The Unmotivated Child: Helping Your Underachiever Become a Successful Student

Natalie Rathvon solves the mystery of underachievement in children by looking beneath the child's surface behavior.

She discloses the beliefs that influence an underachiever's attitude and actions and pinpoints the warning signs to watch for in elementary, middle, and high school students. The Unmotivated Child focuses on the roots of underachievement, the world of the underachiever, and pathways to achievement. By explaining in detail how parents and teachers can help a child live up to his or her potential, Rathvon offers solutions to problems, including guidelines for supporting the students through the change process, including dealing with setbacks, seven strategies for overcoming the "homework trap"--from helping children work effectively at home to making sure they bring their work to school, eight practical techniques for working with teachers to encourage a new approach to learning and school behavior, and five methods for communicating constructively with an underachiever.


About the Author
Rathvon, Natalie: - Natalie Rathvon, PhD, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at The George Washington University. A former teacher, guidance director, special education coordinator, and counselor educator, she provides consultation and professional development to schools and agencies in the areas of assessment and accountability, reading, problem-solving teams, and school-based interventions. She has been a trainer for Reading First, trainer and peer reviewer for Early Reading First, and member of the US Department of Education technical workgroup reviewing Even Start state accountability systems. Dr. Rathvon is a member of the board of directors of SchoolTalk, Inc., a nonprofit corporation in the District of Columbia that develops models and provides training for dispute resolution and home-school collaboration in special education service delivery. She is the author of the first edition of Effective School Interventions: Strategies for Enhancing Academic Achievement and Social Competence and Early Reading Assessment: A Practitioner's Handbook.