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Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life
A blueprint for how parents can stop worrying about their children’s future and start helping them prepare for it, from the cofounder and CEO of one of America’s most innovative public-school networks
“A treasure trove of deeply practical wisdom that accords with everything I know about how children thrive.”—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit
In 2003, Diane Tavenner cofounded the first school in what would soon become one of America’s most innovative public-school networks. Summit Public Schools has since won national recognition for its exceptional outcomes: Ninety-nine percent of students are accepted to a four-year college, and they graduate from college at twice the national average.
But in a radical departure from the environments created by the college admissions arms race, Summit students aren’t focused on competing with their classmates for rankings or test scores. Instead, students spend their days solving real-world problems and developing the skills of self-direction, collaboration, and reflection, all of which prepare them to succeed in college, thrive in today’s workplace, and lead a secure and fulfilled life.
Through personal stories and hard-earned lessons from Summit’s exceptional team of educators and diverse students, Tavenner shares the learning philosophies underlying the Summit model and offers a blueprint for any parent who wants to stop worrying about their children’s future—and start helping them prepare for it.
At a time when many students are struggling to regain educational and developmental ground lost to the disruptions of the pandemic, Prepared is more urgent and necessary than ever.
“A treasure trove of deeply practical wisdom that accords with everything I know about how children thrive.”—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit
In 2003, Diane Tavenner cofounded the first school in what would soon become one of America’s most innovative public-school networks. Summit Public Schools has since won national recognition for its exceptional outcomes: Ninety-nine percent of students are accepted to a four-year college, and they graduate from college at twice the national average.
But in a radical departure from the environments created by the college admissions arms race, Summit students aren’t focused on competing with their classmates for rankings or test scores. Instead, students spend their days solving real-world problems and developing the skills of self-direction, collaboration, and reflection, all of which prepare them to succeed in college, thrive in today’s workplace, and lead a secure and fulfilled life.
Through personal stories and hard-earned lessons from Summit’s exceptional team of educators and diverse students, Tavenner shares the learning philosophies underlying the Summit model and offers a blueprint for any parent who wants to stop worrying about their children’s future—and start helping them prepare for it.
At a time when many students are struggling to regain educational and developmental ground lost to the disruptions of the pandemic, Prepared is more urgent and necessary than ever.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 2019
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December 12, 2019
What if you were given the chance to design a new school from scratch? And there was no need to follow the typical education model: a teacher at the front of a classroom lecturing to 25 to 30 seated students. No need to follow an existing curriculum, either. You could completely re-imagine what a good education is all about.
What kind of school would you make?
One person who took that question on—and came up with an intriguing answer—is Diane Tavenner, founder of Summit Public Schools, which operates some of the top-performing schools in the nation.
In her new book, Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life, Diane shares the story of how she designed a new kind of charter school with a simple but very ambitious goal: “We wanted to teach kids not just what they needed to get into college, but what they needed to live a good life.”
A few years ago, I had a chance to visit one of the Summit schools to see how Diane had turned this vision into reality. I was blown away. It was unlike any school I had visited before. Some students worked on their own, moving at their own pace through their courses. Others worked together on projects. Instead of lecturing at the front of a class, teachers acted like coaches, providing one-on-one guidance to students. Everyone was engaged.
Summit schools are rooted in the unshakeable belief that all students have the potential for success. This belief fuels the staff’s relentless drive to test new approaches to continuously improve the student experience, so they graduate prepared for college and life.
As Diane explains in her book, Summit’s unique model is built on three key elements:
Self-directed learning: With the support of their teachers, all students are responsible for setting their own learning goals, developing learning plans, testing their knowledge, and assessing their performance. The personalized learning approach allows students to learn at their own pace. This is an incredibly important skill that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Project-based learning: Summit schools emphasize hands-on project-based learning, allowing students to dive deep into a topic and collaborate with other students, building skills that employers are looking for in today’s workplace.
Mentoring: All students have a dedicated mentor. More than a guidance counselor, these mentors meet regularly one-on-one with their students, building a deep relationship that can help students achieve their personal and academic goals.
What I love about Summit is that its vision of success is bigger than getting students to master skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Those skills, of course, are incredibly important, but there are also other, very necessary skills that will serve them their entire lives, such as self-confidence, the ability to learn, ability to manage their time, and a sense of direction to help them determine what they want to do with their lives. I think the kids who get to attend one of the Summit schools are lucky to go there.
Like everything in education, Summit’s schools are not without controversy. Some parents and educators are wary of Summit’s focus on computer-enabled learning, a key tool for the school’s personalized-learning approach.
Since opening its first school in 2003, Summit now operates 11 schools in California and Washington state. And I expect many readers of Diane’s book will wonder how their kids can have the same extraordinary learning experiences as Summit students. That’s also a question we have at our foundation, where we are working with Summit to help share some of its most innovative practices, like tailoring instruction to meet students’ individual needs, with other schools in the country.
