KATHLEEN SHEA
Challenge to Excellence
Reviews
From a Student at Chipman Middle School
Mrs. Shea, it finally arrived. I can't wait to incorporate your book and work into my classroom! Thanks for being one of my first mentors into the world of SEL and Motivational Self-Esteem. I still use your teachings in my daily life and it has played a huge part in shaping my teaching style! Everyone else, you should get your copy of Challenge to Excellence by Kathleen Shea. ~ RJ Rodas
From a Student at Chipman Middle School
Do me a favor! Meet my middle school instructor and author Kathleen Shea! She motivated me to lead an entire generation of students while I trailblazed in Alameda middle schools. She inspired me to be the best I can be. She taught me how to conduct myself while leading students in an afterschool program I built from scratch and helped translate a small opportunity into a huge impact on the world. And now she's changing the world again with the release of her new book Challenge to Excellence. Grab a copy of her book and read it to your family, your kids, your students and your colleagues. I guarantee you that you will achieve what you believe! Thank you Mrs. Shea for including us in your work. ~ Jelane Dugan
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From a Parent at Chipman Middle School
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One of my favorite human beings in the world, Kathleen Shea, just published a book called Challenge to Excellence. I was so inspired today listening to the testimonies of her former Middle School students and the impact she still has in their lives. They said that she is a Healer and she really IS! I hope that you will feel inspired to purchase her book and share it with others. We need to bring more creative, spiritual and inspirational ideas to the classroom within the school system. All the excellent ideas are in her book. ~ Claudia Ruiz
From Fellow Author
Kathleen Shea is not your average educator. She takes her considerable knowledge of classroom experience, kids and their uniqueness, parents and their contributions and the rearing of her own three distinctly different boys, and rolls it all into a readable, doable masterclass on self-esteem called Challenge to Excellence. Now, she offers us a useful workbook of the same name, filled with information for families for the creation of communication and building self-esteem in growing children while acknowledging that each of us is a unique being. There are no cookie cutters in Kathy Shea’s tool kit.
Kathy refers to her students as “Priceless, precious angels.” In her fourth-grade classroom, she had a bulletin board with an old Chinese proverb that stated, “Hear and you forget, see and you remember, do and you understand.” Instead of looking at pictures of maps, they made maps of California out of flour and salt. They studied the California missions from the Native American point of view, and thirty-eight students and eighteen parents spent two days on a Tamales Bay beach experiencing what it must have been like being a California Miwok Indian. I would have liked to be one of Kathleen Shea’s students.
Challenge to Excellence opens the door for parents to understand their children and for the children to learn in their own way and to express themselves, not only to the parents, but to the world. ~ Ginna BB Gordon, Author of Bear Me Away to a Better Place
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From a Former Student at Chipman Middle School
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Challenge to Excellence: A Survival Guide for Teenagers and Parents by Kathleen Shea is an engaging and practical resource that provides advice on communication, self-esteem, time management, goal setting, and decision-making. Shea emphasizes the importance of open communication, personal responsibility, and learning from mistakes. This book is a valuable guide for teenagers and parents seeking to navigate the challenges of adolescence. This book is extremely practical as it has worksheets and daily affirmations. Mrs. Shea is a great educator with decades of experience in both private and public schools. Well written and well worth it! ~ Marwa Ibrahim