Learning while Teaching

Book Review: Luna's Red Hat

Title: Luna's Red Hat

Author: Emmi Smid

Emmi Smid on Twitter

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Year: 2015

Pages: 36

Illustrated.

Special contribution from bereavement specialist: Dr. Riet Fiddelaers-Jaspers (Website is in Dutch)

[Disclaimer: I was provided with an ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review of this book. I was not compensated in any way nor was I asked to write a favorable review. Cover image is the property of the publisher.]

Around the same time as I received my permission to access this book (the morning of March 2, 2015) I was looking at a story on the internet about a school teacher in a California high school who had committed suicide. Last year the world was stunned when beloved actor Robin Williams was found dead of suicide. It seems scarcely a day goes by that we don't hear about the suicide of someone. But we typically only hear about the famous people or the 'fantastic' suicides--like a school teacher who is found in her classroom by her students.

What we often fail to take into consideration is that suicide more often affects 'everyday' families and the little people who make up those families. Except within our own communities, we hardly ever hear about suicides that affect families and children in small towns all around our nation every day. A US News story from October 2014 reported that the suicide rates in the US are at a 25 year high at nearly 13 suicides per 100,000 persons. These are frightening statistics and should give us pause as we consider what factors have led to such confounding numbers of people taking their own lives.

As a teacher, I am thankful that I have yet to find it necessary to have this conversation with any of my students or their parents. When I was a church pastor, I did have to have this conversation with one of my congregants after her son committed suicide. I also conducted the funeral which was among the most difficult I ever conducted.

As a parent, a teacher, and a former church pastor, I have often wondered what resources are available to help adults help children work through the difficulties of suicide. I have seen small pamphlets in funeral homes, but nothing of the caliber of this 36-page picture book. I'll say it right up front: I loved this book. Absolutely loved it.

Luna's Red Hat is a wonderful book and frankly, if I may say so, it's not just a children's book. I found the book warm and comforting. It wasn't preachy or overbearing, but gentle and touching. In fact, the book invited me in with its soft brushstrokes in the art and the honest dialogue between Luna and her dad. It's not thick and syrupy, but light and honest. It does not in any way come off as cheesy or fake, but rather genuine and meaningful.

I have reviewed quite a few children's books, I have read even more, and one thing that always bothers me about many (if not most) of the children's books I read is that the dad is often portrayed as a dupe or as absent or as just plain lousy. I will say this about Luna's Red Hat the author did a fantastic presentation of the father character in this book. The father doesn't have all the answers, but he is not stupid. He is not absent, but he is not overbearing. He is mature, yet can also be silly. He is wise, but he doesn't talk too much. He gives his daughter space to vent her emotions and to give words to her feelings. He comforts her in her grief and yet he also helps her keep her life's momentum.

I very much like that the father in this book is portrayed positively. This alone would make me recommend this book.

Finally, I am sucker for a children's story with good artwork. The story can be pretty terrible and yet have good artwork and I will be a fan--maybe because the students I work with in special education tend to spend a lot more time looking at pictures than they do at words. In this book, however, I got both. The artwork is excellent. The colors are soft and inviting when they need to convey a certain emotion, and strong and dark when they need to convey another emotion. At times the author wrapped the text into the picture so as to convey an extra sense of the turmoil Luna is experiencing. I think this is an excellent idea and it works well for this book.

Other attention to detail is important too: flowers that droop to match the mood of the characters, a  small tear rolling down a cheek, the sadness in the mother's face. All of this works together to give a strong emotion to the book--an emotion that I believe captures well what a person in Luna's situation might well experience.

The story is deep, but the text is not complicated. The artwork is simply excellent. The topic is a difficult one, yes, but the author handles the subject matter with a deft hand and a sensitive heart. I believe this is a book that needs to have a wide audience and should be on hand for such an occasion as one might have to endure as a teacher or a parent or a pastor. Sometimes we simply do not have the words to give voice to our feelings. This is a book I believe that lends its voice to help grief stricken parents and children alike navigate through the troubled waters of the suicide of someone close.

