Recommended
Reading for Parents
All
books are available in the Montrose Conference Room.
For reading on single-sex education, click here.
The
World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas
L. Friedman
Thomas L.
Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a
presentist. His aim in The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential
Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of
the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get
you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going
to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much
of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester
sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey
to. What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected":
the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical
advances of the digital revolution that have made it possible to do business,
or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people
across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the
news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying
attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest
away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq
War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began
to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major
corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by
individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the
world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not
just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly,
for the highest-end research and design work as well. One can sense his
rising impatience that our popular culture, and our political leaders,
are not helping us keep pace.
The
Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: we speak different
love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage
counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words
of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical
Touch. In a friendly, often humorous style, he unpacks each one. Some
husbands or wives may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise.
Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a
leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love
tank." Some partners might find physical touch makes them feel valued:
holding hands, giving back rubs, and sexual contact. Chapman illustrates
each love language with real-life examples from his counseling practice.
You’re
On Your Own (But I’m Here if You Need Me) by Marjorie Savage
Based on 10 years of experience working as a liaison between parents and
the University of Minnesota, Savage offers sound advice on how parents
can balance their continued involvement and their college student's need
for independence. She notes that technology has helped to maintain contact
between parents and students, but what hasn't changed are issues of how
much autonomy to grant, when to let go, and when and how to help as the
parent-child relationship is redefined. Savage offers strategies for everything
from dealing with complaints about the food, to resisting the temptation
to decorate the dorm room, to monitoring students' health, and teaching
them to take responsibility for their finances. Savage includes anecdotes
and advice from parents and university staff members on how to equip students
on their journey toward their degrees and how to measure the campus social
scene against the family's values. Parents with college age children will
appreciate Savage's support and advice.
It’s
So You! by Mary Sheehan Warren
It’s So You! takes women and their aspirations seriously, offering
a radical new approach to fashion based on discovering and developing
your personal style. You can put fashion in its place, making it a tool
for your personal and professional growth, and save heaps of money at
the same time. Through a step-by-step process of self-analysis, you will
articulate your personal style. Warren guides you through the key Fashion
Moments of Truth and explains the elements of style body type, palette,
wardrobe planning, accessories with well organized explanations, instructive
charts and illustrations, friendly anecdotes, and answers to frequently-asked
questions. The result is a fool-proof Style Profile to take you through
every season and situation. True success in personal style is not self-serving.
The legacy of style that you leave to your daughters and friends will
inspire them to look and feel their best.
Strong
Fathers, Strong Daughters - Dr. Meg Meeker
In today’s increasingly complicated world, it’s often difficult
for parents to connect with their daughters–and especially so for
fathers. In this unique and invaluable guide, Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician
with more than twenty years’ experience counseling girls, reveals
that a young woman’s relationship with her father is far more important
than we’ve ever realized. To become a strong, confident woman, a
daughter needs her father’s attention, protection, courage, and
wisdom. Dr. Meeker shares the ten secrets every father needs to know in
order to strengthen or rebuild bonds with his daughter and shape her life–and
his own–for the better.
Building
Character in Schools Practical
Ways to Bring Moral Instruction to Life by Kevin Ryan and Karen E. Bohlin
Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco c. 1999
ISBN 0-7879-4344-4
Building Character in Schools Resource Guide
by Karen E. Bohlin, Deborah Farmer, Kevin Ryan Jossey-Bass, San Francisco
CA c. 2001
ISBN 0-7879-5954-5
Teaching Character Education Through Literature: Awakening
the Moral Imagination In Secondary Classrooms by Karen E. Bohlin
Ed. D.
RoutledgeFalmer, NY 2005
ISBN 0-415-32202-2
How to Really Love Your Teenager by Ross Campbell
MD
VICTOR BOOKS C. 1993
ISBN 0-89693-067-X
Educating Children in Today’s Culture presented
by Ellen Cavanagh DVD
The Foundations of Family Life Series, US INSPECT, Aug. 12, 2004
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean
Covey
Simon&Schuster c. 1998
ISBN 0-684-85609-3
Raising a Daughter: Parents and the Awakening of a
Healthy Woman by Jeanne Elium and Don Elium
Celestial Arts, Berkeley CA c. 1994
ISBN 0-89087-708-4
The Hurried Child by David Elkind
Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, NY c. 1981
ISBN 0-201-03967-2
Man’s Search For Meaning: An Introduction to
Logotherapy by Viktor E. Frankl
Simon&Schuster NY c. 1984
ISBN 0-671-24422-1
The Biggest Job We’ll Ever Have: Finding the
Right Balance Between Character and Achievement for your Child by
Laura and Malcolm Gauld
Scribner NY c. 2002
IBSN 0-7432-1058-1
Getting Free! How to Overcome Persistent Personal
Problems by Bert Ghezzi
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH c. 2001
ISBN 1-928832-24-5
Whose game is it, anyway? by Richard D. Ginsburg
PhD
Houghton Miflin Co. Boston, NY, c, 2006
ISBN
Learning the Virtues that lead you to God by Romano Guardini
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH c. 1987
ISBN 0-918477-64-6
When No One Sees The Importance of Character in an
Age of Image by Os Guinness
NAVPRESS, Colorado Springs CO c. 2000
ISBN 1-57683-159-0
Character Building a guide for parents and teachers
by David Isaacs
Four Courts Press, Dublin, Ireland c. 1984
ISBN 0-90627-67-X
Assuming the Power of Parenthood by John Rosemond,
VIDEO
WNED TV & The Center for Affirmative Parenting, Buffalo c. 1999
A Cup of Comfort for Teachers edited by Colleen
Sell
Adams Media, F&W Publications Inc. Avon, MA c. 2004
IBSN 1-593-37-000-3
Odd Girl Out the Hidden Culture of Agression in Girls
by Rachel Simmons
Harcourt, Inc. NY c.2002
ISBN 0-15-100604-0
LIFELINE The religious Upbringing of Your Children
by James Stenson
Scepter Publishers, Princeton NJ c. 1998
ISBN 0-933932-97-9
De-Coding Da Vinci: The facts behind the fiction of
the Da Vinci Code by Amy Welborn
Our Sunday Visitor Inc. Huntington IN c. 2004
ISBN 1-59276-101-1