The Means to Grow Up

Reviews / Votes

"In an era of rampant student boredom and failing schools, Halpern shows us how an old model of mentorship and learning is being reinvented to provide powerful experiences to prepare youth for the workforce of the 21st century. In multiple guises - summer internships, work-based learning, and science, technology, and arts-based youth programs - the apprenticeship is reemerging as an educational model that matches young people's eager responsiveness to hands-on learning and the new demands of the workforce for flexible pragmatic skills. This book provides a superb inside view of how diverse apprenticeships work, including how they are structured, the nature of the apprentice-mentor relationships, and the rich developmental experiences that youth gain." --Reed Larson, Professor of Human Development, Psychology, and Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

"Robert Halpern's latest book...holds many guiding insights and generous dollops of comforting, good old-fashioned yet contemporary and down-to-earth wisdom for readers, especially those whose priorities or responsibilities involve the care and guidance of adolescents coming of age. Halpern provides a skillfully crafted account of the experience of apprenticeship and its benefits...the author's depiction of varied apprenticeship experiences captures both their complexity and nuance. The greatest appeal of this book lies in the fact that it is about the human need to do skilled, specific work that matters and taking pride in the craft. A compact book, yet detailed and carefully and meticulously written,[this book] is a handy reference guide for anyone investigating the promise of apprenticeships. Psychologists, teachers, social workers and others whose work involves families and adolescents in high school are likely to find this book useful. Halpern's attention to detail and his persistence in drawing together seemingly disparate ideas brings all the systems into focus." --Padmini Banjeree, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 54, Release 43