There is also a two page guide at the end of the book from a professional grief counselor (links are provided above). There are some helpful words for parents and other professionals. In my opinion, while it is helpful, it's probably not necessary. It neither adds to nor detracts from the book's content. The story stands well enough on its own.

This is a book I will be purchasing for my classroom. It probably won't just 'sit on the shelf', but it will be handy if I ever, God-forbid, need it.

Very highly recommended. It is simply a beautiful book.

5/5 Stars

Book Review: Autism Breakthrough

Title: Autism Breakthrough

Author: Raun K Kaufman

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Year: 204

Pages: 341 (e-book)

Autism Treatment Center of America

Autism Breakthrough: Additional Content

Autism Treatment Center of America: Facebook

The Son-Rise Program: Blog

[I am required by FCC law to inform you that I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I hope you feel better now.]

 According to the Facts about Autism page at Autism Speaks, autism affects nearly 1 in 68 children on earth. Here are some additional stats:

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
• Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

These are startling statistics and should awaken anyone who reads them to the fact that Autism is a serious medical condition that desperately needs to be addressed from the highest levels of authority to the lowest, in churches, synagogues and mosques, and in nuclear and extended families. To put a fine point on this: as someone who works with students who have an autism spectrum disorder, I welcome research, interventions, and ideas from any place I can get them.

These statistics are even more startling when the field is narrowed to the 1 in 42 boys and boys are 5 times more likely than girls to have autism. It seems as though every day there is a new statistic appearing in the news about autism. So I'm not sure, honestly, what to do with some of the information that I, as a trained professional, read on a daily basis. In the statistics above, Autism Speaks states fairly confidently that 'there is no medical detection or cure for autism.' Yet on page two of Autism Breakthrough Kaufman states unequivocally: "Children on the autism spectrum are capable of great change including recovery" (2).

So what is one to do with such disparate points of view? Is it a matter of merely splitting the hair of difference between the words 'recovery' and 'cure'? Is it merely a matter of having super-human parents who love their children into some sort of neurotypical wholeness? Is it merely a matter of having enough faith to distrust what medical science has told us, what scholars (in the sense of peer-reviewed writing) have written to us, and what most advocacy groups teach us about autism spectrum disorders and going off in direct and absolute contravention of these specialists to do our own thing--a sort of 'damn the torpedoes' kind of approach?

These are some of the thoughts that were swirling around in my head by the time I finished reading Autism Breakthrough. Another significant collection of thoughts I had was this: Suppose I am a parent whose child has just been diagnosed with an ASD. Suppose I have no idea what to do, where to go, or what steps to take? Suppose I have two sets of information in my hands. One set of information says that my child can recover, the other states it is a lifelong condition. One set of information is from the collected works of established medical science, the other set is from an outlier. One set gives me hope and so does the other. What on earth am I supposed to do?

Here, I think, is the crux of the issue with Autism Breakthrough: I think there is a huge difference between selling a set of interventions and selling a cure (or recovery). At the end of the day, I have no problem accepting that what is written in this book might very well be a set of outstanding interventions for children (or adults) on the Autism Spectrum Disorder. As I noted above: I work with students on the ASD every single day and I happily welcome any and all interventions that might help my students and/or their families. Nevertheless, I think it is somewhat irresponsible to suggest that what is contained within the book could lead to a 'recovery' or a 'cure.' I think it's even worse when said 'recovery' is set over and against accepted, evidence based practices such as applied behavior analysis. There are many, many interventions that may prove helpful to families facing an autism diagnosis and I think each family will have to explore these options and decide, along with their doctor, which interventions are appropriate for their situation.

Now, on to a couple of finer points of criticism and praise.

First, there is undoubtedly a level of enthusiasm in this book that stands in stark contrast with what one normally reads concerning autism. If points could be awarded based on enthusiasm alone, I would rate this book very highly. The last chapter of the book deals with attitude and I happen to agree that attitude is extremely important when dealing with any disability. The author of the book works very hard to make certain that people are given hope and encouragement in the face of what might otherwise be devastating news from a doctor. I tell my parents this all the time: have hope! We will work through this difficulty together.

