Arrows Swift and Far, Guiding Your Child Through School

Are you a "hurried parent" with heavy commitments to your work and a deep concern that you lack the time to supervise your child’s education properly? In ten concise, focused chapters, Arrows Swift and Far, Guiding Your Child Through School provides the tools you need to fulfill your duties as a responsible parent.

The book starts with your first contact with the school: kindergarten screening. Subsequent chapters take you through the range of situations which can positively or negatively affect your child's education. Dr. Devlin is deeply concerned about the labels which some schools place on children, and the uses made of test scores. You need this information because, while you can delegate some responsibility for your child's education to the school, you cannot abdicate it.

Arrows Swift and Far urges parents to be activists. Dr. Devlin points out that this need not be difficult or time-consuming. In a few key situations she shows how you can and should take the initiative to ensure that the school understands your child. Only with this understanding can the school fulfill its mandate. Dr. Devlin stresses that you are the authority on your child. You know him or her best, and you must be his or her advocate.

What "Doc Spock" does for your child's health care, Dr. Devlin does for your child's education. Her book serves to relieve your anxiety when things are normal, to alert you to problems, and to give you practical advice and the words to use when dealing with the complex school bureaucracy.

Schools have a great deal to offer if you know how to use them well. When parents, teachers and children understand each other and the system, everyone benefits. You can best help your school by being supportive, by encouraging the people in the system, and by understanding what the school can and cannot do. This book will help you become an informed parent acting responsibly for positive results.