They Can but They Don't: Helping Students Overcome Work Inhibition

Rating:
Summary: This Book Changed my Mind about "Lazy" Students
Review: As a high school teacher I often felt frustrated attempting to teach seemingly intelligent students who repeatedly did not complete their work. This book finally convinced me these students are not "lazy" - they are work-inhibited. These students have associated work with negative emotions. For example, think about the food you hate the most. For me it's brussel sprouts. For work-inhibited students, school work is like being asked to eat brussel sprouts in every class. One might be able to choke down a few for a well-liked teacher, but after a while even the thought of brussel sprouts conjurs up negative emotions. The good news presented by Bruns is that work inhibition is easily identifiable and the sooner apppropriate intervention is begun, the better the chance of reversal. Bruns has writen individual chapters for parents, teachers, counselors and psychologists with positive,workable solutions to address this problem, which affects as many as 20% of students. I'm mailing copies of this book to 2 families ASAP.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Changed my Mind about "Lazy" Students
Review: As a high school teacher I often felt frustrated attempting to teach seemingly intelligent students who repeatedly did not complete their work. This book finally convinced me these students are not "lazy" - they are work-inhibited. These students have associated work with negative emotions. For example, think about the food you hate the most. For me it's brussel sprouts. For work-inhibited students, school work is like being asked to eat brussel sprouts in every class. One might be able to choke down a few for a well-liked teacher, but after a while even the thought of brussel sprouts conjurs up negative emotions. The good news presented by Bruns is that work inhibition is easily identifiable and the sooner apppropriate intervention is begun, the better the chance of reversal. Bruns has writen individual chapters for parents, teachers, counselors and psychologists with positive,workable solutions to address this problem, which affects as many as 20% of students. I'm mailing copies of this book to 2 families ASAP.

Rating:
Summary: On Target
Review: As an elementary school principal I find that Bruns has identified a critical area of student failure. These students don't fall into an easy disability slot. They are the ones most likely to stumble along, just doing enough to get by and avioding challenges all their lives. Bruns offers helpful, specific suggestions for reaching them and most interventions don't require any more expertise than the classroom teacher already has. He has further identified the critical year; fourth grade. Get the train on track at that level and it probably won't jump off later!

Rating:
Summary: On Target
Review: As an elementary school principal I find that Bruns has identified a critical area of student failure. These students don't fall into an easy disability slot. They are the ones most likely to stumble along, just doing enough to get by and avioding challenges all their lives. Bruns offers helpful, specific suggestions for reaching them and most interventions don't require any more expertise than the classroom teacher already has. He has further identified the critical year; fourth grade. Get the train on track at that level and it probably won't jump off later!

Rating:
Summary: Enlightening, a gift for any frustrated parent or teacher.
Review: I chose this book off of the bookshelves because the title summed up my child's syndrome. After reading the book, I am convinced that this is what our FAMILY suffers from. The lessons set forth in the later chapters seem obvious enough, but they are subtle and ingenious. I recommend this book.to any parent who has a highly intelligent child who does not apply themselves. It will provide the parent(s) a greater understanding of their child's state of mind as well as force the readers to reevaluate how they motivate their children to succeed . This book will change lives for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Good information, very poor format.
Review: The information in this book is very good; but, in my opinion, the organization was just terrible. As far as I could tell, the book's relevant information could have been written with one-third to one-half less words, and been much better for it; and the organization and format of the information was bad enough that it was a good thing that I was sufficiently motivated to make it through the book, because I think it would have discouraged me significantly if I had not been so.

Rating:
Summary: Good information, very poor format.
Review: The information in this book is very good; but, in my opinion, the organization was just terrible. As far as I could tell, the book's relevant information could have been written with one-third to one-half less words, and been much better for it; and the organization and format of the information was bad enough that it was a good thing that I was sufficiently motivated to make it through the book, because I think it would have discouraged me significantly if I had not been so.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book may be illuminating for those teachers, parents and tutors who do not believe that such a thing as work inhibition exists (calling it "laziness" instead), but I don't really believe such people exist anymore. The experienced educator or perplexed parent reading this book in hopes of learning something new about work inhibition and how to treat it will be disappointed. Points that most of us accept as obvious (e.g. that work inhibition is orthogonal to "intelligence") are lengthily supported by dubious surveys and statistics. More problematic points (e.g. that potentially WI students can be identified early on by overly "clingy" behavior) are stated as postulates. Some practical approaches are suggested for dealing with WI. They are all obvious. A guidance counselor or teacher trying to bring a punishment-oriented (as opposed to treatment- and education-oriented) principal into the 20th century may find that this book will help to legitimize her or his concern

Rating:
Summary: An Aha! Experience
Review: This book transformed my attitude toward my son's behavior and opened my eyes to things my husband and I have done to contribute to the situation. The book includes specific examples of what parents say and do that is unhelpful, and suggests alternate phrases and actions that are more effective. I immediately applied some of the insights I gained and can see a change already. The author includes chapters specifically for school administrators, teachers, counselors, and parents, with concrete suggestions for each group. I am buying multiple copies of this book to hand out.