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Pre-Publication Reviews For Attitude First by Don Berg
This book really challenges the reader to redefine their views. As an educator [Attitude First] is of great benefit to reestablish what and how we are delivering to our students. In today's educational climate of NCLB we are leaving the caring and nurturing of children behind. This book establishes a model of thinking that would be of great value to teachers and administrators in public schools. Compelling and motivational.
Ed Armstrong, Tillamook, Oregon: Served as School Board Member in Two Districts, Biology Teacher at HS level, District Office Curriculum Director, Research and Development. Over twenty years experience in Education.
Though now retired from psychiatric nursing, I still do private counseling. Education is a lifelong process. Counseling is a process of education, often "re-education," letting go of concepts and attitudes that were learned and now cause difficulty functioning or coping with life. I found all the concepts of [Attitude First] helpful to this counseling process. It provided an understandable step-by-step process toward their personal re-education and change.
Carol A. Roland, RN, MA
Mr. Berg has a vision for improving the quality of life for us all (the state of thriving). His theory of thrival and how to change the existing school system by shifting from focusing on instruction (the development of knowledge, skills and information) to teaching (focusing on respect, responsibility, and resourcefulness) is the result of his own educational experience and the responsibility he has taken for his own learning.
I found the reading of his work interesting and helpful to my own learning and understanding of my life's journey. The visual diagrams are informative and engaging. I make no claim to have fully understood all that Mr. Berg has presented but appreciate his invitation to join him on the path of life long learning. The reading of his work has emphasized the importance of learning and sharing one's story.
Marlene Hauser Levine, Ed.D
Congratulations, to Don Berg for having the courage in his book Attitude First to point out and discuss the truth and the very real possibility that Respect, Responsibility, and Resourcefulness, if understood in a very real and spiritual way, can be the answer to the right attitude that is needed in our schools today. At a time when parents, and students alike are concerned about the quality and method of teaching, Mr. Berg teaches creatively the basic truth that in the school room, the interdependency between teacher and student is not only "ok", but is vital to helping both learn that to "thrive" and excel in the pursuit of knowledge and formal education a relationship of respect must be developed.
As a country and nation under any guise or pretense, our education programs need to be fueled with the concepts and ideas discovered and taught by Mr. Berg. In reading this great writing, one shares in the dream of loving and accepting the powerful energy of students, and witnessing the skill of teachers who can harness that energy through an almost divine understanding. One can look forward to feeling a personal passion and cheer for a more focused and connected dynamic experience in the classroom between an interested teacher and curious student.
Penny Gabardi, Paralegal, Entrepreneur and Brian Johnson, father, teacher, trainer, and businessman.
In Attitude First Don Berg notes that "my life is devoted to education. My path in this field was defined by my rejection of the way I was schooled but with a constant fix on my sense that the people who schooled me were honest, hard-working people doing the best they knew how." Through his research and experience he has discovered better ways that he shares here.
While he chose a different way of teaching, in Attitude First he is "honoring those who taught {him} and insist{s} that our system discover how to honor them, too." Attitude First points the way for us all to achieve Don's dream for education where:
"…passionate teachers teach enthusiastic students in joyful schools. Schools where the intense energy of full engagement meets the drive of curiosity, and transforms the construction paper with crayon colors covering cubicle classroom under a fluorescent buzz into a soaring cathedral crafted from wide-eyed wonder and devoted discipline. Where teachers share their passion for engaging with the world, and students enthusiastically choose the challenge of daily discovery. Where one and all explore reality in search of opportunities to help, exchanging the coin of their special realm-a joyful appreciation for discovering themselves in service to the Other." (p. 34)
Rooted in the progressive movement of John Dewey, Don forcefully advocates for a shift from school systems based on an industrial model to ones that look at Attitude First. He notes that for students "discovering how to achieve a good attitude is the only preparation that amounts to anything in the long run." (p. 14)
Attitude First brings an important message from the heart at a time when more than ever "education is the connection between the soul and the mind of democracy." (p. 32)
Kent Layden, Founder of Kent Layden Solutions, Portland, Oregon