In this volume, Dr. Noel Schmidt offers a lively and readable handbook for parents who want to see their children succeed in school and life.

Drawing on his decades as an educator and administrator, Schmidt provides practical models and guidance for teaching K-12 learners. He begins with a description of basic brain functions and returns to these throughout the book as a reminder that learning is about building neural connections.

Schmidt is skeptical of fads, measures of intelligence, and so-called learning styles; the strategy for success he stresses most is hard work. His chapters cover several ways parents can foster learning, including repetition, specific feedback, and building mental models that encourage motivation, goal-setting, responsibility, and effort.

Success in Schmidt’s view is less about grades than being equipped for a satisfying career. Following succinct discussions on how techniques like pattern recognition, background knowledge, and novelty can create neural connections, his later chapters advise parents to cultivate creativity, problem solving and that wonderful state of flow. Interests and dreams have a place, too. “If we can help our kids chase their passions and not their pension,” Schmidt suggests, they’ll lead lives with zeal and purpose.

Schmidt’s voice is lively, and he puts to work the strategies he teaches; the book is structured with patterns, repetition, and vivid examples to drive points home. Teaching segments are punctuated with bullet-point lists of advice, recommendations, and strategies. The book is designed to read straight through or flip to areas of focus, and he addresses parents as a colleague sharing tried-and-true tactics, leavened with humor.

Schmidt is discussing what works for neurotypical, abled kids, so his recommendations will work for many but not all. His advice also doesn’t acknowledge the modern educational context inhabited by technology or AI tools. Nevertheless, his knowledge and experience shine through in common-sense guidance that parents will welcome.

Also available as an ebook and audio book.