It’s a bright warm day in August, and the bells are calling kids back to school. Should you let them walk? Or are they too digitally distracted to be safe? ● This week Malcolm Gladwell defends the 10,000 Hour Rule against critics who say a “sports gene” matters more than practice. ● An entertaining 6 minute PBS video speed-chats about whether Google, combined with smart phones, makes background knowledge irrelevant. (Of course not!) ● Do we really need to worry about the global achievement gap? The release of Amanda Ripley’s book, The Smartest Kids in the World, made that the hot question this week. ● What, college exit exams? This academic year more than 200 colleges have signed up. Why? Accountability. Oh yes, and money. ● This week’s most intriguing article is from an 11th grader who tells what it was like to do her 10th grade completely online. ● You want to know how your vocabulary size measures up, right? And your science knowledge, too. Of course you do.
Parenting
Big Mother is Watching You - Henry Mance, Financial Times
It’s Not a ‘Problem.’ It’s Called Being a Child - Lisa Damour, New York Times
Why My Wife and I Pulled Our Daughter Out of Soccer - Ken Reed, Huffington Post
What Parents of Student Athletes Should (and Shouldn't) Say - Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders
What Age Can Kids Start Walking to School? - Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids
Kids Engaging in ‘Distracted Walking’ - Larry Magid, SafeKids.com
How Teens Deal With Privacy and Mobile Apps - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift
Making Friends With Failure - Ainissa Ramirez, edutopia
Learning
Searching Google vs. Gaining Knowledge [fun video] - Mike Rugnetta, PBS, Mind/Shift
Babies May Remember Words Heard Before Birth - Randy Dotinga, philly.com
Put Down That Highlighter! - Annie Murphy Paul, The Creativity Post
Malcolm Gladwell Defends Disputed '10,000 Hours' Rule - Eric Levenson, The Atlantic
Giving Up Shoebox Dioramas For Video Games - Idit Harel Caperton, edSurge
Wait, What's That? Science Behind the Wandering Mind - Drake Baer, FastCompany
Writing and Learning: Should Kids Learn Cursive? - Richard Rende, Red Hot Parenting
When It's Test Time, Girls & Boys Are Equally Scared of Math - Francie Diep, PopSci
Education
What Parents Want: Education Preferences and Trade-offs - Thomas Fordham Institute
Amanda Ripley’s ‘Smartest Kids in the World’ - Annie Murphy Paul, NYT Sunday Book Review
How Journalists Keep Education Tied to Damaging Ideas - Alfie Kohn, Huffington Post
America's Kids Need a Better Education Law - Sec. Arne Duncan, US Dept of Ed Blog
What Parents Should Know About Education Data - Paige Kowalski, StudentsFirst
Test Scores Hit Home for Parents, Kids - Lisa Fleisher, Wall Street Journal
It's Not enough to Graduate College: Now There's an Exit Exam - Daniel Lovering, NBC News
High School Grad Rates Rise After 30 Years of Stasis - Harvard School of Education News
Why I Spent 10th Grade Online - Sophia Pink, Washington Post
Resources
Science and Technology Quiz: 13 Questions - Pew Research Center
What is the Size of Your Vocabulary? - testyourvocabulary.com
Video Game Review: In Gone Home, a Family Mystery Unfolds - Chris Suellentrop, NYT
MIT Introduces Radix, New Online Game for Math & Science - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift
Balefire Reviews Education Apps for Learning Value - Dian Schaffhauser, The Journal
The Glossary of Education Reform: Top 50 Terms - edglossary.org
No More Nagging: 5 Apps to Share Chores - Ki Mae Heussner, GigaOM
What Colleges Have the Best Value? New Ranking System - A. Paulson, Christian Science Monitor
