Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Learner Find Success in School and Life

By Pam Withers and Cynthia Gill

Everyone knows that boys are falling behind in education. Largely left out of the discussion are parents of boys, who are most aware that their bright, eager sons hit an invisible wall somewhere near fourth grade, after which they become disengaged, discouraged, and disaffected. There are dozens of books on underachieving boys, but most parents brave enough to lift one off the shelf are instantly intimidated by the footnotes, graphs, case studies, and academic-speak addressed almost entirely to educators. What about the average guilt-ridden, frustrated mother or father of an underachieving boy? Jump-Starting Boys is the first book on the market that empowers parents, helping them reclaim the duties and rewards of raising their children and navigate the influences of school and media. Filled with reassurance and support, the authors turn fear and guilt into can-do confidence. Through easy tips and action list sidebars, this is the most practical, readable book on the topic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Jun 17, 2013
• ISBN: 9781936740499

Pam Withers

Pam Withers a écrit de nombreux livres de sport et d’aventures pour adolescents, dont plusieurs ont été publiés chez Orca dans la collection Currents. Elle a été trois fois finaliste pour le prix Red Maple remis par l’Association des bibliothèques de l’Ontario et a remporté à deux reprises le Silver Nautilus Book Award. Pam, une ancienne guide de plein air et éditrice, vit à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique.

Reviews for Jump-Starting Boys

[amysan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Jump-Starting Boys: Help Your Reluctant Learner Find Success in School and Life was an interesting book filled with many practical ideas. I have a young son which is why I was interested in reading this book. I came away with some good ideas of how I can support and help him.

[shars_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As the parent of a pre-teen boy I found the premise of this book intriguing. It is not a single solution but rather, as the subtitle states, "encouraging tips and tools." The most valuable tips for me revolved around how to talk to young boys (don't be too wordy) and how to encourage male models. I've taken a closer look at how I interact with my son, and why the methods that work so easily with my daughter don't necessarily transfer over. Tips to encourage kids to read more are also helpful. In short, a good book. It's something that we'll read and pass on to friends with sons. It won't answer all of your questions, but it will provide food for thought.

[eo206 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Raising boys is a lot of fun, but it also requires a sensitivity (as it does with girls) that doesn't always come intuitively to me. This book is good about helping to explain some of the nuances and things to look for in teaching and raising boys and helping them become the best they can be. This book is also a good browsing book, tid-bits of information can be digested in small doses depending on the situation or information one is looking for (versus reading all the way through).It should be noted this book is geared a bit more towards school-age boys. I have a Pre-Schooler so I read it with an eye towards things to watch for versus strategies I could implement right away.

[hippielunatic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a good resource book for finding other resources. Beyond that, the book seems to be a complex maze of, "For more information on this, see page XXX." While most of the statistics in the book are things to worry about in today's age with growing boys, I also do not feel like the hard and fast suggestions of how to promote a love of learning and the discipline of respect are anything that are not found in numerous other books already. There were certainly take away pieces of wisdom from this book: Don't censor the types of reading your boy wants to do. Comic Books may be a way to get him interested in words (and onomatopoeia). Center a boy in a circle of as many male mentors as you can, getting him to see reading and learning as something to be proud of rather than something to hide. Focus your words to be meaningful to a boys ears (when you're angry, try to speak in less than ten words at a time). So, while this is a helpful reference book, it is not necessarily one I would suggest to someone already fluent in the raising of a boy. Rather, this might be a better guide to give to someone with a new son (such a parent by remarriage) or for someone who is completely at their wits end and needs something to prove that raising a boy is not an easy task, especially in today's world.

[charlesboyd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jump-Starting Boys (Help Your Reluctant Learner Find Success in School and Life) by Pam Withers & Cynthia Gill warns that boys are falling behind in school and in life and it gives a number of ways to help your sons, grandsons, etc. avoid that destiny.Three main causes for boys falling behind are given: l) Boys are reluctant readers and writers in a time when reading and writing are ever more critical to success. 2) Boys need more positive male role models in their lives, especially role models who read and write as well as more male teachers. 3) The vast majority of teachers are women, especially in elementary school, that figure around 80% and women often, unintentionally fail to teach boys in a manner that works for boys. From the book: "As long as education involves the teacher talking and the student listening, then school is set up for girls who find it easier to listen than boys." This book is a grab-bag of ideas of how to help boys. Like any such book, not all of the tips will work for everyone. But, I believe most parents and grandparents will find a large number of the ideas helpful. Plus, the pages from 215 to 283 are full of other resources, both books and internet sites, that give those looking to help the boys in their lives plenty to dig into .

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There were some great suggestions for helping boys succeed at literacy, such as finding male reading role models, good mentors, and encouraging all kinds of reading and writing, not just "important books" or formal writing. I did feel like the book repeated things more than was necessary and I wasn't completely convinced by some of the arguments for reading (though I do think helping boys become better readers and thinkers is very important - I guess I would have found other reasons more compelling than the ones the authors proposed).