The Inner Wealth Initiative: The Nurtured Heart Approach for Education

by Tom Grove, Howard Glasser

The Inner Wealth Initiative is about the Nurtured Heart Approach -- about creating relationships that energize and support success and positive choices. It has many applications, but this book is about its application in schools. Howard Glasser initially created the Nurtured Heart Approach for families in his therapy practice who were at wit's end trying to deal with their difficult children. He soon found that, when this approach was used to help difficult children succeed in the classroom, all the other children in the classroom flourished as well. This book was born from that realization and from co-author Tom Grove's work with teachers and administrators across the U.S. who have found that the Nurtured Heart Approach is the very best solution for leaving no child behind. No matter what subject or grade level you teach, in these pages you will find out why the right social curriculum is crucial for students to learn the academic curriculum; how most disciplinary methods are upside-down, encouraging poor choices by giving students more energy and relationship when they are doing wrong; and how to turn that upside-down equation right-side up. You will find out how you can instill inner wealth in students and guide them to ever-increasing levels of success with only a few minutes of intervention each school day. Amazing and sustained improvements with this approach are not the result of a better or different academic curriculum, nor more staff or more dollars. They are the result of a dramatically improved social curriculum -- a curriculum of inner wealth. This approach has expanded into schools, juvenile justice centers, Head Start centers, treatment programs, teen pregnancy programs, therapy offices, and happier homes around the world.

Genres: Nonfiction

169 pages, Paperback

First published January 22, 2007

Reviews

[Matt Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

read (skimmed a lot) this in preparation for pd this year . . it's a little frustrating at times how educators will take something that's basic common sense, pretend that they're the first to discover/emphasize it, add some buzzwords and *viola* an "approach" that can make money . . everything in this book makes sense, but as an "approach" comes across as pretty touchy-feely and/or psychobabbly . . not sure how it'll get implemented in my school, but we'll see . . i also thought it was cute that the authors somehow thought they invented the word "positivity" . . what guys, no google? . . and that they had the audacity to claim "no bullying" in such-and-such a school due to their approach . . sorry, but bullying is often so low-key that you wouldn't know it's happening, and it happens in every school . . that last claim, btw, is symptomatic of the book's general lack of data backing their approach in general . . except for the couple schools connected to the authors that "champion" it . . . all that being said, the general ideas are good and there are some places with legitimately good/inspiring writing . . including the two-page spread on 68-69, which is a nice goal for students, teachers, humans in general . .

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I WISH I WOULD HAVE FOUND THIS BOOK EARLIER. IT IS A GOOD WAY TO INTERACT WITH ALL PEOPLE NOT JUST KIDS. OBVIOUS STUFF BUT A GREAT REMINDER AND WAY OF FRAMING IT.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book!