Whenever children easily learn to speak, throw a ball, read, or calculate, it is tempting to take for granted the learning process. It seems to come naturally. But when there is a breakdown in learning, the complexity of the brain and learning tasks becomes apparent. In A Mind at a Time, Dr. Mel Levine breaks down the learning process into eight systems, including attention, memory, language, spatial ordering, sequential ordering, motor, higher thinking, and social thinking systems. When any part of any one of those systems doesn't function well, trouble arises. As adults we end up in jobs that play to our strengths. But in school, children are expected to excel in all areas, leading to frustration if they are not given strategies for overcoming their weaknesses. Dr. Levine walks a careful path through several educational minefields. He acknowledges that medication can be helpful in some circumstances, but he condemns the too easy reliance on it as a remedy for underlying learning problems. He promotes strategies for helping students work around their weaknesses, but he also advocates exercises for strengthening them. He encourages parents to promote a good work ethic and to encourage their children to develop areas of interest in which they can excel.