What’s so striking about Diane is how incredibly modest she is about what she’s accomplished. And she doesn’t make any grand claims that she has all the answers. Much of the book is deeply personal. Diane shares stories of her childhood, growing up in a troubled family. She recounts her years as a young, idealistic teacher and administrator. And she opens-up about her own experience as a parent, raising her teenage son, Rett, as he navigates his path to adulthood.
Many of the most memorable parts of the book focus on Diane and her husband wrestling with challenges all parents will appreciate. Diane shares the story, for example, about their struggle to get Rett to do his homework. You can find out how she found a solution in the free book excerpt above.
In the final section of her book, Diane offers some parenting advice she’s developed over the years at Summit, guiding thousands of students to graduation. I expect many parents will flip to the end of the book to read this brief but useful list of tips. Much of her advice is based on her belief that parents should support their child’s independent growth. Parents need to mentor, not direct. They should seek out their child’s opinions, encourage them to be self-directed learners, and expose them to as many new ideas, people, places and things as possible.
I know from my own experience as a father that I’ve enjoyed watching my children get curious about a topic and then seeing how their knowledge deepens and grows. And the most rewarding part is when they can teach me about what they’ve learned.
Preparing our kids for college, a career, and life is a long journey. And as any parent or teacher will tell you, it’s not always easy. Diane has written a wonderful guidebook to help all of us make the most of the adventure.
What kind of school would you make?
One person who took that question on—and came up with an intriguing answer—is Diane Tavenner, founder of Summit Public Schools, which operates some of the top-performing schools in the nation.
In her new book, Prepared: What Kids Need for a Fulfilled Life, Diane shares the story of how she designed a new kind of charter school with a simple but very ambitious goal: “We wanted to teach kids not just what they needed to get into college, but what they needed to live a good life.”
A few years ago, I had a chance to visit one of the Summit schools to see how Diane had turned this vision into reality. I was blown away. It was unlike any school I had visited before. Some students worked on their own, moving at their own pace through their courses. Others worked together on projects. Instead of lecturing at the front of a class, teachers acted like coaches, providing one-on-one guidance to students. Everyone was engaged.
Summit schools are rooted in the unshakeable belief that all students have the potential for success. This belief fuels the staff’s relentless drive to test new approaches to continuously improve the student experience, so they graduate prepared for college and life.
As Diane explains in her book, Summit’s unique model is built on three key elements:
Self-directed learning: With the support of their teachers, all students are responsible for setting their own learning goals, developing learning plans, testing their knowledge, and assessing their performance. The personalized learning approach allows students to learn at their own pace. This is an incredibly important skill that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Project-based learning: Summit schools emphasize hands-on project-based learning, allowing students to dive deep into a topic and collaborate with other students, building skills that employers are looking for in today’s workplace.
Mentoring: All students have a dedicated mentor. More than a guidance counselor, these mentors meet regularly one-on-one with their students, building a deep relationship that can help students achieve their personal and academic goals.
What I love about Summit is that its vision of success is bigger than getting students to master skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Those skills, of course, are incredibly important, but there are also other, very necessary skills that will serve them their entire lives, such as self-confidence, the ability to learn, ability to manage their time, and a sense of direction to help them determine what they want to do with their lives. I think the kids who get to attend one of the Summit schools are lucky to go there.
Like everything in education, Summit’s schools are not without controversy. Some parents and educators are wary of Summit’s focus on computer-enabled learning, a key tool for the school’s personalized-learning approach.
Since opening its first school in 2003, Summit now operates 11 schools in California and Washington state. And I expect many readers of Diane’s book will wonder how their kids can have the same extraordinary learning experiences as Summit students. That’s also a question we have at our foundation, where we are working with Summit to help share some of its most innovative practices, like tailoring instruction to meet students’ individual needs, with other schools in the country.
What’s so striking about Diane is how incredibly modest she is about what she’s accomplished. And she doesn’t make any grand claims that she has all the answers. Much of the book is deeply personal. Diane shares stories of her childhood, growing up in a troubled family. She recounts her years as a young, idealistic teacher and administrator. And she opens-up about her own experience as a parent, raising her teenage son, Rett, as he navigates his path to adulthood.
Many of the most memorable parts of the book focus on Diane and her husband wrestling with challenges all parents will appreciate. Diane shares the story, for example, about their struggle to get Rett to do his homework. You can find out how she found a solution in the free book excerpt above.
In the final section of her book, Diane offers some parenting advice she’s developed over the years at Summit, guiding thousands of students to graduation. I expect many parents will flip to the end of the book to read this brief but useful list of tips. Much of her advice is based on her belief that parents should support their child’s independent growth. Parents need to mentor, not direct. They should seek out their child’s opinions, encourage them to be self-directed learners, and expose them to as many new ideas, people, places and things as possible.
I know from my own experience as a father that I’ve enjoyed watching my children get curious about a topic and then seeing how their knowledge deepens and grows. And the most rewarding part is when they can teach me about what they’ve learned.
Preparing our kids for college, a career, and life is a long journey. And as any parent or teacher will tell you, it’s not always easy. Diane has written a wonderful guidebook to help all of us make the most of the adventure.
