Luke Schoff - College Principal
Every now and then, a book comes along that leaves a lasting impression—not just as an educator, but as a person.
For me, that book is Dr Lea Waters’ The Strength Switch.
Dr Waters has spent much of her career working alongside educators, exploring how character strengths can be intentionally used in the classroom and how teachers can help students recognise and grow their own capacity for resilience and success. This kind of professional reading isn’t unusual, many educators find books that affirm or extend their practice. But this one stands out.
What makes The Strength Switch different is its focus beyond the classroom. Dr Waters identified a significant gap in the availability of strength-based resources for parents. While teachers were being empowered with knowledge about the benefits of focusing on what’s strong rather than what’s wrong, parents were often left without tools to support their children in the same way at home.
That’s where this book comes in.
The Strength Switch has been around for some time (first published in 2017). This book will inspire you to bring out the best in your children, by identifying and developing their best qualities. The small mental shift, or "switch," in our approach has the power to change not only how we parent, but how we view our children’s behaviour, growth, and potential.
Here’s the official blurb:
This game-changing book shows us the extraordinary results of focusing on our children’s strengths rather than always trying to correct their weaknesses. Most parents struggle with this shift because they suffer from a negativity bias, thanks to evolutionary development, giving them “strengths-blindness.” By showing us how to flick the Strength Switch, Lea demonstrates how we can not only help our children build resilience, optimism, and achievement but also help inoculate them against today’s pandemic of depression and anxiety.
As a strengths-based scientist for more than 20 years, Waters has seen how this approach enhances self-esteem and energy in both children and teenagers. Yet more on the plus side: parents find it a particularly exciting and rewarding way to raise children. With many suggestions for specific ways to interact with your kids, Waters demonstrates how to discover strengths and talents in our children, how to use positive emotions as a resource, how to build strong brains and even how to deal with problem behaviours and talk about difficult situations and emotions. The Strength Switch will show parents how a small shift can yield enormous results.
If you’re interested in exploring these ideas further, I highly recommend checking out Dr Waters’ TEDx talk, which is both insightful and practical:
And the best part? A copy of The Strength Switch is available to borrow from the College Library. It’s a great opportunity for you to access this fantastic resource and start making the shift toward strength-based conversations at home and in school.
I hope you enjoy learning a bit more about how focussing on strengths can change the way you look at growth and development of the whole person.
Luke Schoff
College Principal