Dr. Selznick regularly appears on television, radio and in various publications to provide commentary and analysis of child learning and parenting issues. If you are a member of the media seeking review copies, high resolution photos, graphics or interview requests, contact (856) 673-4903.
Recent Media Appearances Include:
The Shut-Down Learner appeared in a review for the University of Colorado. As stated in the review, "All in all, The Shut-Down Learner is an excellent book. It is a must read for parents having academic troubles with their children, as well as educators who work with such students....The Shut-Down Learner is a very helpful resource for parents, educators, and other professionals working with students struggling academically."
For the complete review go to http://edrev.asu.edu/brief/oct09.html
Dr. Richard Selznick appears in the Spring 2010 issue of Exceptional Family, Canada's Resource Magazine for Parents of Exceptional Children, where he discusses six strategies to help your academically discouraged child climb from struggles to success.
Throughout preschool and her early elementary grades, Emma was sunny, confident, and engaged in school. Now 12 and in Grade 6, her teacher’s comments paint a different picture: Emma enters class pleasantly and she seems to get along nicely with the other kids. During class, however, Emma never participates and it seems that her mind is elsewhere. Emma’s work reflects a general lack of effort. It’s almost as if she doesn’t care.
What happened to the sunny, confident and engaged Emma? Click here to view a PDF of the complete article and find out.
How is technology affecting students? That's the questions The Nurturing Faith blog tackled on January 5, 2010. The Shut-Down Learner was included as part of the five-part series:
Are we getting better at engaging students? Yes and no. A recent study released in March 2009 from the Speak Up National Research Project indicated that “students are generally asked to ‘power down’ at school and abandon the electronic resources they rely on for learning outside of class.” (Education Week, 4/1/09)
Furthermore they don’t believe they are being adequately prepared for the tech demands of the marketplace. We can pooh-pooh the importance of engagement, but must acknowledge that how learners learn continues to tip in the direction of visual-spatial intelligence, and to not deliver instruction in those ways is simply sticking our heads in the sand. Richard Selznick, author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Disadvantaged Child, believes that 4 out of 10 elementary school students may give up on learning before graduation time and become “school casualties.” In his counseling work he has noticed that almost all of his clients are strong in “hands-on” and weak in language skills. The problem of course is that most classroom instruction is highly verbal and subsequently “deadening” to them.
Their disinterest, distraction, and failure to follow through on work is sometimes viewed as laziness and low motivation. These students are sometimes diagnosed with ADHD or dyslexia and prescribed medications. We can and should do better for kids who are square pegs and don’t fit our standard round holes, rather than knocking off all their God-given edges. We all know stories of people who barely survived school and once freed from formal education went on to make significant and meaningful contributions to life.
Read the complete series online at http://nurturingfaith.wordpress.com/
Dr. Richard Selznick was interviewed for the 12/27/2009 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer regarding the bill before the state legislature to address reading disabilities in the schools. The Cooper Learning Center was also mentioned in the article that highlighted Samantha Ravelli’s struggles with dyslexia.
You can read the complete article online at philly.com.
In their September 2009 issue, The Futurist reviewed The Shut-Down Learner and discussed learning issues with Dr. Selznick:
Four out of every 10 American students in elementary school today might give up on learning well before graduation time, according to school psychologist Richard Selznick. They will disconnect from teachers, tune out of class, and simply “shut down” as students. In The Shut-Down Learner, Selznick tells parents and teachers what they can do to re-engage them.
“The shut-down learners that I have known are incredibly talented and misunderstood. Sadly, many of them are casualties of school,” Selznick writes.
Selznick has counseled thousands of young people with learning challenges. Almost all of his patients share two common traits: high visual-spatial skills — i.e., strength in “hands-on” activities — and poor language skills. They are adept at building, painting, and exercising outside. But standard classroom instruction is “deadening” to them. They get restless, easily distracted, and fail to follow through on assignments and exercises.
Read the complete review online at http://www.wfs.org/August-Sept09/LearnerReview.htm
In September, Wired.com's "Geek Dad" talked about The Shut-Down Learner: The new academic year nearly always holds a lot of promise for parents. While the kids figure out what to wear the first day and have the excitement of meeting up with friends they haven’t seen for a while, that excitement soon wears off.
For some kids, that’s when they start moaning about homework, disliking school, and looking for excuses. It might be that instead of just lazy or unmotivated, you might have a shut-down learner...
My guest this week is Dr. Richard Selznick of Shut Down Learner. He is a psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist and author of The Shut-Down Learner: Helping Your Academically Discouraged Child. Our topic today is the “high spatial learner”, children who thrive with visual-spatial learning (the so called “Lego kid”) but who may struggle with learning in a Natural Moms Podcast. Download File - right click to download
The first of a three part interview is now being fatured on LD Podcasts. LD podcasts, is hosted by Whitney Hoffman. Her site features a blog and podcast about learning disabilities and kids struggling in school. Go to: ldpodcast.blogspot.com/
St. John Health in Warren, MI talked to Dr. Selznick about setting a good example and team learning as ways to teach kids how to handle victory and defeat.Click here to read the article on their website.
Whitney Hoffman discusses what psychologists call "learned helplessness" and kids who struggle with this in school with Dr. Selznick. Click here to read the complete article on her blog.
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