November 26, 2019
I’m not sure how it happened, but this book is not at all what it is pitched to be. As a parent, I was excited to read this book because of the title - of course, I want my son to be prepared and fulfilled, sign me up! But then what I proceeded to read though felt like a 250 page brochure for a project-based curriculum at Summit schools which the author founded. And while their work is impressive and deserves praise and attention, that just isn’t what most readers are going to want when they pick up this title! The first ten pages of it were fine, but at a certain point, probably about 100 pages, it started to feel smug and also bizarre, especially reading lines like, “Who do we think we are, sitting around a table and imagining we can bring peace? I’ll admit, even I can get a bit intimidated when it’s put in those terms”. Really, even you are intimidated by the concept of your school's teaching methods bringing about world peace? It wasn’t until the last ten pages that there was any advice that felt directly applicable to me, someone who couldn’t possibly send their child to a Summit school, as the nearest one is about a 25 hour drive. But even then, the suggestions were just so underdeveloped, but it was the last ten pages after all. I think if the title of this book was changed from, kids to students then at least it wouldn’t be misleading, because parenting book this is not.
December 11, 2019
A textual brochure written by a person with good intentions.
Picked up from Bill Gates' currently-reading shelf. This book is not as deep as the ones he suggests. I should have waited for his review (if he ever writes one for this book).
Update: Gates did write a review of this book recommending it for holiday reading: https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill...
Picked up from Bill Gates' currently-reading shelf. This book is not as deep as the ones he suggests. I should have waited for his review (if he ever writes one for this book).
Update: Gates did write a review of this book recommending it for holiday reading: https://www.gatesnotes.com/About-Bill...
December 25, 2019
If you’re looking for a book to provide insight and nuance for preparing kids to have a fulfilled life, please go and read Mindset by Carol Dweck. This book is a poorly written pamphlet in comparison. Mindset, on the other hand, is so packed with insight and knowledge, it can hardly be fully absorbed in one reading.
January 18, 2020
Interesting stories but I completely disagree with the narrative, which is, four year college or bust. In one of the stories towards the end she talks about a young man who became a licensed electrician instead of going to college and even though he’s happy and had a fulfilled life, he wonders what college would have been like. Instead reassuring him that becoming an electrician (a high paying desirable trade protected by unions) is a good thing, she foments his FOMO and allows this train of thought, about missing out on “something greater”, and agrees with ensuring his kids go to a four year college at all costs. Absolutely ridiculous. A four year degree is not required to be successful which is the premise of the book.
I found the last section of the book the most interesting and helpful which condenses all of her chapters (stories about students) down into the larger points she’s trying to make about why Summit is the best high school (in a nutshell) and while I don’t disagree that the methods they employ are outstanding, I could have done without many of those stories in persuading me that treating students like adults, project-based learning, allowing kids to explore areas of interest and dig into them for large projects, holding each other accountable , etc etc are good things.
I found the last section of the book the most interesting and helpful which condenses all of her chapters (stories about students) down into the larger points she’s trying to make about why Summit is the best high school (in a nutshell) and while I don’t disagree that the methods they employ are outstanding, I could have done without many of those stories in persuading me that treating students like adults, project-based learning, allowing kids to explore areas of interest and dig into them for large projects, holding each other accountable , etc etc are good things.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
Обучение через желание и проекты. Адекватная модель обучения, шаг от формальной школы. Поддерживаю формат, но нового немного
November 7, 2019
This book is for anyone asking the question, “What is best for our kids?” and “What should I be doing now for my kids?” Diane Tavenner shows us how to democratize a first-class education - one where all kids are given a real opportunity to succeed in not only going to college or a journeyman-type trade school but also in leading a fulfilled life as an adult beyond college. I didn’t really understand how the ultimate success of some children is coming at the expense of others until I read this book, and it’s disturbing.
I sighed halfway through the book and asked Dinko (my husband), “Do you think you’ve fulfilled your potential?” as I’m wondering if I had - what if I had gone to Ms. Travenner’s school? I’m chuckling now as I remember his response. He smiled like he was on to me and ever so slowly said, “Nooooo.” We’re not one of those couples who knows what the other is thinking - feeling, yes - thinking, no. He knows I’m upset before I do, but do I know what he’s talking about when he asks “are your eggs good?” as he stands over my eggs cooking. No, no, I don’t. Yes, I think they’ll taste good? Or, yes, they’re probably done? Now I laugh and answer his everyday cool-kid ambiguity with “I don’t know, are my eggs good?”
Thankfully, the last portion is a blueprint for parents. Here’s a quick summary of the headlines: catch yourself when you need to be needed by your child; mentor, don’t direct; ask the right question; teach principles of consensus (enter the decision grid); ask why, then ask why again; use expose, explore, and pursue to decide how to spend family time (not all activities are created equal); reframe the college search; and encourage plan B thinking.
I started by including more life-skill-type tasks (like cooking, experimenting with salads, keeping in touch with extended family, and having friend-dates) to the boys’ weekly allowance requirement - and I try to hold Dinko and myself to the same standard. The possibilities of what I could incorporate from the ideas presented in this book are endless - the decision grid is the next thing I’d like to tackle. I plan to buy a hard copy as I see myself referencing several sections many times in the future.
