Product Description

How many times have you heard a teacher say that your child has tremendous potential "if only he'd just apply himself" or "if only she'd work just a little harder"? How often have you said the same thing to your son or daughter? Or perhaps you have a coworker who can't seem to finish anything; his reports are never in on time, or her projects are always behind schedule. No matter what excuses you hear, you suspect that laziness is the real reason for your colleague's low productivity.

Almost no one is actually lazy, says Dr. Mel Levine, author of the #1 national bestseller A Mind at a Time. Low productivity -- whether in school or on the job -- is almost always caused by a genuine problem, a neuro-developmental dysfunction. Despite this, untold numbers of people have been stigmatized by unfair accusations of laziness, many of them adults who still carry emotional scars from their school days.

In The Myth of Laziness Dr. Levine shows how we can spot the neurodevelopmental dysfunctions that may cause "output failure," as he calls it, whether in school or in the workplace. Dr. Levine identifies seven forms of dysfunction that obstruct output. Drawing on his years of clinical experience he describes eight people -- children, adolescents, and adults -- he has worked with who exhibited one or another of these problems. He shows how identifying the problem can make all the difference, leading to a course of corrective action rather than to accusations of laziness and moral failure. For example, a child who is unable to plan or to think ahead, who cannot consider different methods of accomplishing something or has difficulty making choices may wait until it is too late to complete an assignment or may act impulsively, creating a pattern of bad judgments and careless errors. Dr. Levine explains how such a child can be helped to learn how to plan ahead and weigh various alternatives. This sort of problem, if untreated, can persist into adulthood, where it can wreak far more havoc than in the classroom.

The Myth of Laziness explains the significance of writing as a key barometer of productivity during the school years. Because writing brings together so many neurodevelopmental functions -- such as memory, motor control, organization, and verbalization of ideas -- it can provide crucial clues to pinpoint the sources of output failure.

With its practical advice and its compassionate tone, The Myth of Laziness shows parents how to nurture their children's strengths and improve their classroom productivity. Most important, it shows how correcting these problems in childhood will help children live a fulfilling and productive adult life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36248 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12
• Released on: 2003-01-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Amazon.com
A professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School, Mel Levine received acclaim for his previous book, A Mind at a Time, which argued that children’s different learning capabilities demand diverse teaching strategies. In The Myth of Laziness, Levine isolates another group of kids--so-called "lazy" children who aren’t working up to their potential in school--and explores the causes of their low performance. Levine scoffs at the perception that any child is lazy, stating that "everybody yearns to be productive." These children, according to Levine, are simply experiencing "output failure" due to different neuro-developmental weaknesses.

Levine produces case studies of seven children and adults who have been labeled lazy and identifies internal sources that are undermining their production. Many of their output issues revolve around difficulties with writing, as is the case with Russell, who is hindered by his low motor skills, or Clint, whose long-term memory lapses prevent him from expressing himself well. Other weaknesses, such as poor oral language ability, mental energy dysfunction, poor idea generation, and organizational problems, plague the individuals in these case studies. Levine talks briefly about external factors that contribute to low output, such as socioeconomic background, family life, and negative role models. In the profile for Scott Murray, Levine even has the humility to admit that he was unable to reach this young man. External influences--namely, Scott’s privileged upbringing--were too pervasive in causing his output failure.

The last few chapters are devoted to suggestions for what parents and teachers can do to foster productive output in their children and students and how to detect a problem that is internal rather than environmental. Tips on how to cultivate writing skills, set up an organized home office, and assist with homework are aimed at parents while teachers are encouraged to consider individuality among their students’ learning styles. Finally, the appendices offer two worksheets to help students plan stories and reports. Two additional worksheets help pinpoint whether output problems are the cause of poor schoolwork. This is a valuable book that will give parents some guidance in solving their children’s productivity issues and preparing their children successfully for adulthood. --Cristina Vaamonde

From Publishers Weekly
Pediatrician Levine, a developmental-behavioral expert, offers theories on why it's so hard for some teenagers-even bright ones-to succeed in school. "Often these individuals absorb and process information well; they learn but they don't produce," he says, adding, "people say glibly that they are not `living up to their potential.' " Levine prefers the term "output failure" over "laziness." In a series of case studies, he discusses the biological, neurological and psychological factors that may be responsible for "output failure." He focuses on kids challenged by oral and written communication; he believes parents and educators must pay attention to different learning styles rather than simply label a child as lazy. Even fidgeting, according to Levine, may be a plus: "Isn't it odd that kids get criticized for being fidgety when they should be commended for implementing a strategy that significantly elevates their attention?" Despite the thought-provoking theories and discussions of problems such as impairment in the generation of ideas and memory difficulties, only the final chapter, "Cultivating and Restoring Output," offers a broad range of strategies that can be used to remedy such troubles. Still, the advice-e.g., create a home office for kids, document time spent and level of output, adjust expectations-is on target and should help struggling parents.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
In his oral interpretation as well as his text, Dr. Levine goes to great lengths to be benign and reassuring. Yes, there's help for the underachiever, the pediatrician asserts. A kid, or grown-up for that matter, who doesn't live up to potential should not be dismissed as lazy. Numerous physical, psychological, and physiological factors account for low performance. These he enumerates, along with possible antidotes for these problems. Levine sounds like the doctor he is, not a professional narrator, though he reads well enough. In fact, his lack of finesse adds to his authenticity and credibility. Y.R. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Laziness is learned not inherent
Dr. Levine's book, The Myth of Laziness is great at breaking down why children and adolescents can have struggles with academics and even day to day tasks. I am also a developmental and behavioral pediatrician and in my work with children, parents, and teachers, have found that demystifying why a child/adolescent is struggling is the first step to developing a plan of both intervention and accommodation.

Too often, however, the struggling child becomes a struggling adolescent before the problems are determined, if at all. This leads the individual to learn that it is much easier and less stressful to get a D or F by not doing the work rather than struggling with it for hours just to be told it is not worthy of a higher grade. Some do give up in elementary school but most continue to try until they hit middle school, when the demands multiply exponentially and they still haven't mastered the foundational skills.

Dr. Levine wants people to actually spend time watching how the child attempts to take in, process, store, retrieve, and output the information. There are many soft neurologic signs that provide clues to the intensity of mental energy that is actually going on to try to comply, such as mouth movements, and the famous tongue sticking out, the fingers/knuckles on the other hand moving slightly as the student is trying to write, the keeping of the eyes close to the paper as they try to write, and for more than a few an increase in general motor movement as the brain goes into overdrive trying to send energy and information to the brain. One can also see the child close their eyes or appear to look upward as they are trying to figure something out, which is another involuntary sign of mental activity.

These are signs that Dr. Levine teaches the physicians, teachers, social workers, and psychologists who take his classes in Chapel Hill. Unfortunately the larger number of those in the education field are unaware of that since it is not taught in the colleges.

His books try to give a picture of how to look at the child's processing and learning styles and how to work with them.

These students don't start out lazy and unmotivated. They learn to be this way as a life saving strategy from appearing stupid.

Fantastic book
Great insights into how children learn and how to create interventions that effectively help struggling students!

The Myth of Laziness
I read this in a book chat with other teachers. It makes you rethink how you view students. It has been one of the most influential books that I have read in quite some time. All teachers should read this.