As former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Lisa Graham Keegan knows a thing or two about education policy and the reforms that come with it. But in writing this book, she had a different goal in mind: to describe how she came to be a choice advocate and to provide a guide to other parents. With all the urgency of a politician but the patience of a mother—and she is most definitely both, as well as a smart, savvy, and likable human being—Keegan reviews her childhood, her career, and her experience raising four children in a piecemeal family of divorcees and step-moms. Drawing on these experiences, she reveals three “guideposts”: (1) Parents are and should be treated as sacred because children see themselves as reflections of their parents; (2) cultivate and cherish your children’s unique traits; and (3) see and help your children see their lives in a sacred context. Weaving in her background as a linguist and speech pathologist, Keegan illustrates how parents can provide their kids with what they know will help them succeed—and that’s communication. By age 3, the average child should know roughly 1,000 words. The problem is that three-year-olds living with uneducated parents know only 750 words—and those living on welfare know fewer than 500. For Keegan, properly communicating with your children is as essential as telling them they are loved. Her next book, she promises, will provide advice on the act of choosing schools. We can’t wait.
SOURCE: Lisa Graham Keegan, Simple Choices: Thoughts on choosing environments that support who your child is meant to be (The Keegan Company, May 2013).
