Bayview Glen Parent Book Club
Co-hosted by Bayview Glen Student Well-Being and Parent Association
Thank you to those parents for joining our inaugural Parent Book Club in person at the Moatfield Campus Learning Commons and online via Microsoft Teams on Monday, November 27, 2023.
We are excited for the great conversations regarding the selected book “The Dolphin Way” by Dr. Shimi Kang, and we look forward to our next two Parent Book Clubs scheduled for this 2023-2024 school year: Thursday, February 29, 2023 and Thursday, May 30, 2024.
Please stay tuned for more details in the New Year.
Bayview Glen is excited to invite parents of all divisions to our Bayview Glen Parent Book Club! Last year, the book “The Dolphin Way” by Dr. Shimi Kang was selected as the first book.
Our inaugural Parent Book Club meeting on Monday, November 27, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. will be an opportunity to delve into the book with Antoinette Morgan, Director of Student Well-Being. Sophie Lai, a member of the Bayview Glen parent community, will moderate the discussion. We encourage you to bring your questions and insight into what promises to be a stimulating and enriching dialogue that you won’t want to miss! This event will also run simultaneously on Microsoft Teams and your real-time participation will be most welcome. We can’t wait to hear your unique perspectives as we explore the themes and lessons from “The Dolphin Way” together.
Parent Book Club Details:
To encourage community building, we are launching the Parent Book Club and follow up meetings three times per year to provide an opportunity where parents can share, collaborate, and help each other through lively discussions around parenting. All parents of Bayview Glen students are warmly welcomed.
Date: Monday, November 27, 2023
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Moatfield Campus Learning Commons and Microsoft Teams (online link sent via Edsby message and also available for access via Edsby news river). Meeting will not be recorded.
Book: “The Dolphin Way” by Dr. Shimi K. Kang
(Alternate Book: “The Dolphin Parent” by Dr. Shimi K. Kang)
Deadline to register: Wednesday, November 24, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
Please complete the online registration form below if you are interested in attending.
Book Description:
In this inspiring book, Harvard-trained child and adult psychiatrist and expert in human motivation Dr. Shimi Kang provides a guide to the art and science of inspiring children to develop their own internal drive and a lifelong love of learning. Drawing on the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, Dr. Kang shows why pushy “tiger parents” and permissive “jellyfish parents” hinder self-motivation. She proposes a powerful new parenting model: the intelligent, joyful, playful, highly social dolphin. Dolphin parents focus on maintaining balance in their children’s lives to guide them gently yet authoritatively toward lasting health, happiness, and success.
As the medical director for Child and Youth Mental Health community programs in Vancouver, Dr. Kang has witnessed firsthand the consequences of parental pressure: anxiety disorders, high stress levels, suicides, and addictions. As the mother of three children and as the daughter of immigrant parents who struggled to give their children the “best” in life – her mother could not read, and her father taught her math while they drove around in his taxi – Dr. Kang argues that often the simplest “benefits” we give our children are the most valuable. By trusting our deepest intuitions about what is best for our kids, we will in turn allow them to develop key dolphin traits to enable them to thrive in an increasingly complex world: adaptability, community-mindedness, creativity, and critical thinking.
Life is a journey through ever-changing waters, and dolphin parents know that the most valuable help we can give our children is to assist them in developing their own inner compass. Combining irrefutable science with unforgettable real-life stories, The Dolphin Way walks readers through Dr. Kang’s four-part method for cultivating self-motivation. The book makes a powerful case that we are not forced to choose between being permissive or controlling. The third option – the option that will prepare our kids for success in a future that will require adaptability – is the dolphin way. (“The Dolphin Parent: A Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy, and Self-Motivated Kids” by Dr. Shimi K. Kang is the next version of “The Dolphin Way”).
Moderator:
Sophie Lai is parent to a teen in Grade 9 and fellow Gryphon in Grade 6. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher who attended Branksome Hall and Queen’s University. In 2005, she started teaching Biology and Chemistry in public high school. A work screening of the 2010 documentary “Race to Nowhere” shook her understanding of her upbringing, and how to raise her children. She immigrated from Hong Kong at the age of 3, loves Toronto and can’t imagine living anywhere else. In her free time, you can find her expanding her sustainable garden, watching Master Chef with her kids, and grooving to hip hop or nostalgic gems that her kids deem “mom music”.
Resident Expert:
Antoinette Morgan, Bayview Glen’s Director of Student Well-Being, a Master level registered social worker and a life-long learner, she holds multiple degrees from Dalhousie University, University of Toronto, and York University. She is the mother of two young adults. Having worked in three independent schools in a similar role, she always prioritizes the social, emotional, physical, and mental well-being of all students. She is ready to offer her expertise and insights as she helps to lead a free-flow, reflective discussion about the book. She welcomes the opportunity to collaborate, share, and grow with parents and guardians.
Other Parent Book Club tentative event dates for 2023-2024 school year:
Thursday, February 29, 2023 and Thursday, May 30, 2024