The Teenager's Guide to the Real World: The Best Non-Fiction Book for Helping Teenagers
MidoriLei
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Many teens don't pride themselves as readers. Some even pride themselves as non-readers. When I asked a student if she was familiar with the book Pride and Prejudice, she responded with an air of sophisti 
cation, "Oh, I don't read." The response is the equivalent to someone living in LA priding themselves for not taking care of their body, "Oh, I don't exercise." Both responses conjure a look of shock and disbelief: one from the avid fitness freak/gym rat, the other from the educator or parent.
How can parents and educators get their teens to look up from their Myspace pages, Halo video games, and Ipod Nanos and get them interested in reading? The solution is to offer them juicy, real-life non-fiction books. If a teen doesn't like reading fiction or literature, it's probably because it's competing with already available forms of media which offer more stimulating and engaging fiction created by the "we want it now," microwave society. Many teens lack the patience to dig into the deeper issues and themes of literature, much less sit through an entire reading of a 300 page novel when they have the option to go to the nearest Cinemax theater and be riveted by the workings of the Matrix Trilogy.
This is where Mr. Brain comes in. No joke; his name is Marshall Brain, author of The Teenager's Guide to the Real World. 338 pages jam-packed with goodies. Brain becomes that next door neighbor/mentor/outstanding citizen you never had but wished your kids had. Brain is the kind of person you would want your kids to follow around.
He's a great role model. He speaks to the teenagers not as the condescending, know-it-all adult, but as the teenager's ally; not with a list of do's and don'ts, but with valuable knowledge and information to help teens make wise choices.
Instead of a taking a broad look at the real world, he gets to the nitty-gritty and tells the facts in black and white. For example, Chapter 3 is entitled "Adults Rule the World."
Instead of scaring teenagers with the typical STD and pregnancy lecture associated with sex, Chapter 13 lets them know that "Teenage Sex is an Option."
How can parents and educators get their teens to look up from their Myspace pages, Halo video games, and Ipod Nanos and get them interested in reading? The solution is to offer them juicy, real-life non-fiction books. If a teen doesn't like reading fiction or literature, it's probably because it's competing with already available forms of media which offer more stimulating and engaging fiction created by the "we want it now," microwave society. Many teens lack the patience to dig into the deeper issues and themes of literature, much less sit through an entire reading of a 300 page novel when they have the option to go to the nearest Cinemax theater and be riveted by the workings of the Matrix Trilogy.
This is where Mr. Brain comes in. No joke; his name is Marshall Brain, author of The Teenager's Guide to the Real World. 338 pages jam-packed with goodies. Brain becomes that next door neighbor/mentor/outstanding citizen you never had but wished your kids had. Brain is the kind of person you would want your kids to follow around.
He's a great role model. He speaks to the teenagers not as the condescending, know-it-all adult, but as the teenager's ally; not with a list of do's and don'ts, but with valuable knowledge and information to help teens make wise choices.
Instead of a taking a broad look at the real world, he gets to the nitty-gritty and tells the facts in black and white. For example, Chapter 3 is entitled "Adults Rule the World."
Instead of scaring teenagers with the typical STD and pregnancy lecture associated with sex, Chapter 13 lets them know that "Teenage Sex is an Option."