Parent Cortical Mass

PCM's Top Articles of the Week

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data,” says Sherlock Holmes. But, is it also a mistake to gather data in ‘creepy’ ways? Parents today are on the front line in the battle over the privacy of children’s data. Four articles below keep you up-to-date. ● Louis CK and Conan O’Brien star in the viral video this week about the cons of kids having smartphones. Besides being entertaining, it struck a chord. ● Each week we select op-eds from opposing viewpoints, which means you like or loathe certain articles. But, if you are looking for a smart synopsis on the two poles of education reform, read Andrew Delbanco’s review of recently published books by Influencers Diane Ravitch and Michelle Rhee. ● Have you heard about MOOCs? Read Alan Finder’s article for a good introduction. ● Google launched an online tool that compares the constitutions of different countries. It’s awesome.

Parenting

Eyes on the Street or Creepy Surveillance? - Danah Boyd, Apophenia

5 Things Parents Should Know About COPPA - Tara Settembre, Huff Post

Losing Is Good For You - Ashley Merryman, New York Times

My Daughter's Homework Is Killing Me - Karl Taro Greenfeld, The Atlantic

Louis CK's Case Against Kids Having Smartphones - David Haglund, Slate

Why Back-to-School Night Made Me Feel Like a Bad Mom - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Online Grade Access Can Lead to 'Helicopter Parents' - Matthew Albright, USA Today

Against Redshirting: It Pays to Be the Youngest Kid in Class - Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker

Learning

More on the Vocabulary Development of Toddlers - Daniel Willingham, Science & Education Blog

Playing with Blocks Helps Kids' Spatial and Math Thinking - Science Codex

Is a Student's 'Learning Style' a Bogus Idea? - Sophie Guteri, Scientific American

How Music Can Improve Memory - Annie Murphy Paul, Mind/Shift

Your Mother Was Right: Naps Matter for Preschooler Learning - Rick Nauert, PsychCentral

The Role of Empathy in Learning - Terry Heick, TeachThought

Is Google Wrecking Our Memory? - Clive Thompson, Slate

Education

Cyber Attacks on School Networks Increasing - Sean Meehan, Education Week

The Case Against High School Sports - Amanda Ripley, The Atlantic

In Push for Common Standards, Many Parents Left Uneducated - Claudio Sanchez, NPR

Escaping the Cycle of Scarcity - Tina Rosenberg, New York Times

Do American Public Schools Really Stink? Maybe Not - Stephanie Simon, Politico

6 Lies Most People Believe About U.S. Schools - Joy Pullmann, The Federalist

The Two Faces of American Education - Andrew Delbanco, New York Review of Books

Misinformation and Education Reform - Michelle Rhee, AL.com

MOOCs: A Surge in Growth for a New Kind of Online Course - Alan Finder, New York Times

Resources

Top 12 Nuggets of Advice for High School Freshman - Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune

How the Universe Works: Hawking's Theory in 150 Seconds - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

4 Incredible Google Science Fair Projects - Anna Kuchment, Scientific American

6 Math Apps That Support the Common Core - David Wingler, Edudemic

Explore World Constitutions with New Online Tools - Google Blog

100 Diagrams That Changed the World - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

If you enjoy this weekly news roundup, please pass it along or share on social media. Thank you!

PCM's Top Articles of the Week

You will be happy to hear that no disaster has accompanied the release this week of Diane Ravitch’s second book, Reign of Error. Perhaps the sentiments contained in it (and in her article this week) are not yet sufficiently milquetoast to secure her general favor, but her outcry is worth the read. ● The common core, which impacts most students this school year, is now a battleground. Two articles, one by E.D. Hirsch Jr., will get you up to speed. ● Three articles to help boost parent skills in managing informal learning include studies about mimicking toddlers, effective homework practices, and the value in reading to school age kids. ● The articles by Clive Thompson on Twitter and writing skills, and by James Heckman, Nobel Prize winner for economics, are first-rate. ● Be forewarned. Click on Toys R Us’ top 15 hot toys for the upcoming holiday season.

Parenting

20 Important Questions Parents Should Ask Teachers - Terry Heick, TeachThought

School Jargon: I Can't Understand What My Kid's Teacher Is Saying - Dahlia Lithwick, Slate

The Kindergarten Class of 2013, Some Facts - Child Trends

Should You 'Red Shirt' Your Child? - Melinda Wenner Moyer, Slate

'Redshirting' Less Common Than Previously Thought - Michael A. Chandler, Washington Post

Children Today Are Suffering a Severe Play Deficit - Peter Gray, Aeon

When Your Child Doesn't Want to Go to School - Michael Winerip, New York Times

Discovering Your 18-Mo Old Uses an iPad in Pre-School - Holly Korbey, The Atlantic

Keep Reading to Your Child, Parents Urged - Judith Burns, BBC News

Learning

The Dumbest Generation? No, Twitter is Making Kids Smarter - Clive Thompson, Globe and Mail

It's Building Kids' Vocabulary, Stupid - Julia Steiny, Education News

Mimic Your Toddler, And Here's Why - Richard Rende, PhD, RedHotParenting

Physical Fitness and School Success - Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times