I sighed halfway through the book and asked Dinko (my husband), “Do you think you’ve fulfilled your potential?” as I’m wondering if I had - what if I had gone to Ms. Travenner’s school? I’m chuckling now as I remember his response. He smiled like he was on to me and ever so slowly said, “Nooooo.” We’re not one of those couples who knows what the other is thinking - feeling, yes - thinking, no. He knows I’m upset before I do, but do I know what he’s talking about when he asks “are your eggs good?” as he stands over my eggs cooking. No, no, I don’t. Yes, I think they’ll taste good? Or, yes, they’re probably done? Now I laugh and answer his everyday cool-kid ambiguity with “I don’t know, are my eggs good?”
Thankfully, the last portion is a blueprint for parents. Here’s a quick summary of the headlines: catch yourself when you need to be needed by your child; mentor, don’t direct; ask the right question; teach principles of consensus (enter the decision grid); ask why, then ask why again; use expose, explore, and pursue to decide how to spend family time (not all activities are created equal); reframe the college search; and encourage plan B thinking.
I started by including more life-skill-type tasks (like cooking, experimenting with salads, keeping in touch with extended family, and having friend-dates) to the boys’ weekly allowance requirement - and I try to hold Dinko and myself to the same standard. The possibilities of what I could incorporate from the ideas presented in this book are endless - the decision grid is the next thing I’d like to tackle. I plan to buy a hard copy as I see myself referencing several sections many times in the future.
December 23, 2019
This book is about the program at Summit Schools, a group of secondary Charter Schools started by the author which send all of its graduates successfully out into the world, almost all to college. The book includes a number of stories of successful exchanges between the author or her colleagues with students students having difficulty, and outlines the core programs that the school relies upon: mentoring, real world projects and self-direction. All sound great, and the passion, intelligence and grit of the author come through, but I realized that having finished the book I have very little sense of the school. What exactly takes place on a daily basis? Are the students divided into classes? Do they have subject matter teachers, or one teacher which supervises all lessons? Where do the mentors find the time to mentor? What is the interaction between parents and the school? Unlike the school, by the end, the book was distinguished by what I didn’t learn.
January 21, 2020
The title is a bit misleading. Prepared is specific to the Summit school. Informative and interesting read should we ever re design education here.
January 13, 2021
Educational
This book discusses the education philosophy and approaches the summit school system was founded on. The author is the founder of the school system. The learning approach advocated by the author include project-based learning, self-directed learning, mentoring, and collaboration. The end educational goals include habits of success, curiosity driven knowledge, and universal skills.
The book is like a handbook for parenting. It catalogs what knowledge and skills a child needs to have to prepare for life, but doesnot offer specific instructions . Also i feel most of the educational approach overlaps the Montessori approach.
Also the success metric for the advocated approach is college admission rate. I hope there are longer term studies to support the educational approach. What do the kids do 10 years, 20 years, ... after they graduate?
The book is useful to reaffirm what you are doing right as a parent and may not be that useful if you are not doing what the author advocates.
This book discusses the education philosophy and approaches the summit school system was founded on. The author is the founder of the school system. The learning approach advocated by the author include project-based learning, self-directed learning, mentoring, and collaboration. The end educational goals include habits of success, curiosity driven knowledge, and universal skills.
The book is like a handbook for parenting. It catalogs what knowledge and skills a child needs to have to prepare for life, but doesnot offer specific instructions . Also i feel most of the educational approach overlaps the Montessori approach.
Also the success metric for the advocated approach is college admission rate. I hope there are longer term studies to support the educational approach. What do the kids do 10 years, 20 years, ... after they graduate?
The book is useful to reaffirm what you are doing right as a parent and may not be that useful if you are not doing what the author advocates.
April 27, 2020
Reading this book shows you how a group of gritty people started a new way to ensure real-world, self-directed, reflective and collaborative learning. I love true stories and this was an extremely powerful one!
It is shocking to realize that we got used to the idea that some kids simply hate learning, some are just not talented/interested/... but hey, have we settled?
How did we get used to these absurd ideas? Success in not innate and this beautiful book provides insights into how we can help kids to develop universal skills and to enter adulthood "prepared" for a fulfilled life.
It is moving and full of inspiring stories for students, teacher and also parents. Anyone who believes in learning and education will love it. This book is now a friend and so far, my fav 2020 book ♥️
It is shocking to realize that we got used to the idea that some kids simply hate learning, some are just not talented/interested/... but hey, have we settled?
How did we get used to these absurd ideas? Success in not innate and this beautiful book provides insights into how we can help kids to develop universal skills and to enter adulthood "prepared" for a fulfilled life.
It is moving and full of inspiring stories for students, teacher and also parents. Anyone who believes in learning and education will love it. This book is now a friend and so far, my fav 2020 book ♥️
March 1, 2022
Such a great book!
