Cheap kids ebooks aren't that hard to come by if you know where to look.
I am a Montessori teacher with 10 years' experience in the classroom as well as a parent to two young children. I also teach workshops to parents and teachers based on the Faber/Mazlish books.
Anyone who works with children should use this book as a reference and re-read it every year or two. Not simply because these methods are effective - which they absolutely are, when practiced faithfully - but because Faber and Mazlish promote a style of teaching/parenting that helps a child develop a positive self-image, strong skills of communication, empathy for others, and self-control.
I'm so dismayed to see even a few negative reviews of this book, presumably written by educators. One of the negative reviewers is right on the money: if you are a person who believes that the adult must retain absolute power over children, then this is NOT the book for you. I would also say that if you are that person, then you should STOP working with children immediately.
If, however, your goals are to aid a child in the development of a strong character and to help nurture life skills that will lead to an adult that is confident, capable of making decisions, and excited to learn and explore the challenges of the world: then get this book today.
I am not yet finished, but the advice is both practical and clear. I am a high school teacher and mother of two preschool children, I saw my faults within a few pages! Learning a new way of communicating seems onerous at first, but I can see that the effort will pay off. Thank you for such a timely book - as my son proceeds to jump off the sofa and bellow the house down - I am calm (cos I know what not to do!!!)
I was forced to read this book because of a teacher of mine, for a topic at the university. She came to the classroom with this book, as if it were the ultimate guide on teaching. First of all, I thought it's not a topic for the kind of subject we were having/discussing in the classroom. Secondly, the things the authors wrote are so obvious, at least for some persons, that all I can say is that I really had a very good time reading it as a comic book, nothing else. I laughed very much with all the explanations a teacher would give to a 7 or 9 year-old pupil, because he touched her on the arm. It was a lecture, not a simple explanation! Clearly we have to be polite, encouraging and nice towards the students. But this book really exagerates some points in such a foolish way, that I could only laugh. I never had problems with students in my classes, I always tried to encourage them to like the subjects; I am sure they learned many things, as well as I learned from them, too. This book was just a waste of time.
The worst thing is that the teacher I am talking about, the one who came to the classroom telling how wonderful the book is, doesn't practice what the book preaches! She is hated at the university and never behaves as the book says to. How is it possible? She didn't learn anything from it???
Maybe it's good for people who are starting a teaching career - then I would say read it, but even though I would be very cautious. But being recommended by someone who does exactly the contrary than the book states, I could imagine it wouldn't really be that good.
Wow. This book made a lot of sense. What I like best is the layout. Not only does it practically apply theories (particularly those of Ginott), it tells you how to do so in a user-friendly way. There are checklists, comics, and even dialogues to help teachers (and parents too) see and understand how the techniques described by Faber and Mazlish work. The day care where I currently work uses extreme discipline techniques (and requires teachers to punish moreso than negotiate), so I have not been able to fully practice this method and really see whether or not it works in that setting. However, this book helped me look at children in a different way and respect them even more. The tips on parent-teacher conferences helped me successfully hold my first parent-teacher conference. I did use the method in a student conference with my CCD kids, and it helped me see all the children's point of views and understand the roots of the misbehavior (though we are currently still working on the issues, but the method has a long-term approach moreso than short-term one). Parents should pick up this book at a library and check it out. Teachers, read it and read it and read it some more (and highlight it like crazy)!
"We've needed an infusion of new pagan books for a long time and YOU are writing them!" -- High Priestess in US
"A wonderful book" -- Irish pagan
"Thank you for the energy you put into this book!"--Wiccan of 13 years
"This is just what our children's circle needs." -- Unitarian minister
"A delightful book"-- Pagan grandmother from Australia
"I run a monthly children's circle. This book is perfect for us." -- Pagan mom
"Bless you for making this material available to the pagan community." --Druid from the United Kingdom
"Thank you for the opportunity to find pagan and Wiccan material." -- Midwestern witch
"Very interesting and helpful for us who seem to run out of ideas and need help conjuring up a few."-- Wiccan from Michigan
