Things+to+read!

I will be adding books that we will be working on in class and additional books that will help you navigate your way through high school. There will also be other important items to take a look at and read through for information that will help you prepare for what comes after high school.

by Sean Covey


__The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make__ gives great insight to teenagers who are facing hardships. Sean Covey believes there are 6 important decisions that you will make in your life.


 * They are decisions about school, parents, friends, dating and sex, addictions, and self-worth.**

Each section goes into great detail to explain each area. Throughout the book, there are hilarious cartoons, graphics, famous quotes, and thoughts from other teens. Sean Covey did not just use his ideas and opinions. The book is filled with statistics, experimental studies, and professional reports which show that it is a quality book. The book never seemed offensive, and would not turn away teenagers who are facing problems that are talked about in the book. Each section had multiple stories, positive and negative, about teenagers and how they have dealt with the 6 decisions in their lives. It really makes the decisions seem real and makes you think about how you have made those decisions in your life.

Written by Kent Healy and Kyle Healy


This book is part motivational and part business plan. “Cool Stuff” was written by 2 teenagers who started their own skim/skate/surf board business. The book starts out with the question “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” From there the book moves into money management and ends with communication skills. A weakness of the book is that it’s more of a glance at the many options out there for money management. But perhaps that is not such a bad thing since the authors were teenagers when they wrote the book, and the many options go in and out of popularity. The lack of depth also allows the authors to focus on the breadth of topics. For example, in the money management chapters, there is a section on the different types of bank account, the parts of a check, the need to balance your checkbook, and how to select the best credit card for your needs. There are also lots of common sense tips interspersed in the book. For example, don’t give out your PIN number, if you can’t pay the entire balance of your credit card, then you are overspending. The strength of the book lies in its easy access. I really got the feeling that this was written by people who had been there and done that. The book’s tone of voice is very conversational, and I can see a teacher using a chapter from the book to reach students who may have difficulties with a textbook. I can see the book being used on a lesson about credit cards, or about investing in retirement early, rather than later. This is a great book for students who have dreams of a bigger and brighter future, but might not have the tools to obtain their dreams.

Reader review: Kent Healy and Kyle Healy are smart, savvy young men who are brothers. They have taken the pulse of the "real world" and identified that kids are not equipped for living in the "real world."

The practical tips and logical advice they dispense is nothing new. Most adults know how difficult it is to navigate the world and try to tell their children the "facts." But then we also know that most kids think they're smarter than their parents are. It isn't until much later in life that they realize the value of adult wisdom. And by that time it might be too late.

But we also know that kids listen to other kids (do we need to revisit peer pressure?). With that fact accepted, Cool Stuff They Should Teach in School becomes even more valuable since it's advice delivered by young adults for young adults.

Kent and Kyle Healy systematically navigate the do's and don'ts of important issues like success, attitude, goals and habits, peer pressure, finances, employment and the lost art of consideration, kindness and manners.

I'd like to adopt these guys. First they sound like really nice young men. Secondly, their entrepreneurial savvy will make them rich enough to take care of themselves in a grand style but also their parents.

But most importantly, Cool Stuff They Should Teach in School is a manual all kids should have. I thought society had lost the "vision." Thankfully it appears it's only been misplaced and Kent and Kyle are spearheading a movement to bring it back.

Armchair Interviews says...Parents: BUY this book and if the kids read it and get it, it might save society and everyone will thrive in the process!