Veterans from three fields – Researcher Peter Benson, teacher Judy Galbraith, and children's writer Pamela Espeland – created this ultimate nuts-and-bolts approach on how to succeed in life. Parents, teachers, counselors, and employers can all read and learn from this book, but it's expressly written about, for, and to teens.
The take-home lesson of the book is essential for all teens: making the connection between personal power and, what the authors call, assets – they're a person's positive strengths and resources in life. Author Dr. Benson surveyed over 350,000 kids and pinpointed 40 assets. The goal here is really very practical: have teens build these assets in themselves so they can shape their future in a positive way.
Here's how it works: first, teens have to see what assets they either already have or need. They do that by filling out a checklist of 40 true/false statements. That gives them a clear sense of direction for which assets they can develop or strengthen. Before they set off on their journey, the authors go over what assets really are, why they need them, and how they can build them.
Teens are the masters of this journey. They decide which assets to develop and in what order. This book helps teens organize that journey. Each asset is covered in a separate chapter. The 40 assets are also divided into external and internal ones; and each of these is broken into other categories. External assets include: support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, and constructive use of time. Internal assets include: commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity.
Exploring an asset starts by looking at how to build assets at home, at school, in the community, in the faith community, and with friends. Chapters also have tip charts, resource lists, facts boxes, and various other helpful visual aids.
Here's an example on... say... asset #29: honesty. This one's an internal asset on positive values. This particular page covers building honesty at school and lists eight great reasons to tell the truth at school. Number three on the list is: Telling the truth allows everyone to learn from what happened. There's also a "facts" box on how prevalent and normalized cheating has become in schools. One way teens can build honesty, the book suggests, is to learn their school's rules and consequences about various forms of dishonesty.
The book ends with listings of how others – adults, families, schools, neighborhoods, businesses, government – can help teens build assets.
If you like things laid out in an organized fashion, you'll like this book. There's a lot of valuable information in this book, which makes it easy for teens to use and apply the tools they need.
Author: Dr. Peter Benson, Judy Galbraith & Pamela Espeland
Audience: Teens and teachers, counselors, parents and mentors who work with teens
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