My fav quotes:
“The most successful collaborators know themselves. They know who they are, what they care about, what they know, and what they don’t know. Knowing themselves comes from being reflective. Successful collaborators know their strengths and what they are working to improve, and they know what they can contribute.”
“Habits of success, curiosity-driven knowledge, universal skills, and concrete next steps are the measurable outcomes that matter most if we want our kids to be prepared for a good life.”
“The vision is consistent: Kids are engaged. They’re interested. They’re doing real work, solving real problems. They work together. They get to know themselves and one another. They are driven by curiosity. Teachers coach, guide, mentor, and facilitate learning in a way that is inspiring, empowering, and sustainable.”
My fav quotes:
“The most successful collaborators know themselves. They know who they are, what they care about, what they know, and what they don’t know. Knowing themselves comes from being reflective. Successful collaborators know their strengths and what they are working to improve, and they know what they can contribute.”
“Habits of success, curiosity-driven knowledge, universal skills, and concrete next steps are the measurable outcomes that matter most if we want our kids to be prepared for a good life.”
“The vision is consistent: Kids are engaged. They’re interested. They’re doing real work, solving real problems. They work together. They get to know themselves and one another. They are driven by curiosity. Teachers coach, guide, mentor, and facilitate learning in a way that is inspiring, empowering, and sustainable.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2022
This book's intended audience are educators and policy-makers, not parents. The author was the founder of Summit Public Schools that started out in CA with chartered schools that built a quite sucessful education models based on real world experiences, self direction and collaboration for high school kids. I accidentally bought the book thinking it was a patenting book, but I filed the book under education and business, maybe it should belong to memoir, too.
If you are a parent, this book is not going to help you much.
If you are a parent, this book is not going to help you much.
December 16, 2019
Really fascinating book on how to describe and measure plus develop the broad skill categories kids need to succeed as adults (communication, critical thinking, problem solving etc) by breaking it down into build able habits (self direction, curiosity driven knowledge, successful habits) and helps give phenomenal parenting advice to make each occasion a learning opportunity and most importantly help your child understand themselves
February 17, 2020
I did not expect this book to be marketing a school program. I like the title of the book and felt it was more to do with parenting than it was about schooling. But it was an insightful read nonetheless. I liked many of the ideas that the book advocates - self-directed learning, growth mindset, asking open questions and keeping on asking questions till you get to the underlying reason why something happened, project based learning and tutoring instead of teaching.
Praise effort instead of the outcome. Reiterating Growth Mindset by Dr. Dweck.
As a kid, I enjoyed Project based learning far more than teaching classes and thankfully I did get to do a lot of projects growing up. Especially the computer science projects which a enjoyed a lot! The book talks about teachers setting up learning booths were kids could come ask questions and get peer-learning done as well - which I also experienced in my school.
This book seemed like marketing material - talking about the Summit over and over again - but it was good to be reminded of all these things again.
Praise effort instead of the outcome. Reiterating Growth Mindset by Dr. Dweck.
As a kid, I enjoyed Project based learning far more than teaching classes and thankfully I did get to do a lot of projects growing up. Especially the computer science projects which a enjoyed a lot! The book talks about teachers setting up learning booths were kids could come ask questions and get peer-learning done as well - which I also experienced in my school.
This book seemed like marketing material - talking about the Summit over and over again - but it was good to be reminded of all these things again.
January 5, 2020
In the 1950s, the top skills employers wanted were:
1) the ability to work rapidly and for long periods of time,
2) memory for details and directions,
3) arithmetic computation.
But according to Forbes, the employees of 2020 need:
1) complex problem solving,
2) critical thinking,
3) creativity,
4) people management,
5) coordinating with others,
6) emotional intelligence.
The book is tell how Summit school can help students to prepare those skill.
1) the ability to work rapidly and for long periods of time,
2) memory for details and directions,
3) arithmetic computation.
But according to Forbes, the employees of 2020 need:
1) complex problem solving,
2) critical thinking,
3) creativity,
4) people management,
5) coordinating with others,
6) emotional intelligence.
The book is tell how Summit school can help students to prepare those skill.
March 4, 2023
We don’t have to choose fulfillment or success for our kids. They can have both, and in fact, the best way to succeed is to seek fulfillment."
No fundo eu sempre soube que não queria educar o Lucas da mesma forma como eu fui educado na minha escola. Eu só não sabia exatamente o que eu estava procurando, até eu ler esse livro.
Ao mesmo tempo que o PBL (Project Based Learning) parece ser fantástico, ele também parece assustador. Assustador, pois ele desafia toda a construção que temos em nossas mentes do que é necessário para ser bem sucedido. Assustador, pois como bem colocado em um dos capítulos, ao educar nossos filhos de maneira radicalmente diferente do preconizado pela sociedade, parece que estamos colocando a vida deles em risco.