Second, at the end of every chapter there are links to additional online resources. There are additional papers, charts, and resources that will provide extremely helpful to the family needing to track behaviors or 'stims' or other issues their child may be experiencing. Collecting data is a significant factor when determining interventions for children and I found the extra resources helpful and appropriate.

Third, there is an extensive resource list at the end of the book that I also found helpful--especially if, like me, one wants to do additional research or quantify the author's points. Additionally, there is a rather long 'academic' paper at the end if parents or professionals wish to verify the validity of the author's assertions by examining peer-reviewed research. I appreciated the resource list and the paper, but I found it disappointing that there were no footnotes or end notes contained within the book itself. Anecdotes are fine, but it seems to me that having one's work verified, having anecdotes verified, is extremely important when dealing with people's lives. (I get that it is a popular work and that bulking it up with footnotes or end notes might not be the easiest thing to do, but this is offered to us as a serious work, about a serious condition, and is purporting that certain interventions might possibly lead to a recovery. In my opinion, references to validate such assertions, even the anecdotal assertions, should be provided.)

Now for a couple of minor criticisms--aside from what I have already mentioned in the above sections.

First, as noted above, autism spectrum disorders affect boys nearly five times more than girls, yet throughout this book the author persisted in using feminine pronouns (she, her) when talking about children. It's a small thing, but it was extremely annoying for precisely that point: autism affects more boys than girls. Yes, we live in a world where we need to be sensitive to everyone's concerns, but I just wonder who the author was writing to? In this respect, it's not a small thing. If the majority of children on the AS are males, then stick with using pronouns that are appropriate to the population being addressed.

Second, throughout the book the author continually referred to autism as a 'social-relational disorder' (33: "What is incredible is not that we would use this model, but that it is still controversial to use it with children whose main challenge is creating relationships!" 108, etc). Defining autism as merely an inability to socialize or relate seems to me a disservice to those who are actually on the autism spectrum. I could not find autism defined as a social-relational disorder anywhere except this book. I am no way denying that social-relational issues are part of the peculiarity of autism, but I am saying that it is not the defining characteristic of autism. Defining an autism spectrum disorder as merely a social-relational disorder seems to deny the other salient points that medical research has brought to our attention concerning ASD (I would gladly stand corrected if someone directs me to such a definition in a recognized medical, behavioral, psychological peer-reviewed journal.) If autism is merely a problem creating relationships then I am certain the interventions will be helpful in solving some of those difficulties, but I am skeptical that it will help with all the other issues that science, and experience, has told us are neurological and/or biological. (The Autism Speaks website notes: "ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and physical health issues such as sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances. Some persons with ASD excel in visual skills, music, math and art." Clearly we are dealing with more that mere social-relational issues.)

As far as an intervention is concerned, I am sure the Son-Rise Program (the catalyst behind the writing of this book) is effective for some children and/or adults. There are a lot of positive and encouraging words and anecdotes contained in the book which makes the book not only an easy read, but also an uplifting book. Personally, I think some of the interventions are wonderfully conceived--I especially like the idea of 'joining' and plan to implement it, to the extent that I can, in my classroom. I  absolutely agree with the idea that we have to persist in our efforts, believe in our children, love our children deeply, a 'nonjudgmental and welcoming attitude' (249), provide them with everything they need (including, if a doctor deems it healthy and necessary, dietary restrictions), and a generally positive and safe environment where they can grow, be themselves without fear, and develop. I also agree that how we do things matters to: "We remain married to the idea that, in the therapeutic and educational setting, the only thing that matters is what we do, rather than how we do it" (254). Amen. Attitude matters--at home and in the classroom; bank on it.

