The Genius in Every Child: Encouraging Character, Curiosity, and Creativity in Children

Genius is not just about intelligence and aptitude, it's also a word that embodies our inner soul, nature, or character. In this illuminating book, a former principal and father shares heartwarming stories and wise advice that offers a rare insight into children and the process of education. The Genius in Every Child celebrates the moments in the lives of children, their parents, and their teachers. The stories of unique characters in action illustrate some of the principles of education and the disciplines we need to be good stewards of our children’s character and intellect. The vignettes provide both delight and enjoyment in the miracle of it all, and perspective and solace in the difficulty of it all, encouraging parents and teachers to work hand-in-hand.

This book urges parents to focus on the long run, entrusting the trials, struggles, and sufferings of the short run to the kids. It proposes a shift in focus from test scores to enthusiasm, from perfect behavior to learning from mistakes, from measuring up to making something of yourself, from independence to interdependence, from goodness to integrity, from fear to love. The value of this experience to hundreds of children, parents, and teachers derives from the depth of Rick Ackerly’s perception and the subtlety of his understanding. He offers perspective and guidance on a wide range of challenges faced by parents of today’s school-aged children, including: self-confidence, discipline, boundary-setting, building character, integrity, taking responsibility, facing challenges, handling disappointment, peer pressure, reading, testing, homework, academic achievement, failure, and success.

[Excerpt]
Mr. Rick's Words of Wisdom

• Children need teachers at school and parents at home.
  
  
• Failure is at least as powerful an educator as success.
  
  
• Kids need consequences and they need forgiveness 
• We put our kids at risk by trying to engineer their success.
  
  
• Our children need us to have confidence in them.
• The core of building character is taking responsibility.
  
  
• If we are open to the surprise, we can let them educate us.
  
  

Rick Ackerly is a nationally recognized educator and speaker with forty-five years of experience working in schools. He has served as headmaster of four independent schools, and he speaks to parent and school groups across the country and presents at numerous education conferences.