O conflito que Mira compartilha com Diane quando começa a duvidar de que esta (PBL) é a melhor forma de educar os próprios filhos, resume bem um conflito que deve ser comum entre pais que optam por esse tipo de educação. Mira fica dividida quando percebe que seu filho (educado na Summit com PBL) de 5 anos parece estar com o desenvolvimento atrasado e teme pelo futuro dele. Ela diz para Diane:
“At the end of the day, I just want them to be happy. To be good human beings. To be surrounded by people who are different, who they could learn from. To know who they are, what they care about, and have the skills and opportunity to chase after it. And, if Summit has taught me anything, I don’t want this at the expense of another kid or family. But it seems like those two things are in conflict.”
Após finalizar o livro eu entrei no pblworks.org e vi alguns vídeos de exemplos de professores em ação aplicando o PBL com seus alunos. A desenvoltura mostrada pelos alunos é algo realmente invejável. Chega ser inacreditável até. Talvez tenha um toque Hollywoodiano? Talvez...Não sei, mas chamou minha atenção e agora preciso investigar mais (rs).
"Raising kids is a journey"...e parece que vai ser meio difícil, mas esse livro me apresentou um caminho interessante.
No fundo eu sempre soube que não queria educar o Lucas da mesma forma como eu fui educado na minha escola. Eu só não sabia exatamente o que eu estava procurando, até eu ler esse livro.
Ao mesmo tempo que o PBL (Project Based Learning) parece ser fantástico, ele também parece assustador. Assustador, pois ele desafia toda a construção que temos em nossas mentes do que é necessário para ser bem sucedido. Assustador, pois como bem colocado em um dos capítulos, ao educar nossos filhos de maneira radicalmente diferente do preconizado pela sociedade, parece que estamos colocando a vida deles em risco.
O conflito que Mira compartilha com Diane quando começa a duvidar de que esta (PBL) é a melhor forma de educar os próprios filhos, resume bem um conflito que deve ser comum entre pais que optam por esse tipo de educação. Mira fica dividida quando percebe que seu filho (educado na Summit com PBL) de 5 anos parece estar com o desenvolvimento atrasado e teme pelo futuro dele. Ela diz para Diane:
“At the end of the day, I just want them to be happy. To be good human beings. To be surrounded by people who are different, who they could learn from. To know who they are, what they care about, and have the skills and opportunity to chase after it. And, if Summit has taught me anything, I don’t want this at the expense of another kid or family. But it seems like those two things are in conflict.”
Após finalizar o livro eu entrei no pblworks.org e vi alguns vídeos de exemplos de professores em ação aplicando o PBL com seus alunos. A desenvoltura mostrada pelos alunos é algo realmente invejável. Chega ser inacreditável até. Talvez tenha um toque Hollywoodiano? Talvez...Não sei, mas chamou minha atenção e agora preciso investigar mais (rs).
"Raising kids is a journey"...e parece que vai ser meio difícil, mas esse livro me apresentou um caminho interessante.
March 31, 2020
I’ve given the book a five star rating for the contents and their vision! If only half of what the book tells you is completely true and reality (my life experience still nags me to find the catch) then I also want to live in such a world ;)!
I can only recommend this to every parent and non parent alike, since it has many parallels to how organizations and teams could and should work.
There are things like collaboration, goal setting or alignment, which are all things that touch us both, in our private and professional life on a daily basis.
It amazes me how reading this lets one connect the dots and see the bigger picture, that many of the things that are wrong with us, are also rooted in the way we were taught at school. That means following steps in a given order, instead of exploring and solving challenges in a self-directed way.
Life is so much about how to frame things and how to approach them and the approach that the “Tavennator“ and her team figured is amazing!
I intentionally did not put too much of the book in here because I deeply believe you have to see and read for yourself!
And for the ones who used to read self development boos, don’t be too surprised to see lots of familiar names and concepts. Talking growth mindset or intrinsic motivation...
But again, read the book and imagine the world she is unfolding in front of you throughout her book!
Cheers
Thomas
I can only recommend this to every parent and non parent alike, since it has many parallels to how organizations and teams could and should work.
There are things like collaboration, goal setting or alignment, which are all things that touch us both, in our private and professional life on a daily basis.
It amazes me how reading this lets one connect the dots and see the bigger picture, that many of the things that are wrong with us, are also rooted in the way we were taught at school. That means following steps in a given order, instead of exploring and solving challenges in a self-directed way.
Life is so much about how to frame things and how to approach them and the approach that the “Tavennator“ and her team figured is amazing!
I intentionally did not put too much of the book in here because I deeply believe you have to see and read for yourself!
And for the ones who used to read self development boos, don’t be too surprised to see lots of familiar names and concepts. Talking growth mindset or intrinsic motivation...
But again, read the book and imagine the world she is unfolding in front of you throughout her book!
Cheers
Thomas
February 5, 2020
Listened to the audio book from the library - just like with Making of a Manager, this is another book that I want to buy in the future. I initially heard about this book from the Bill Gates blog where he describes the book as an "an amazing guidebook for raising and educating our kids." https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Prep...
