An eye-opening 2022 Gallup poll shows that a majority (55%) of American parents are “somewhat to completely dissatisfied” with the schools their children attend. Meanwhile, a 2022 CDC survey of 7,705 high school students found that 44% of them described persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness with 9% admitting to having made an attempt at suicide. After 45 years of teaching kids and leading schools, Malcolm Gauld offers a blunt explanation of how we got here: “We care more about what they can do than about who they are, and they know it.” The solution lies in a reordering of priorities where our schools come to value attitude over aptitude, effort over ability, and character over talent. This book offers a blueprint for how to do that. The first step in enacting this shift calls upon school leaders to look deeply and honestly at the quality of the cultures in their schools. The author pointedly observes, “Every school has a culture. Is yours by design or default?” After a thorough exploration of the nature of culture, the author introduces and describes a dynamic school culture improvement program called the Discovery Process, explaining how it has been implemented in both public and private schools. The program, aligned with national social and emotional learning (SEL) standards, is presented as a concrete approach to Culture by Design.

As a lifelong teacher, Malcolm Gauld has watched thousands of kids go off to college. Some return to visit after their first year exuding the vibe of conquering heroes. Others look, well, pretty bummed out. This book offers a plan to help the new college student complete Year #1 as a member of the first group. With anecdotes from current college students and recent graduates, the book presents five simple rules: Rule #1: Go to Class - I've never known a kid who flunked out of college who attended all his or her classes. Rule #2: Study 3 Hours X 5 days per week - How to transition from homework to study. Rule #3: Commit to Something - Don't drown in free time. Here's how to stay afloat. Rule #4: Get a Mentor - How to set up a support system. Rule #5: Procrastination Kills - How to rise above. The book is a short, non-preachy, fun, and tad irreverent primer that can help you get off to a strong start toward the 'best four years of your life.'

An eye-opening 2022 Gallup poll shows that a majority (55%) of American parents are “somewhat to completely dissatisfied” with the schools their children attend. Meanwhile, a 2022 CDC survey of 7,705 high school students found that 44% of them described persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness with 9% admitting to having made an attempt at suicide. After 45 years of teaching kids and leading schools, Malcolm Gauld offers a blunt explanation of how we got here: “We care more about what they can do than about who they are, and they know it.” The solution lies in a reordering of priorities where our schools come to value attitude over aptitude, effort over ability, and character over talent. This book offers a blueprint for how to do that. The first step in enacting this shift calls upon school leaders to look deeply and honestly at the quality of the cultures in their schools. The author pointedly observes, “Every school has a culture. Is yours by design or default?” After a thorough exploration of the nature of culture, the author introduces and describes a dynamic school culture improvement program called the Discovery Process, explaining how it has been implemented in both public and private schools. The program, aligned with national social and emotional learning (SEL) standards, is presented as a concrete approach to Culture by Design.

Teaching for nearly 40 years, Malcolm Gauld has watched 1,000's of high school graduates head off to college. After a while, he began to notice some unmistakable patterns - good and bad - relating to students after they hit college. About a decade ago, he began giving an annual talk to high school seniors in hopes of sending them off to college on a positive note. This led to the book College Success Guaranteed: 5 Rules to Make it Happen (Rowman Littlefield, 2011). Since writing the book, many parents have asked for tips on how they might optimize their son or daughter's college experience. Hence, Malcolm formulated College Success Guaranteed 2.0: 5 Rules for Parents, these five simple rules include: Rule #1: Make Them Pay...For Something, Rule #2: Wait for Their Call, Rule #3: Step Aside...and Make Way for New Mentors, Rule #4: Mantra - Is This My Issue?, Rule #5: Get Curious. With anecdotes from college parents from over 50 schools, it is his hope that these stories combined with the stories from the 5 Rules for Students, will ensure your child the best four years of their life.Features: *Five simple, clear-cut rules for parents of college students *Stories and anecdotes from scores of actual college parents representing over 50 colleges and universities, all offered in a helpful non-judgmental tone *References to several contemporary authors, psychologists, and family therapists on the nature of today's American family, the current national tendency toward parental over-protectiveness, and some new approaches parents might take *A bibliography of relevant books for further reading *A bonus chapter on how kids and parents might join together to face the troubling angst currently surrounding the annual college application process