine’s Confessions is the story of how as a youth, he and his friends stole pears from their neighbor’s tree simply for the thrill of it. While this story reminds me of the kind of comically mischievous adventures of Tom Sawyer or Peter Pan, Augustine is not…
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Can Education Make Us Robot-Proof?
Joseph E. Aoun has been president of Northeastern University for twelve years. During his tenure, he has thought deeply about the role of education. In his recent book, Robot-Proof: Higher Education in The Age of Intelligence, Aoun asks “How should education be used to help people in the professional and economic spheres?” He notes that…
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What Does It Mean to Be a “Tech-Wise” Family?
A 2018 Pew Research Center survey has found that parents think teens spend too much time on their phones, and teens agree. The Atlantic reports: Fifty-four percent of the roughly 750 13-to-17-year-olds surveyed said they spend too much time absorbed in their phones, and 65 percent of parents said the same of their kids’ device…
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The Connected Child [Book Review]
My wife Anna and I have spent this past year going through the required training to become adoptive parents. One of the most helpful books we were assigned to read is The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family by Drs. Karyn Purvis and David Cross. I wanted to share some of…
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Actual Minds, Possible Worlds [Book Review]
The German philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously declared: “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” Wittgenstein’s insight is that thinking is dependent on language. Think about how an infant’s world expands as she learns to communicate, and how the young child’s world expands even more as her vocabulary rapidly expands. (Notice that…
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Lessons Learned From Reading The Talent Code
Picture the following scene. Your child is practicing a new song on the piano. If you didn’t already know what the song was, you wouldn’t be able to recognize it because your child pauses after every couple of notes. After playing one small section of the song, he goes back, replays those same notes, fixing…
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The Read-Aloud Family [Book Review]
Sarah Mackenzie is the beloved host of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast. Her new book, The Read-Aloud Family, is a great resource for every family. Mackenzie mixes personal anecdotes with relevant research on why reading aloud is so beneficial. There’s practical advice on how to grow as a read-aloud family, and common myths like “my kids…
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