This book is about how Diane Tavenner started a charter school program in the Bay Area, building it from the ground up. She guarantees that her students will graduate and be eligible to go to college. She essentially attempts to reverse engineer high school outcomes - creating adults who have clear vision, skills, and a collaborative work ethic who are ready for the real world - and then build the necessary skills to accomplish her goals. Since high school is a loooong way off for Violet, this was a helpful book to see the breadth/scope of education, and by extension, parenting to prepare kids for the real world. I particularly appreciated her emphasis on soft skills rather than focusing on checking boxes to get into college. This book is not distinctly Christian or religious, but I think there's a lot of common grace wisdom here.
This book is about how Diane Tavenner started a charter school program in the Bay Area, building it from the ground up. She guarantees that her students will graduate and be eligible to go to college. She essentially attempts to reverse engineer high school outcomes - creating adults who have clear vision, skills, and a collaborative work ethic who are ready for the real world - and then build the necessary skills to accomplish her goals. Since high school is a loooong way off for Violet, this was a helpful book to see the breadth/scope of education, and by extension, parenting to prepare kids for the real world. I particularly appreciated her emphasis on soft skills rather than focusing on checking boxes to get into college. This book is not distinctly Christian or religious, but I think there's a lot of common grace wisdom here.
July 9, 2020
I had always been not a big fan of current schooling and education system. Growing up as part of this education system it was never clear why we were tought certain things and why Is that important to me. Because of the lack of awareness it was not easy to be motivated to explore and learn more.
This book touches up on these areas of what is actually important to be thought in schools. What kids needs. Sort of like this saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime".
It will.be better if our education system can motivate kids enough to make them interested to learn and let them learn on there own pace and help then course correct instead of feeding the exact same instruction set to all students and expect exact same output. Our current system suited more to prepare kids for war then than life now.
Interesting perspectives in book about summit school. Bit of selling about summit schools too. You can ignore that. Not sure how practical the ideas are and how well it has worked and shown results. It has lot of anecdotal evidences on how well it works, but missing data to backup at places.
This book touches up on these areas of what is actually important to be thought in schools. What kids needs. Sort of like this saying "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime".
It will.be better if our education system can motivate kids enough to make them interested to learn and let them learn on there own pace and help then course correct instead of feeding the exact same instruction set to all students and expect exact same output. Our current system suited more to prepare kids for war then than life now.
Interesting perspectives in book about summit school. Bit of selling about summit schools too. You can ignore that. Not sure how practical the ideas are and how well it has worked and shown results. It has lot of anecdotal evidences on how well it works, but missing data to backup at places.
October 22, 2020
Picked up this book due to Bill Gates' recommendation and found it to be insightful. I like the concept of project-based experience learning, which can develop relevant skills (problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, flexibility, positive mindset and etc) in today's working environment. For many schools, projects are treated as afterthoughts, but as Tavenner aptly put it, "Projects aren’t dessert—they’re the main course."
There were some gold nuggets in the book about handling teenagers. Here are a few that I like:
"It is human to disagree, to become angry, to get hurt, and to hurt others. It is healthy to learn how to repair relationship ruptures, so they don’t escalate to a point of no return, but instead relationships become stronger from the process of healing the break."
"Habits of success, curiosity-driven knowledge, universal skills, and concrete next steps are the measurable outcomes that matter most if we want our kids to be prepared for a good life."
"When we enable kids to follow their curiosities and interests, they learn much more. As they learn much more, they get better at learning. It becomes a virtuous cycle."
"If we can’t answer “why” questions because we don’t know, then it’s an invitation to codiscover and get curious with our kids....If you are in conflict with your child about anything from bedtime to homework, approach the conflict with curiosity."
Hopefully the concept of Summit Learning will be proliferated beyond US and into this part of the world.
https://preparedparents.org/
There were some gold nuggets in the book about handling teenagers. Here are a few that I like:
"It is human to disagree, to become angry, to get hurt, and to hurt others. It is healthy to learn how to repair relationship ruptures, so they don’t escalate to a point of no return, but instead relationships become stronger from the process of healing the break."
"Habits of success, curiosity-driven knowledge, universal skills, and concrete next steps are the measurable outcomes that matter most if we want our kids to be prepared for a good life."
"When we enable kids to follow their curiosities and interests, they learn much more. As they learn much more, they get better at learning. It becomes a virtuous cycle."
"If we can’t answer “why” questions because we don’t know, then it’s an invitation to codiscover and get curious with our kids....If you are in conflict with your child about anything from bedtime to homework, approach the conflict with curiosity."
Hopefully the concept of Summit Learning will be proliferated beyond US and into this part of the world.
https://preparedparents.org/
April 29, 2020
Can we have different type of schoools, where teaching is not in from of didactic lectures and rote retention with puking of stale matter on paper in no longer an acceptable norm?
SUMMIT schools, with project based learning shows a new hope- Diane Tavenner
A student inclined learning goal is created and defined. Access to information, tools and time is granted to make them explore the principles of self education.
Constant feedback and reflection is bestowed by teachers/ mentors, through TUTORING BARS.
Peers take note of your work, learn from them and suggest required iterations to make a refined product/presentation.
This whole process is repeated, many times, year after year- to make it a habit- so as not only to get accepted in Colleges, but also to have a happy, fullfilled productive life.
