"Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Mel Levine, one of the best-known learning experts and pediatricians in America today. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all. Yet most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, many children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the way they are being taught.

In his #1 New York Times bestseller A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and those who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns, explaining how they can strengthen a child's abilities and either bypass or help overcome the child's weaknesses, producing positive results instead of repeated frustration and failure.

Consistent progress can result when we understand that not every child can do equally well in every type of learning and begin to pay more attention to individual learning patterns -- and individual minds -- so that we can maximize children's success and gratification in life. In A Mind at a Time Dr. Levine shows us how.

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It would be wonderful if all children learned at the same rate and possessed the same aptitude for learning; however, each child is a unique individual. The educational system today does not structure its learning process around that fundamental fact. A good many of the behavioural problems we see surfacing today stem from the fact a child becomes frustrated, bored, overwhelmingly challenged, or discouraged by the educational process, and their actions are often a result of what is lacking in the education system. Some parents, as well, do not take that fact into consideration and often expect Mary to keep up with brother John, because John seems to excel in everything, while Mary struggles to achieve.

There are a variety of topics to be found in the book, including development of memory, language, and motor skills. If you are an educator or have a child who is experiencing difficulties in this area, this book provides excellent resource material. It is one parents and individuals with the authority to make changes in the system should read and take to heart. The book contains a valuable message, is well researched, and is equally as well written.

79 of 81 found the following review helpful:

Significant, enlightening, and a good read tooMay 20, 2003
By P. Lozar "plozar"
Other reviewers have discussed the pros and cons of Dr. Levine's theories in depth, so I won't go into those; in the field of cognitive psychology, I'm an interested (and, I think, fairly well-read) amateur rather than a professional.

That said, I feel that this is an important book for both parents and educators. The child's "job" of learning how to function in the world, and mastering the many tasks set for him/her by the educational system, isn't an easy one. The human mind is complex and multifaceted, but our schools tend to think of "intelligence" as a narrowly defined set of skills, and anyone who doesn't do well in those must be either stupid or lazy. (Levine notes that the moral implications of such judgments, e.g., that a student "doesn't try hard enough" or is "unmotivated," can be devastating to a child, and are often grossly unfair.) The irony is that -- as Levine points out -- the abilities that enable a child to succeed in school aren't necessarily those that conduce to success in later life; so, by rewarding performance only in certain areas, we doom many children to a low opinion of their abilities and ignore a wide spectrum of human potential.

Although the subject isn't exactly lightweight, I found the book appealing and highly readable. Dr. Levine clearly has great respect and affection for his young subjects, so his anecdotes are engaging and (often) amusing. I was especially tickled when he urged a young client not to let his teachers "catch him doing something right" because from then on they'd hold it against him. In school, I was a "divergent thinker" to the max: if a subject interested me, I'd do a brilliant job, but if not I'd blow it off. So my occasional successes turned into threats: "See how well you can do if you just TRY hard enough." Trying hard had nothing to do with it! (When I got into college and graduate school, where I could study the subjects that interested me, my GPA soared.)

Although Levine's work is often compared with Howard Gardner's, in fact they're complementary. Levine deals with cognitive skills (such as learning to filter stimuli), while Gardner deals with innate abilities or faculties in various subject areas (such as affinity for music). A child's learning difficulties could result from either one -- for example, problems with math might mean that the child can't focus on details, or has little math ability -- or they could be caused by something totally unrelated to intelligence, such as eye problems. As Levine memorably points out, every child's mind is different, and "one size fits all" solutions rarely address the real problem.

68 of 72 found the following review helpful:

Good Information, but no practical helpJun 06, 2002
By Letha L Mark
I read this book with the idea that I would get some help in knowing how to help my son with some of the learning challenges he has faced. The book was very informative about how the brain works and different learning styles and challenges. However, there really were no exercises or concrete advice about how to work on the different problem areas. Only general advice was given, nothing specific to the individual problems. It made me feel as though the author wanted us to buy the book to know all the whys, but he didn't want to undermine the therapists' ability to make a living by giving us the 'hows'. It frustrated me because I already know where the problem areas are.... what I wanted to know was how to practice overcoming them. The book did not help me here.

86 of 96 found the following review helpful:

A well written disappointmentApr 05, 2002

This book is so promising from the cover. It is filled with anecdotal information, which makes the reading more enjoyable. And the information is solid, well written and detailed. I was disappointed however, in the lack of information on how to tell which of these areas are problem areas, and what to do about it. Often, the author relates that after testing the evaluation team found... and then does not explain how a parent at home might go about doing this type of "evaluation". Then he talks about creating a plan to focus on the strengths of the child to overcome the weak points. Great plan, but again gives very little help in how a parent might go about doing it. Mostly this book is not about giving out usable information, but really about promoting his "Schools Attuned" program and one student success center in Raleigh, NC! This book describes in detail and with examples all the areas a child might have difficulty, but will give you little help in figuring out which are problem areas for your child, and what (if you manage to figure out the problem) to do about it. Wonderful information, what to do with it?

60 of 66 found the following review helpful:

Help for All LearnersJun 07, 2002
By F. Hamilton "fran@grammarandmore.com"
Dr. Mel Levine, Founder of All Kinds of Minds Institute and Director of the University of North Carolina's Clinical Center for Development and Learning, describes himself as "a pediatrician with a mission." He is "obsessed with helping children find success." Indeed, after three decades of working in schools and with children, Levine is receiving national attention. Not only is _A Mind at a Time_ a bestseller, Levine has recently been featured on several national talk shows and on the ... documentary _Misunderstood Minds_.

_A Mind at a Time_ is easy for the lay person to read and understand. Although Levine closely follows educational research, he does not cite research studies in _A Mind at a Time_. Rather he bases the book on "objective clinical observation." Levine writes, "For me these kids have been like textbooks on learning and mind development. I can learn more about a child by getting to know her well than by reading a list of computer-generated test scores. In fact, whenever I participate in the clinical evaluation of a child, I see some facets of brain function that I have never before seen."

A genuine appreciation of each child shines through each of the case vignettes that Levine includes in _A Mind at a Time_. This appreciation is not merely compassion for a child dealing with learning difficulties; it is a celebration of the unique combination of strengths and weaknesses that makes up each child's mind. Optimism also pervades the discussion of each child.

Levine identifies eight "neurodevelopmental systems" that work together during learning. The relationship between these systems is similar to that between the body's physiological systems (such as the circulatory system and the respiratory system). These eight systems are

� attention control
� memory
� language
� spatial ordering
� sequential ordering
� motor
� higher thinking (including problem solving, logical reasoning, critical thinking, creative thinking, and more)
� social thinking

Levine examines each of these systems in detail and includes "practical considerations" for helping children function well in each area. He says that many dysfunctions in these areas cannot be identified on any test.

Levine points out that people are expected to do well at everything only when they are children. Once they are out of school, they can select a career that is a good match to their neurodevelopmental strengths.

Levine believes that before addressing difficulties with learning it is important to examine "how learning works when it's working." This leads to an upward spiral for success as remedies for learning problems can be applied to improve learning strategies for all students.

Levine concludes _A Mind at a Time_ with chapters about the roles of the home and the school in learning. He also provides an index and an annotated list of "Helpful Readings and Other Resources."

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