The unwritten rules of success that every student must follow to thrive in college The Secret Syllabus equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the secret syllabus, too many miss out on the full, rich experience available to them in college. Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham share the essential lessons they have learned from struggling, unfocused students as well as award-winning college instructors and researchers. The Secret Syllabus draws on Phelan and Burnham’s experiences with thousands of undergraduate and graduate students. Weaving engaging storytelling with practical, actionable advice, they illustrate both productive and counterproductive approaches to achieving academic excellence, and highlight the importance of setting and attaining goals, nurturing strong relationships, developing resiliency, and more. This fresh, funny, and boldly innovative book enables students to develop the consistently winning and effective behaviors that will equip them to thrive on campus and beyond.
Jay Phelan Books
MEAN GENES is a groundbreaking look at why our toughest battles are often with ourselves. It uses a Darwinian lens to examine the issues that most affect our lives: body image, money, addiction, violence - and the endless search for love and happiness. MEAN GENES reveals that struggles for self-improvement are, in fact, battles against our own genes - genes that helped our ancient ancestors flourish, but are selfish and out of place in an industrial world. What makes MEAN GENES stand out though is that Burnham and Phelan don't simply describe the connections between genes and behaviour. They offer - for the first time ever - steps for improving the quality of our lives through a genetic science perspective.