SUMMIT schools, with project based learning shows a new hope- Diane Tavenner
A student inclined learning goal is created and defined. Access to information, tools and time is granted to make them explore the principles of self education.
Constant feedback and reflection is bestowed by teachers/ mentors, through TUTORING BARS.
Peers take note of your work, learn from them and suggest required iterations to make a refined product/presentation.
This whole process is repeated, many times, year after year- to make it a habit- so as not only to get accepted in Colleges, but also to have a happy, fullfilled productive life.
May 2, 2020
Today’s education system focuses on getting into a great college. A great college is either where some of your “successful” acquaintance has studied, its in the top college listing or it has a great campus life. A great college is considered important for an imaginary financial security. But what about happiness? What about life? What about passions?
Today’s schools are missing curiosity driven learning (the most successful form of learning).
This book is about the journey of a teacher and a mother who wanted to make a difference by adding value to education. She shares her experiences with teenagers from various backgrounds. Every child is unique and it is every child’s right to receive uniquely designed education. Education that gives him sense of purpose.
FOR ALL KIDS ❤️
Today’s schools are missing curiosity driven learning (the most successful form of learning).
This book is about the journey of a teacher and a mother who wanted to make a difference by adding value to education. She shares her experiences with teenagers from various backgrounds. Every child is unique and it is every child’s right to receive uniquely designed education. Education that gives him sense of purpose.
FOR ALL KIDS ❤️
February 17, 2020
4.5 stars
This was an easy read that I sped through in a day and it was excellent. As someone who has worked in a corporate business environment, I can say the skills outlined in this book are imperative for kids to know to be successful in the workplace. The title was misleading in my opinion: the book is about the skills needed to prepare kids for college and work.
The key to thriving after college is project based learning and it’s so important to give students opportunities for real life projects that provide integration between multiple school subjects.
I also loved learning about the importance of mentors in the lives of students.
This was an easy read that I sped through in a day and it was excellent. As someone who has worked in a corporate business environment, I can say the skills outlined in this book are imperative for kids to know to be successful in the workplace. The title was misleading in my opinion: the book is about the skills needed to prepare kids for college and work.
The key to thriving after college is project based learning and it’s so important to give students opportunities for real life projects that provide integration between multiple school subjects.
I also loved learning about the importance of mentors in the lives of students.
January 24, 2022
DNF 75 pages.
Not quite sure who the audience is for this, but i think it is potential donors. For that seems to have worked. Project based and individual learning with early promising stats, but the memoir aspect and the sunny ‘everybody can go to college’ tone aren’t helping me learn what sets summit apart.
The book is more concerned about selling me on summit schools than giving me tactics as a parent to think about education holistically. Nor am I learning much about education overall.
I remember this sort of language when I transferred to a charter middle school, but at the end of the day it was very similar to run of the mill public programs
Not quite sure who the audience is for this, but i think it is potential donors. For that seems to have worked. Project based and individual learning with early promising stats, but the memoir aspect and the sunny ‘everybody can go to college’ tone aren’t helping me learn what sets summit apart.
The book is more concerned about selling me on summit schools than giving me tactics as a parent to think about education holistically. Nor am I learning much about education overall.
I remember this sort of language when I transferred to a charter middle school, but at the end of the day it was very similar to run of the mill public programs
August 18, 2022
I found this book hugely inspiring. Any parent or teacher could learn so much from reading it. I've already incorporated some of the principles Tavenner outlines into helping my son prepare for high school - how I wish a Summit school was an option for him! I loved the descriptions of project-based learning, essential skills, a curiosity mindset, and so many other things. I loved hearing of the students who succeeded, despite all odds. Plus, I love that there is an online source for parents to access some of the tools - for free! Tavenner is out to revolutionize learning and I love how she thinks.
December 24, 2019
A description of how a great school can work through a personaly tailored engaging real projects based curriculum to better prepare students for college and the job market..the mission of this school came from a vision of diane tavenner to leave no student behind and that every kid carry within the potential for success and living a fulfilled life.this book should be read by educators all through our countries to be inspired and by parents too who came to" settle not seeing any other way" for their kids to be prepared for life.
December 22, 2019
This book was captivating and I think any educator and parent should read it. I could see in other comments the book being downgraded because it supports a certain project. What is wrong with that? If you really are reading to learn there are meaningful lessons in here and things we can do to improve education. Isn’t that what it is all about?
June 25, 2020
I’ve recently been questioning what we can do with the education system which mandates that some win and some lose. Why can’t everyone be a winner? I was so glad to find this book and to hear that there are systems being built to educate children in this manner and reminded me that change is one long, hard process but we cannot stop fighting for it. It gives hope and is an inspiring place to start thinking more about how we can empower not just our own children, but all children.
August 15, 2020
My master’s degree summarized in one book. I would love the opportunity to teach at a PBL & SDL school, I love the approach of teachers tutoring individuals over traditional instructional models. Prepared really highlights the value of innovation in education and the importance of student-centred learning.
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