How Can We Make Homework Worthwhile? - Annie Murphy Paul, Mind/Shift

How to Fall in Love With Math - Manil Suri, New York Times

Education

Getting Parents & the Public Better Informed on the Common Core - E.D. Hirsch, Huff Post

Lifelines for Poor Children - James Heckman, New York Times

College Diplomas Are Meaningless. This is How to Fix Them - Reid Hoffman, New Republic

School Privatization is a Hoax - Diane Ravitch, Slate

Is it Time to Redefine "Gifted and Talented" - Holly Korbey, Mind/Shift

The Educational Value of Field Trips - Jay Greene, B. Kisida, D.H. Bowen, Education Next

The Common Core Money War - Stephanie Simon, Nirvi Shah, Politico

The Secret of Finland's Stellar Schools - Amanda Ripley, The Week

How Much Homework Do American Kids Do? - Julia Ryan, The Atlantic

Poor Students Need Homework - Robert Pondiscio, The Atlantic

Resources

A Parents Guide to iTunes - Warren Buckleitner, Children's Technology

2013 100 Best Companies - Working Mother

The Fall 2013 Small Screen Awards - Parent's Choice Awards

Annual Hot Toy List from Toys R Us - Wendy Goldman Getzler, iKids

19 Dr. Seuss iPad Reading Apps Organized By Text Level - TeachThought

Rosetta Stone Launches Learning App for Preschoolers - Jordan Shapiro, Forbes

If you enjoy this weekly news roundup, please pass it along or share on social media. Thank you!

PCM's Top Articles of the Week

There are so many strong articles and essays for parents this week, for a second I thought, “Too strong!” That was just a second, though. Readers of this news roundup are committed to gaining cortical mass, even if this week covers too big a chunk of PCM’s topics: growth mindset, common core, the achievement gap, the global gap, teacher effectiveness, and an article on Influencer, Diane Ravitch as the release of her new book, Reign of Error, approaches. ● Our questions this week: is school just about getting a job; can emotional intelligence be taught; are schools too fixated on self-control; and, on the light-hearted side, how in the world did “What the Fox Says” go viral? ● Annie Murphy Paul’s article on homework and Ellen Galinsky’s piece on how to read to kids will pump up parent skills. ● But, the best essay in the bunch, by the brilliant Eric Kandel, a Nobel Prize winner for Medicine, is so graced with the ease of deep expertise, you’ll come away feeling cozy with little chunks like Area 25, chromosome 7, copy number variation, and de novo point mutations.

Parenting

Parenting as a Spiritual Practice - Danya Ruttenberg, New York Times (Opinion Pages)

Not Very Giving - Rob Reich, New York Times

Parenting, Moral Development, and Bullying [4 min video] - Richard Weissbourd, Harvard GSE

How to Read to Children: Ways to Boost the Learning Opportunity - Ellen Galinsky, Huff Post

When Baby Apps Actually Lead to Learning: Lessons from Baby Einstein - L. Guernsey, Slate

'Boys Have Deep Emotional Lives' [Book Review] - Hope Reese, The Atlantic

Do American Parents Spend Too Much Time Volunteering at Schools? - Amanda Ripley, Slate

I Will Not Check My Son's Grades Online Five Times a Day - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Learning

The New Science of Mind - Eric R. Kandel, New York Times

The Real Neuroscience of Creativity - Scott Barry Kaufman, Huff Post

When Homework is a Waste of Time - Annie Murphy Paul, Time

When Memorization Gets in the Way of Learning - Ben Orlin, The Atlantic

Self-control Gone Wild? - Daniel Willingham, Science and Learning Blog

Why is it Hard for Kids to Delay Gratification? - Gwen Dewar, PhD, BabyCenter

Aerobic Fitness Can Boost Students' Memory, Learning, Study Finds - Bryan Toporek, Ed Week

Education

Is School Just for Getting a Job? - Annie Murphy Paul, Time

The Vital Link of Education and Prosperity - Paul Peterson, Eric Hanushek, WSJ

The Great Stagnation of American Education - Robert J. Gordon, New York Times

Diane Ravitch: Strong Voice Fighting Tide of Education Trend - Motoko Rich, New York Times

Why Education Needs More Radioactive Spiders - Scott Barry Kaufman, Scientific American

Khan Academy Takeover: Inside the New Classroom Revolution - Vanessa Romo, Take Part

The Trouble with the Common Core - Editors of Rethinking Schools

Have Sports Teams Brought Down America's Schools? - Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker

Teach for America Teachers Outperform Their Peers - Matthew Yglesias, Slate

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught? - Jennifer Kahn, NYT Magazine

'Growth Mindset' Gaining Traction as School Improvement Strategy - Sarah Sparks, Ed Week

Resources

"What Does the Fox Say?" Went Viral. Why? 6 Geeky Reasons - Cathe Post, GeekMOm

Elements of Periodic Table as Illustrated Heroes - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Why Minecraft is More than Just a Video Game - Mark Ward, BBC News Magazine

New Guggenheim Documentary: What Makes a Good Teacher? - Wendy Kopp, Time

A Peek at Toys R Us' tabeo e2 - Warren Buckleitner, Children's Technology Review

Virgina Woolf's Little-Known Children's Story - Maria Popovo, Brain Pickings

If you enjoy this weekly news roundup, please pass it along or share on social media. Thank you!