I'm sure there is more to say--positively and negatively--about the book itself. I am also sure that someone is going to say it, somewhere, and at some point. My overall impression of the book is very simply this: If you have met one person on the autism spectrum, you have done just that: you have met one person. I suppose we could say that for as many people that there are on the Spectrum there might be developed an intervention. My point is that these interventions might work very well for some, they might not work for all. As with all interventions--and I think it is unfair to disregard ABA interventions out of hand as if they have never worked--Son-Rise Program needs to be investigated by each family that wishes to consider it for use. In coordination and consultation with a licensed physician, it is important that all due diligence is done in advance before any intervention is put in place. I hope the author of Autism Breakthrough would say as much himself.

As another tool in the tool belt of interventions, I think this is a worthy volume.

4/5 stars

Book Review: Myth of the Spoiled Child

Title: The Myth of the Spoiled Child

Author: Alfie Kohn

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books

Date: 2014

Pages: (preview copy e-book) via netgalley: 282

Author Page: Alfie Kohn

[You need to read this before you take another glance at this page: the FCC wants you to know that it is imperative information that I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. I'm glad that's off my chest and I hope you feel better knowing it.]

I was warned about Alfie Kohn when I was in graduate school. I was warned that his ideas are somewhat 'naive', that they sort of controvert the 'mainstream,' and that they are not compatible with 'reality.' So I began the reading with not a little nervousness and apprehension. Yet, as I went deeper into the book I found myself nodding in agreement, highlighting in agreement, and sort of shaking my head in disbelief at the depth of common sense I was discovering with each turn of an electronic page. I was warned that Kohn is a little out of the mainstream; I was not told that I might actually find what he is saying useful, helpful, and sensible.

I was trained at a university in the finer points of Applied Behavior Analysis and I am a strict student of the tools, techniques, and trials that accompany such a method of educating students who have special needs. I am a special education teacher, an Intervention Specialist, and when I think about a typical day with my students, I think about the words I have used throughout the day: "Don't ask me why;" "The goal of this exercise is so that the student will learn to comply;" "These students will not always have us around to guide them on every step of their lives, they need to learn how to do on their own without all the hand holding, mothering, and coddling;" "Good job!;" "Because I said so;" "Prize box at the end of the day if...." And so it goes, on an on. These are the words that accompany other interventions (such as time-outs, various rewards, Class-Dojo points, deprivation of recess for misbehavior, and so on and so forth). All of this is designed for one purpose, and that is to elicit compliance--a word, as I have reflected on my teaching practices, I use entirely too much. Kohn writes:

In reviewing popular books and articles for parents, I'm struck again and again by how their focus is on how to elicit compliance. There's considerable variation in the strategies they propose, from bullying to bargaining, from techniques frankly modeled on animal training to subtler forms of manipulation. But the animating question in such texts is rarely 'What do kids need, and how can we meet those needs?' Rather, it's 'How can you get your kid to do whatever you want?' (37)

Kohn's book caused me to pause and gasp quite a lot--not because it is necessarily deep, but because it makes sense, more sense, in any number of ways, than Applied Behavior Analysis. It also caused a great deal of reflection, deeper reflection, about the way I work in my classroom. It made me think long and hard about what my ultimate goal is with my students who have various disabilities and it made me think of the various ways that I attempt to motivate them to those ends. Frankly, the book made me question a lot of things about a lot of things: what was the purpose of my own education from elementary school to graduate school? What is the overarching purpose of today's public education system? It seems to me that perhaps more people ought to be asking some of these questions too--people who are in positions to ask them and bring about necessary changes. The more I think about what Kohn wrote the more I am convinced that a larger portion of the things we teach kids each day in school would be better off consigned to the rubbish heap.

One of the more important points that Kohn makes in his book is that we give way too much emphasis and enthusiasm to competitive pursuits as parents and schools. I have written about this as plank in my own ideas about education reform, but suffice it to say that I didn't take it to the ends that Kohn did--but armed with his analysis I am ready to do that very thing. I won't spoil all of the fun of reading through Kohn's analysis, but suffice it to say that I believe he is correct: there is far too much emphasis on competition in families, in schools, in life and when competition is introduced at an early age, well, what can we expect when our children view life through that lens?

