Roundtable Book Discussions Kick Off...

...with Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman's book NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children

Thursday, February 25th, 2010
7pm at The Soulard School

"The central premise of our book is that many of modern society's strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring — because key twists in the science have been overlooked. The resulting errant assumptions about child development have distorted parenting habits, school programs, and social policies. They affect how we think about kids, and thus how we interpret child behavior and communicate with the young. The intent of this book is not to be alarmist, but to teach us to think differently — more deeply and clearly — about children. The topics covered in this book are wide-ranging, devoted to equal parts brain fiber and moral fiber. They relate to children of every age, from tots to teens. Specifically, we have chapters devoted to confidence, sleep, lying, racial attitudes, intelligence, sibling conflict, teen rebellion, self-control, aggression, gratitude, and the acquisition of language". - Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

The Soulard School's vitality is one of its most exciting characteristics, and is due in large part to the incredible participation of our families. Our roundtable discussions are one of the many ways families are able to join in and cultivate such a special place for our kids to learn and grow (see Dec. newsletter). These continue into the new year with our first roundtable book discussion, where we will explore Bronson and Merryman's book Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children. This is a book that the staff have been exploring for professional development as well (especially chapters 1, 2 & 8), and we hope this will be the first of many great book discussions that deepen the communication in our community. Read the book - or as much as you can - and join us to share your thoughts and responses.

Email Katie Mack with any questions:
info@soulardschool.org