Teacher Says: 30 Fool-Proof Ways to Help Kids Thrive in School by Evelyn Porreca Vuko

Product Details

Synopsis

Popular Washington Post education columnist and veteran educator Evelyn Vuko shares the inside scoop to ensure children get the best education possible. Drawing on her experience in the classroom-as well as input from authorities ranging from creative writing experts to solar physicists-Vuko gives grade-specific advice from kindergarten through high school.

Readers will learn to:

• Find the right school
• Help with homework-the right way
• Make parent/teacher conferences friendly and productive
• Help hormone-crazed teens keep up with schoolwork

Library Journal

Homework help, standardized testing, parent-teacher conferences, lack of school motivation, and special education are some of the topics covered in these books. Former elementary school teacher Van Vleet offers parents simple remedies to the most common problems. Her book reads quickly, and her suggestions make sense. Unfortunately, a scanty table of contents and the complete absence of an index do not allow readers to search efficiently for the discussion of specific problems. Vuko's Teacher Says, which expands on her Washington Post column of the same name, treats these issues in greater detail. Vuko describes how to develop a personal plan to help children study and write reports. Given her tendency to suggest professional help (e.g., professional organizers), her book seems targeted to a more privileged crowd. Meanwhile, in School Sense, Chin tries to reach parents who have few resources, minimal time, and a small budget. The index and detailed table of contents make searching easy. Chin's considerable insight comes from 12 years of tutoring and many hours of classroom observation and research. Chin's book is highly recommended for all public libraries; Van Vleet's and Vuko's are optional purchases.-Maryse Breton, Ann Arbor, MI Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Biography

Evelyn Porreca Vuko is an education columnist for the Washington Post whose "Teacher Says" column reaches more than three million readers daily and is syndicated to more than eight-hundred additional publications worldwide. A teacher and school administrator with more than thirty years of experience, she currently substitute teaches and tutors students ranging in age from five to adult. Her work has been published in Smithsonian in Your Classroom and Family Life magazine.