Montessori From The Start

Title of Book: Montessori From The Start

Author: Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen

Published by: Schocken Books, 2003



Review:

Most of us, especially parents, have heard of Dr. Maria Montessori and her unique and amazing education method in educating young kids. But what if you want the benefits of Dr. Montessori's insights to benefit your child since birth? Are there any way where parents can apply the Montessori's method during their child's early childhood years to prepare them for a better start in life? Recognizing the need, the founders of the Forest Bluff School in Lake Bluff Illinois, Paula Polk Lillard and her daughter, Lynn Lillard Jessen, both highly experienced educators, consolidated and condensed their years of experience in their teaching of the Montessori method into this book, entitled "Montessori From The Start".

This book, written based on the authors' insights and experience with working with young minds, provides practical and useful advice on how to use Montessori's theories to create a set of comprehensive approaches to raising infants. In addition, the authors have also provided valuable guidance for the creation of a beautiful and serviceable learning environment that will aid in the development of the infant's focus and concentration. Considering the kid's "sensitive periods", the authors have also introduced concepts and related activities for the development of such skills, such as dressing, food preparation and toilet training.

Infants, at the moment when they enter into this world, are already little sponges that are capable of soaking up information. How they are handled since birth has already an impact on how they will turn out in the future.

For example, drawing from one of the areas mentioned in the book, language development is essential as it wll influence the infant's understanding of what is happening around him and his ability to convey to others of his needs. Thus, the quality of the language to which the infant is exposed to permantly alters both his brain structure and its function. It is then essential, that the infant be given specific linguistic aid from birth, some of which includes good grammar, quantity of vocabulary and clear pronunciation by the care giver.

As the infant can only make sense of language when he relates directly with people, thus, one has to interact with the infant as one is speaking and face-to-face interaction is preferred (TV and VCDs are found to be less useful as they seem). Speech should be made simple and clear though and repetitions are required for reinforcement. Naming game is a good activity that parents can have with their infant.


This book is definitely a must read for parents who want to raise calm, capable and confident children.

The Rules of EQ

Title of Book: The Rules of EQ

Author: Rob Yeung

Published by: Marshall Cavendish Business, 2006


Review:

The rules of work have changed. These days, it is no longer the most intelligent people, nor the most hardworking people, nor the most experienced people that get promoted fast. The latest keyword to succeeding in the world today is EQ. The people who succeed are often good at motivating themselves and influencing others. They understand their own emotions and are able to get themselves going even if they are feeling otherwise. They are able to influence not only themselves, but also others, motivating and persuading people, to help them out, or in the more extreme case, to their own benefit.

Dr. Rob Yeung, an expertise where this area is concerned, shares his knowledge and experience on what is Emotional Quotient, and how can one apply it to the workplace. The book is structured in such a way whereby it centres around the three domains of EQ, namely self-awareness, self-direction and interpersonal savvy, and as well as their application as organizational savvy. In the four parts, Dr. Yeung explains the underlying ideologies and highlights what are some ways towards their attainment and discusses how can they be applied in the workplace.

For example, under the dimension Self-direction, one of the ways mentioned in the book is called "Visualize Success". Visualization is a useful tool as it can foster a virtuous circle in the brain-body-behavior link. This means that if you imagine yourself succeeding, then your brain sends nerve impulses to release chemicals that promote positive emotions, and then you will actually end up with a higher chance of succeeding! If you take the time and make the effort to imagine a scenario (ie. presentation) in greater clarity, the results of the visualization can be surprising.

On a personal note, this book can be an interesting read, as it will lead you on the road to self-discovery, and enable you to be more aware of your emotions, how to control them and at the same time, be more aware of others' actions and behaviors. The techniques mentioned in the book are rather useful, and if one is a hardworking student, these techniques will be excellent tools for the reader to find the path towards greater achievements in the workplace, and eventually, success!

The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander

Title of Book: The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander: from preschool to high school -
how parents and teachers can help break the cycle of violence

Author: Barbara Coloroso

Published by: Piccadilly Press, London, 2003


Review:

If you are not aware, thousands of children go to school each day filled with fear; sometimes they dread school to such an extent that they feign illness in order to avoid going to school. All these are results of the common occurance of bullying in schools. Bullying in schools has become so commonplace nowadays and is not restricted to a particular location or country - it occurs in US, UK, New Zealand, and even in the Asian countries, like Singapore!

As such, given the magnitude of the problem, author and educator Barbara Coloroso addressed the issue in this book.

The book is divided into two parts - Part One is dedicated to the discussion on the three main characters in the case of bullying. Part Two is an exploration on how the home, school and community have played a part in setting the stage for bullying to take place, and as such, how the three can come together to break the cycle and foster a safer and hamonious learning environment for all children to study in.

Be warned beforehand that one can be prepared to be chilled by the horrendous accounts of some of the cases of bullying narrated in the book. It is rather difficult to imagine that a child is capable of such acts of menace at such a young age to another person. What could have caused it to happen?After reading the book, I find that it is indeed a grime situation that we are facing, and thus, to ensure that the children of today have a safer environment to grow up and study in, it is imperative for adults, especially those with the authority and responsibility, such as parents and teachers, to identify potential cases and solve them before they aggravate and avanlanche into problems with dire consequences which we would rather that they were stopped in the first place.

It is quite a good and informative (quite a number of statistics, tips and case studies are available) book for those who are interested in the topic, teachers in schools, and as well as those who have kids in school. You might not be aware that your kid has already become a victim of bullying, for most of the victims choose to remain silent about it. However, there are techniques in the book to help you to identify and solutions offered to rescue your child out of the situation before it is too late to do so.