Children Who Fail at School But Succeed at Life: Lessons from Lives Well-Lived

by Mark Katz

Overview

Understanding resiliency and student success by studying people who succumbed to risk but later triumphed.

A number of people who failed in school currently enjoy meaningful and successful lives. They include, though they are by no means limited to, those with attention and executive function challenges, learning disabilities, learning and behavioral challenges arising out of traumatic events in their lives, and even those impacted by all of the above.

Up until recently, little attention was paid to successful people who did poorly in school. Why? One reason might be that many of us doubted that it was actually possible. After all, many loving parents and caring teachers spent countless hours trying their hardest to help these failing children turn things around in school, sometimes with little or nothing to show for it. If these children continued to struggle and fail in school with all this help and support, it was understandable to assume that they would not succeed in the real world decades later without it.

So what did we miss? Why were we so wrong about them? And perhaps most importantly, how can their life experiences help educators and parents understand what schools can do better to support students who are struggling today? In his groundbreaking new book, Mark Katz draws on research findings in clinical and social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, education, and other fields of study—as well as stories of successful individuals who overcame years of school failure—to answer these and other questions. In the process, he shows how children who fail at school but succeed at life can give teachers and schools, counselors and health care professionals, parents and guardians—even those whose childhood struggles have persisted into their adult years—new remedies for combatting learning, behavioral, and emotional challenges; reducing juvenile crime, school dropout, and substance abuse; improving our health and well-being; and preventing medical problems later in life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393711424
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	04/11/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	635 KB

About the Author

Mark Katz, Ph.D., is a clinical and consulting psychologist. For over 30 years, he has served as the Director of Learning Development Services, an educational, psychological and neuropsychological center in San Diego, California. He is a past recipient of the Rosenberry Award, a national award given yearly by Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado, in recognition of an individual’s contribution to the field of behavioral science. He is also a past recipient of the CHADD (Children and Adults With Attention Deficit Disorder) Hall of Fame Award. Mark is a contributing editor for Attention Magazine, and also writes the magazine’s promising practices column. He has been a keynote presenter at a number of national conferences, and has conducted numerous trainings for schools, healthcare organizations, and community groups working to improve educational and mental health systems of care. Mark has been interviewed by reporters for Oprah Magazine, Time Magazine, Men’s Health, CNN, and others in the media on topics pertaining to resilience and overcoming adversity.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction xv

Part I Lessons from Lives Well-Lived

1 The Childhood Years: Why Do They Fail? 3

2 Human Resilience and the Limits of Emotional Endurance 27

3 The Adult Years: How Do They Succeed? 45

4 Portraits of Resilience-In Context 87

Part II What Can Be

5 Preventing the Rise and Expediting the Demise of Erroneous Perceptions 119

6 Preventing School Failure, One School Day at a Time 133

7 Improving Emotional Self-Regulation and Self-Control Skills, One School Day at a Time 179

8 Improving Later Life Health Outcomes, One School Day at a Time 199

9 Preventing and Reducing Youth Violence, Youth Crime, and Future Risk of Incarceration, One School Day at a Time 209

10 Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect, One School Day at a Time 217

11 What Can Be: The Adult Years 221

12 Are There Things Thai Count That Can't Be Counted? And Do the Things We Count, Count? 233

Acknowledgments 239

References 243

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

"While applicable to all educators, this book will be especially helpful to those who work with at-risk students. We educators always talk of designing success for our children and this text gives us the resources necessary to achieve that goal. It should be required reading at the university level."

School Administrator

"Children Who Fail at School But Succeed at Life should be required reading for anyone devoting their personal and/or professional lives to preparing the next generation for their future. "

Sam Goldstein PH D

"Katz provides and eye-opening look beyond the hype of traditional resilience theory and into our personal responsibilities as professionals working with children to reshape our thinking and thereby help us to improve outcomes for each child."

School Social Work Journal

"Katz does a great job of exploring ideas and ways that we, as adults within society, can strive to positively influence the learning experiences and learning needs of our youths. He explores what needs to change in order to support youngsters who are intelligent but greatly misunderstood. . . [W]e must understand how mental illness, a behavioral problem, poor emotion regulation, environmental stressors within the home or community, etc. can influence learning. This is one of the most important realities to keep in mind and thankfully there is a good book to help us stay focused."

PsychCentral

"Compelling and powerful, Children Who Fail at School But Succeed at Life is a must-read for all who have educated or parented a child with learning or behavioral challenges. Grounded in the rich stories of five individuals, the book sheds light on the erroneous perceptions that we so commonly attribute to children who struggle at school. With striking clarity, Dr. Katz synthesizes the research of current thought leaders (himself included) in the field of education and psychology, revealing how our homes and classrooms can become landscapes for life-altering turning-point experiences for children."

Katie Wright

"Thoughtful, sincere, and packed with useful information and imaginative ideas, this book is a highly worthwhile read."

Human Givens Journal

"You know how some articles and books inspire you to exclaim ‘yes!’, at least to yourself? That’s how we at Parenting Press felt when we opened Children Who Fail at School But Succeed at Life . . . . By the second page of the preface, we were nodding in agreement with author Mark Katz. . . . [A] terrific new book."

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