Middle School Superpowers: Raising Resilient Tweens in Turbulent Times

by Phyllis L. Fagell

Overview

From the author of Middle School Matters, discover how to bolster any middle schooler’s resilience by leveraging the 12 Middle School Superpowers they need to manage disappointment, self-regulate emotions, take healthy risks, and recover from any setback.

Middle school can be one of the toughest times in a kid’s life—for them and for their parents and educators. It’s filled with transitions, upheaval, and brand new experiences that can be overwhelming and intimidating. But licensed clinical professional counselor Phyllis Fagell has put together a practical, evidence-based, and compassionate guide for parents and educators to help their tweens through most challenging situations.
 
Middle School Superpowers teaches middle schoolers how to activate the 12 superpowers they need to discover their strengths and navigate tough decisions and disappointment:
Flexibility * Belonging * Sight * Bounce * Agency * Forcefield * 
Security * Healing * Vulnerability * Daring * Optimism * Balance
  Whether they lose a friend, get cut from a team, make a mistake on social media, bomb a test, struggle with negative body image or identity-related issues, or feel weighed down by societal problems, these “superpowers” will help them find their place and thrive. Middle School Superpowers is the key to raising confident, self-aware, independent, and resilient kids who can recover from any setback—now and in the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306829758
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Phyllis L. Fagell is a licensed clinical professional counselor, a certified professional school counselor, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post and other national publications, and author of Middle School Matters. She is a school counselor at Sheridan School in Washington, D.C. and provides therapy to children, teens, and families at The Chrysalis Group Inc. in Bethesda, Maryland. Phyllis also speaks and consults on issues relating to parenting, counseling, and education.

Editorial Reviews

“Fagell's gifts as a writer pale only to her gift for understanding and appreciating the magic of tweens and teens. I thought she had already written the definitive guide to appreciating middle school kids, but with Middle School Superpowers, she completes the set, one every parent or teacher of middle school students needs."

—Jessica Lahey, Author of The Gift of Failure and The Addiction Inoculation

As both a parent and an educator, I loved this book! Such important concepts are presented in a highly engaging, culturally relevant way, and I am left feeling much more equipped in my ability to shepherd my children toward emotionally healthy adulthood. Phyllis Fagell spends every day of her professional life working with middle schoolers, and her insights on this population can help you help them develop the 'superpowers' they will absolutely need as they grow person-ally, relationally, and academically. My favorite chapters are on purpose finding, boundary setting, risk taking, and problem reframing, and they are all backed by science. Plus, numerous actionable ideas are presented throughout in an encouraging and accessible manner. There is so much packed into these pages, and different sections will be relevant at different times in my children's lives. I know I will be consulting it often!"

—Sameer Hinduja, PhD, professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, and faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University

"Middle School Superpowers is an indispensable, engaging, and reassuring resource for anyone raising or educating tweens in today's complicated world.

With warmth and wisdom, Fagell draws on the research and shares poignant, often funny stories to impart actionable ways adults can help middle schoolers cultivate the twelve essential superpowers they need to navigate the phase and life beyond- with resilience."

—Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, Real American, and Your Turn

"Phyllis Fagell has created another action packed masterpiece! It recognizes that while tweens have the power within them, it is parents" superimportant role do recognize and build on their strengths. My favorite line in the book is that adults should 'cast aside their assumptions and start with curiosity.' Exactly!!!! Thar curiosity will make you the best possible guide for your child because you'll learn about the realities of their life. Then, you'll be ready to draw from the practical, actionable, and effective approaches this book offers to further empower your child to savor life while also being able to manage its complexities."

—Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, author of the books Congrats, You're Having a Teen! and Building Resilience in Children and Teens, founding director of the Center for Parent and Teen Communication

"Middle School Superpowers is the indispensable guide every parent and educator needs to help kids make mistakes, learn, and recover from any setback or disappointment. Whether the struggle is body image, social skills, motivation, or anxiety, Phyllis Fagell shares relatable stories and offers a wealth of concrete, science-backed, practical answers to every challenge a child could face during the tough tween years. With warmth and humor, this reassuring book provides all the tools you need to empower a tween and activate their superpowers so they

Phyllis is a gifted writer, and this is a must-read!"

—Michele Borba, EdD, educational psychologist and bestselling author of Thrivers 1 UnSelfie

"As a clinician who works with tweens and teens and as the parent of a middle schooler, I cannot overstate the value of this book. Phyllis Fagell has packed decades of wisdom into a smart, practical, and indispensable guide that is a must-read for anyone raising, educating, or caring for middle school students."—Lisa Damour, PhD, Author of Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers

“[A] brilliant, bighearted, highly practical guide to helping kids navigate the mess of middle school emotions, mistakes, insecurities and social minefields.”—The Chicago Tribune, Heidi Stevens

Throughout the book, Fagell excels by giving strategies to meet kids where they are.  She equips educators with the language to validate student emotions, without absolving them of consequences.  This is more than “feel good” fluff—it’s science-backed methods for instilling in students the skills they need to be successful.—We Are Teachers

From the Publisher