Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don't Think-And What We Can Do about It

Arrived on time Good book

I highly recommend this book for anyone who works with, lives with, or is involved with children in any way. This work provides an understanding and substantiation of a problem plaguing our children and provides solutions to deal with it. Author Jane Healy has systematically analyzed what she considers to be the roots of the educational crisis, here in America, and also progressively in European countries. She builds strong case for the fact that our children's brains are different physically from those of children 50 years ago. This physical difference manifests itself in distinct strengths and weaknesses unlike those of previous generations of children. She examines the relationship between the brain and language learning, attention, and passivity. Her work is backed with hard research. If there was ever a solid argument that the media is impacting our children and how they think, this is it!

A large emphasis of this book is that we, as a species, are unique in that we have only a couple instincts, even crawling is learned and not prewired. Therefore our brain adapts to our environment, in the first year favoring areas which are being stimulated. As TV is non interactive, the theory proposed by this book and accepted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, is that TV is harmful to young minds (AAP warns for parents to not allow any watching of TV for children under 2). Since the publication of this book, a one to one correspondence to Attention Deficit Disorder, obesity and anger have all been found related to the amount of time watching TV (any type). There has also been a corresponding drop in the ability to do complex tasks, analyze complex problems and overall literacy for the last 40 years. These are measurable, seen in standardized tests, and now accepted scientifically, but there has been little widestream acceptance as the very mechanism for disseminating this information is TV. It's a must read. Many preschool teachers we know can spot the children who've watched lots of TV by their aggression and difficulty concentrating. Friends who've been teaching for now 30 years have remarked how they are having problems getting even the new teachers to understand the material they are teaching. If you like this book I'd recommend "The Well Trained Mind".

What is amazing about this book (and I am referring to the first edition) is that it describes Generation-X. This book was originally published in 1991, which means that it dealt with children who lived in the eighties. In fact when you read what the children were like in those times (I was one of them...in fact I graduated from High School the year the book was published)and then you relate it to what is written about Gen-X you find an incredible parallel. Has indeed the dominance of television in the first MTV culture (Gen-X) created a generation of people who are not able to truly utilize higher-level thinking abilities? When you compare Healy's work with what we see today it seems that Healy was indeed onto something when she originally wrote the book. But the book continues to be timely in that television, and "busy" parents, have not disappeared. The influence of both continues to occur, but what do you expect from Gen-X parents who grew up with this? As one who not only ministers to youth, but has also taught in elementary education and has friends who are teachers, I can tell you that this book is still on target. The scary thing to me is that I think the "restless" nature of kids today is much worse than the past. I believe that ADD and ADHD are "problems" that have developed primarily out of a "television" culture and a culture of "hurried" parents. And until parents start to limit their children's television viewing and spending more time interacting with them, playing with them, and allowing them to be children, the problems will not disappear! I am a parent so I know the challenge!This is a great book! Every educator and parent should read this!

As a physician I urge every parent to read this book.Turn off the TV!! Spend time with your children. MAKE THEM READ, FOR HOURS AT A TIME! (just like they now sit in front of the TV or nintendo,for hours at a time.) I love her conclusions,and if every one is not YET proven scientific fact, I believe most of her conclusions will eventually be supported by research. It is all good advice and observation in any case.

Jane Healy carefully reviews the scientific research on child development, both psychological and physical and combines it with her 20 years of experience in the classroom to explain the hows and whys our children do not do as well in school as other children. It is well written and in plain language for all parents to understand. It is probably the most valuable single book on the market today. I have given over 25 as baby gifts. If you decry the decline of intellect in American society, this book will lead you to some surprising conclusions. I urge everyone who has an interest in the future of children, indeed then, the future of the nation, to read this book!