Repertoire of skills

Most of us have a good bit of ego wrapped up in our children. We want them to do well so that we feel good about ourselves as well as them,’ says the wise and frank Jackie French. Parents walk a fine line between encouragement and pressure. Each of the above books is careful not to let itself fall over that line.

Is Your Child Ready for School? (Sandra Heriot and Ivan Beale, ACER Press, $19.95 pb, 101 pp) is a practical, serious book full of common sense rather than profundity, so that one wonders at the need for it. That said, a book that reinforces our own style and approach is consoling and empowering. In clear language, this book explains how to help children learn, rather than how to teach them. It takes a broad view of learning and addresses not only the cognitive domain, but also the social – such as the importance of making friends and accepting disappointment – and the affective contexts of learning. A range of examples, including the occasional use of a ‘child’s’ voice, supports these understandings. You might know some five-year-olds who would say ‘Ramesh and I’, but most I know would say ‘me and Ramesh’.