Themes this week cover the common core debate over time devoted to learning fiction vs. time used to learn STEM, the parenting dispute over kids' need for daydreaming vs. their need for scheduling, the 30 million word gap, and problems with using standardized tests for accountability. ● Bill Gates and other titans of tech have launched an initiative, “Hour of Code,” with the mission to get 10 million (of the 55 million) U.S. K-12 students introduced to coding. They are concerned that jobs now and in the future require knowledge of programming, and that schools are not advancing the skills necessary to the future workforce. ● The most important article this week is by Howard Gardner, the Harvard psychologist famous for the theory of multiple intelligences. Please, “ease his pain.” Read his article, and pledge to the collective knowledge of parents never to misuse ‘learning styles” again. Ever.
Parenting
Overscheduled Children: How Big a Problem? - Bruce Feiler, New York Times
Research: Children with Regular Bedtimes Misbehave Less - Alexandra Topping, The Guardian
Group Presses for Safeguards on Personal Data of Schoolchildren - Natasha Singer, NYT
Bullying Prevention Programs May Have Negative Impact: Study - Rebecca Klein, Huff Post
A Game Design Badge for Girl Scouts - Amy-Willard Cross, Vitamin W
Should Teenagers Start School Later? - Laura Heinauer Mellett, Education Week
The Not-So-Hidden Cause Behind the A.D.H.D Epidemic - Maggie Koerth-Baker, New York Times
Learning
'Multiple Intelligences' Are Not 'Learning Styles' - Howard Gardner, Washington Post
Daydreams, Videogames, and Confidence - Tom Kelly and David Kelly, Wired
Teach Kids to Daydream - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic
How Exercise Makes Your Brain Grow - David DiSalvo, Forbes
Links Between Music Study and Academic Achievement - Joanne Lipman, New York Times
The Moral Life of Babies - Nathalia Gjersoe, The Guardian
Education
Tech Giants Bring Code Campaign to Millions of Students - Ki Mae Heussner, GigaOM
Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading and Daydreaming - Neil Gaiman, The Guardian
Out with "The Great Gatsby" and in with "The Glass Castle" - Sarah Carr, Hechinger Report
Elementary Students Learn Keyboarding for Common Core Tests - Lindsey Layton, Wash Post
5 Research-Driven Education Trends in Classrooms - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/shift
Poor Schools Endanger U.S. Prosperity - Chris Kenrick, Mountain View Voice
Focusing on the 'Word Gap' - Lisa Guernsey, New America Foundation
State Assessments Tell Schools, Students, and Parents Nothing - Peter DeWitt, Education Week
Grit, Optimism, and Other Buzzwords in the Way of Education - Jordan Shapiro, Forbes
Resources
Announcing the Fall 2013 Parents' Choice Toy Awards - Parents' Choice
Halloween Coloring App for Kids - coolmomtech
Need Pumpkin Carving Ideas? - Patricia Voltmer, GeekMom
5 Do-It-Yourself Science Experiments with Grover - Kelsey Atherton, Popular Science
The Best Map Ever Made of America's Racial Segregation - Kyle Vanhemert, Wired
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