Something I don't particularly care for is his heavy lean to the left of things--to the extent that even though he claims the current president extended and intensified the education policies of the former president one still gets the sense that it is still the former president's fault for initiating them to begin with. Now I don't particularly care one way or another if Kohn is liberal or conservative or Martian.What bothered me is that at the beginning of the book that 'an awful lot of people who are politically liberal begin to sound like right-wing talk-show hosts as soon as the conversation turns to children and parenting' (2). He goes on:

Have a look at the unsigned editorials in left-of-center newspapers, or essays by columnists whose politics are mostly progressive. Listen to speeches by liberal public officials. On any of the controversial issues of our day, from tax policy to civil rights, you'll find approximately what you'd expect. But when it comes to education, almost all of them take a hard-line position very much like what we hear from conservatives They endorse a top-down, corporate-style version of school reform that includes prescriptive, one-size-fits-all teaching standards and curriculum mandates; weakened job protection for teachers; frequent standardized testing; and a reliance on rewards and punishments to raise scores on those tests and compel compliance on the part of teachers and students. (2)

He goes on to note that liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans all sound the same when it comes to education (and parenting). My point is that even though he says the two sound alike, it is the conservative side of this conversation that receives the majority of Kohn's verbal aggression. All of our problems with parenting and education date back to an appalling sense of devotion to Puritanism and the so-called Protestant work ethic and their perpetuation in our current day. He says that it was left-leaners who sounded like conservatives that prompted the book (2) and yet there is nary a word of criticism for those left-leaning folks who cannot make up their minds one way or another. In other words he uses words like 'right-wing', 'Puritan', 'religious', and 'conservative' all in a pejorative sense and, frankly, it just gets tired after the first 100 repetitions.

In my opinion, Kohn  made a lot of good points--points that I fully agree with and intend to implement in my own work as an educator. Kohn has a way of stripping us of our blinders and forcing us to look at our own prejudice:

We Americans stubbornly resist the possibility that what we do is profoundly shaped by policies, norms, systems, and other structural realities. We prefer to believe that people who commit crimes are morally deficient, that that have-nots in our midst are lazy (or at least insufficiently resourceful), that overweight people simply lack the willpower to stop eating, and so on. If only those folks would just exercise a little personal responsibility, a bit more self-control! (170)

He also has a biting sense of humor--as a fan of sarcasm, I appreciate his efforts.

Finally I will say this. I really do not know what to make of his analysis and critiques of newspaper editorials, blog posts, and peer-reviewed papers. He could be correct, it could just be his opinion of those things. For every point he brings up, the skilled researcher can probably find a counterpoint, for every yin he slings, someone will sling a yang. Kohn writes from his contrary, against the mainstream, point of view and most folks in research are aware of that so I'm sure there will be plenty of peer-reviewed critiques of the book. Nevertheless, the book is meticulously referenced and footnoted (37 pages of end notes) and referenced (26 pages of references) and even if one happens to disagree with his points and his ultimate conclusion (of which I am a bit skeptical to be sure) it cannot be denied that he has stirred the pot--frankly, for the better.*

It is time to strip the pretenses we have as parents and educators of children and dial back some (all?) of our antiquated ideas about how children should be raised and how they best learn. I may not be on the bandwagon for every jot and tittle of this book, but by and large I have been challenged to reexamine my own value system, my own educational practices, and my own care and concern for children--my own and others'.

The bottom line is that kids learn to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions. If we want kids to take responsibility for making the world a better place, then we need to give them responsibilities. That means dialing back our control, whether of the flagrant or subtle variety. (189-190**)

Well said. It requires courage, but I think it can be done. I think folks who are willing to have their presuppositions challenged, who are tired of the status-quo, and who are tired of people in the media telling them how (and what and when and why) to raise their children will appreciate Kohn's frankness, the depth of his research, and his skillful analysis of the myths perpetuated by those who have more of an agenda than an actual valid point.

5/5 Stars

*The book will also, in its finished form, contain an index.

**I previewed a pre-publication copy of the book. Page numbers may have changed in the actual published book.