About the Book
Written for parents, teachers, and others who live or work with teenagers, this science-based guide describes how you can become a confident 'decision mentor.' Learn to support young people in making good decisions for themselves. Treating decision making as an essential and learnable skill, the six-step 'Decision-Maker Moves' highlight the power and promise of young people as they shape their lives through the options they choose. Stories, examples, and practical tips show how decisions can transform problems into opportunities. Each chapter provides common-sense advice on when and how to talk with teenagers as they weigh up the often-conflicting values, emotions, and trade-offs affecting their choices. We cannot provide young minds with all the answers, but we can help them as they navigate both life-changing and everyday decisions.
Table of Contents:
Territory Acknowledgments; About this Book; Introduction to the Decision Maker Moves: The Big Picture; 1. Move 1 Frame the decision; 2. Move 2 Clarify what matters; 3. Move 3 Generate options; 4. Move 4 Explore consequences; 5. Move 5 Weigh Trade-offs and decide; 6. Move 6 Stay curious; Now What?; Acknowledgments; Glossary; References.
About the Author :
Robin Gregory is a parent and grandparent, Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, and Senior Research Scientist at Decision Research, Oregon. He helps families, communities, and governments worldwide address difficult decisions involving diverse perspectives, uncertainty, and tough trade-offs in ways that reflect and help achieve their values. Brooke Moore is a parent, Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, and a District Principal in the Delta School District, British Columbia. Throughout these roles, both professional and personal, she is motivated by a vision where all young people can move into adulthood with dignity, purpose, and options, a phrase she learned through her work with the Network of Inquiry and Indigenous Education.
Review :
'A remarkable book. I only wish I'd had it when starting out with my own family. It distils several decades of complex scientific and social research into a format that is both accessible and enjoyable. The structure is engaging and the 'back-pocket' summaries are especially well done. It makes excellent use of the new knowledge in decision analysis and social psychology that has emerged over the last few decades. Brilliant and well done.' Mark Burgman, Imperial College London
'A valuable resource for anyone who works with young people or wants to help teenagers learn how to make wise decisions for themselves. The Decision Maker Moves help us understand that making good decisions is a skill that we can all learn.' Jo Chrona, Education Consultant, Canada
'Robin Gregory and Brooke Moore demonstrate great, and uncommon, faith in adolescents' ability to make wise life decisions when given proper support from the adults in their lives. They ground that faith in a nuanced reading of scientific research and their own dedicated, inspiring engagement with young people.' Baruch Fischhoff, Carnegie Mellon University
'Experienced as a teacher, superintendent, and policy maker, I know how critical decision-making skills are for K-12 students. Sorting It Out is an excellent, evidence-based curriculum that ensures students have strong decision-making skills to act responsibly and with confidence throughout their education and as adults in our complex world.' Nancy Golden, former Superintendent of Schools for the Springfield School District and former Education Policy Director for the Governor of Oregon
'The authors provide the tools, language, examples, and resources that adults need to help young people make good - or more informed - decisions. I wish I had this when I was a high school counsellor and parenting a teenager. Fortunately, we have it now and countless young people will benefit from its wisdom.' Judy Halbert, University of British Columbia
'This is a deeply thoughtful book. As young people make their way through a public arena polluted by misinformation and partisan anger, there are few personal assets as valuable as the agency and concern for others that emerge from the experience of learning how to make better choices. The Decision Maker Moves are a brilliant gift for young people.' James Hoggan, author of I'm Right and You're an Idiot: The Toxic State of Public Discourse and How To Clean It Up
'At last, an informed and practical book for young people, their families, and their educators. The authors have thought long and hard about how to create thoughtful decisions with young people. They have applied every idea they share in this resource. The learners who use these strategies in their deliberations - in life and in school - will be much better equipped to deal with the complexities and uncertainties of their array of choices. A superb resource for book clubs as these ideas are both powerful and accessible.' Linda Kaser, University of British Columbia
'Sorting It Out provides the ideas and techniques that guide teenagers to make good decisions. It is the best gift that you could give any teenager, as their decisions offer them the only purposeful way to influence their lives.' Ralph L. Keeney, Duke University
'I approached this book as a guide to decision-making but found a framework for teaching young people how to tackle complex problems. This is a rare book that can really help to develop the most foundational knowledge and skills we need.' Amelia Peterson, The London Interdisciplinary School
'The quality of one's decisions determines the quality of their life. This engaging book by a teacher and a decision scientist will help parents, educators, and other mentors set the kids they care about on a path to expanding their choice options and making better decisions throughout their lives.' Paul Slovic, University of Oregon
'You can make a real difference in a young person's life by serving as a mentor, helping to guide them in making wise decisions and choices as they mature. Making good decisions is hard for anyone, but for adolescents, whose brains are still developing, it is even more difficult to balance impulsive choices based in large part on emotion with decisions grounded in careful reflection and consideration of both options and potential outcomes. Through stories, examples, and easily understood explanations, Robin Gregory and Brooke Moore present a series of six clear and logical steps that can help adults to guide and advise adolescents in making wise choices, balancing emotion and intuition with thoughtful consideration. The book is packed with wisdom, positive energy, and kindness. In a world of turmoil and endless possibilities for both positive and negative actions, Sorting it Out is needed today more than ever. It will bring immense benefits, both to adult mentors and to the young people who receive their guidance.' Nancy Turner, University of Victoria
'The long-lasting implications of the decisions teenagers make can truly impact their quality of life. By becoming a decision mentor and implementing the decision-maker moves prescribed by Gregory and Moore in this volume, anyone engaging with the youth will be well prepared to help. … this text is highly recommended.' W. S. Miner, CHOICE
