Your Child's Strengths

The Parent Blogger's Network provided me with a copy of the book Your Child's Strengths: Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them by Jenifer Fox to review. Having read it, I would recommend it as a thought-provoking read for any parent or teacher.

The book is a well written amalgamation of explanations, anecdotes, and instructions and/or suggestions related to what Fox calls The Strengths Movement. The chapters are well structured, and contain a number of sub-sections which allows one to read the book in fits and starts (as many parents of young children, like myself, are often forced to do). The language is clear and relatively easy to understand, and the book is peppered with stories from the author's experiences not only as a teacher, but also as an observer of other people's children, making it easier to understand her point.

The basis of the book (and presumably the movement itself, although admittedly my only exposure to the movement is this book), is the idea that we live in a world that is focused on the negative. Schools are designed to identify what is "wrong" with a child; parents tend to try and "fix" their children. Instead, the author argues, what is needed is a fundamental shift in attitude. Parents and teachers should focus on a child's strengths, not their weaknesses. A child's strengths, according to the book, are not simply skills that the child has developed an acuity for, but rather those skills which the child performs exceptionally well and provides them with a sense of accomplishment and excitement.

While the book is well structured, and the author painstakingly explains the ideas and concepts, as well as offers guidance in identifying one's own child's strengths, what I found lacking was a firm connection to the reality of the world as it is now. I understand that it is intended to be an introduction to a modified (if not revolutionary) way of thinking and approaching raising and educating a child, but the fact is that the execution of this plan must occur in the world as it is today. While in an idyllic world every child could discover their strengths and use that knowledge and ability to make informed decisions about their future, those actions still have to be done within the confines of today's society.

Regardless of my opinions about the book's connection to the "real world", I would still suggest parents and teachers take a look at this book. It certainly provides strategies to help encourage your children/students to develop and master skills, and if nothing else it offers a fresh perspective on both modern parenting tendencies as well as the education system.