Parent Cortical Mass

Poll: Who to Add to Our Top 10 Influencers?

For years Rep. George Miller (D-CA) has been the most influential member of Congress on education policy matters. Now, he's retiring. 

Since the Congressman is one of our Top 10 Influencers in education, we need to replace him with another significant leader. But who?

Congress has done little to advance the legislative agenda for education. At the moment, Sen Tom Harkin appears to be leading the current effort, but even though he is trying, will he have any sway over this Congress? Will our list of education influencers not include any federally elected officials? 

We've proposed six leaders who have tremendous influence now and in the past. Who has the gravitas to join the list of our Top 10 Influencers? Who should replace Rep. George Miller?

Click Here to Vote

 

Week's Top Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

How do the education policies of accountability and the common core relate to parents' widespread push-back over testing and the privacy of student data? 10 articles below uncover the interrelationships and explain the impacts for parents. ● A survey of parents published last week by The Joan Cooney Ganz Center (the nonprofit affiliated with Sesame Workshop) got broad attention. Parents gave their opinions on the informal learning value of kids’ screen time spent on electronics around the home. How do their opinions compare to yours? ● This week find out more about the 10,000 Hour Rule and the growth mindset. ● Stories about education influencers Arne Duncan, E.D. Hirsch Jr., and Rep. George Miller made our roundup.● Did you hear about the twitter account, started by two teens, called @HistoryInPictures? What a fun, go-viral story.

Parenting

Learning at Home: Families Educational Media Use in America - Joan Ganz Cooney Center

3 Ways We Prevent Media Overload in Our Family - Lorraine Akemann, What To Expect

Students Won't Learn? Go Visit Their Parents - Jay Mathews, Washington Post

The Defiant Parents: Opting Out of Testing - Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker

Parents Worried Student Data Will Be Used for Marketing - Allie Bidwell, US News

Your Web-Savvy Kids Are Outsmarting Your Parental Controls - Jenna Kagel, Fast Company

7 Parenting Behaviors That Keep Kids From Becoming Leaders - Kathy Caprino, Forbes

Age-Appropriate Chores for Children (Montessori Chart) - KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times

Learning

Dopamine and Teenage Logic - Daniel Siegel, The Atlantic

Extra Zzz's in Morning May Help Teens Stay Alert in Class - US News

Unintended Consequences of Praise for Low-Esteem Kids - Tom Jacobs, Pacific Standard

The Link Between Media Multitasking And Impulsiveness - Belle Beth Cooper, Fast Company

Why Positive Encouragement Works Better Than Criticism - Elise Hu, NPR

Debunking the 10,000 Hour Rule - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Education

It Takes a Generation - David Brooks, New York Times

What About Student Accountability? - Annie Murphy Paul, Brilliant Blog

When Done Right, Students Should Be Tested More, Not Less - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Test More, Not Less - Russ Whitehurst, K. Lindquist, EducationNext

Test to Get Into College Now Followed by Test to Get Out - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report

College Degrees That Get the Most Job Offers - Susan Adams, Forbes

Telling the Truth on Achievement Gaps Improves Education - Arne Duncan, Washington Post

The Problems with the Common Core - Stan Karp, Rethinking Schools

New Book on ED Hirsch, Knowledge at the Core (Free) - C. Finn & M. Petrilli, EducationNext

Adieu to Edu-Guru George Miller and His 'Stache - Fawn Johnson, National Journal

Resources

Just Released: Sample Test Questions for New Common Core Tests - PARCC

Education Stats, State by State (Clickable Infographic) - BestEducationDegrees.com, Wash Post

25 US High Schools with Highest Standardized Text Scores - Melia Robinson, Business Insider

Fact Sheet On President's Plan for More Affordable College - The White House

The State of America's Children, 2014 Report - Children's Defense Fund

The 2 Teens Who Run the Wildly Popular @HistoryInPics - Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic

Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!

Week's Top Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

Arne Duncan gave a speech last week at a parent summit on national assessment. He asked, “Does a child in South Korea deserve a better education than your child?” As you can imagine, media responded with a range of articles, a sample of which you can find below. ● Besides these issues of the global achievement gap and accountability testing, this week’s menu of top education topics also include the common core, as well as inputs from top influencers Michelle Rhee, Randi Weingarten, Diane Ravitch and Rep. George Miller, who just announced his retirement. ● Do you wonder if your teen gets enough sleep? Jessica Lahey’s article will amuse and inform you. ● One of the big concerns parents face now involves the security of their kids’ school data. Kelsey Sheehy’s clarifying article is worth the read. ● The resources this week are fabulous, so check them all out.

Parenting

4 Questions Parents Should Ask About Student Data Security - Kelsey Sheehy, US News

Apple To Payback Parents for Kids' App Purchases Without Consent - M. Gorman, Engadget

3 Easy Ways to Protect Your Kids Online - Dan Tynan, Yahoo Tech

The "Birds-And-Bees" Talk About Sexting: Have It - Sue Scheff, Huffington Post

Talk to Teens About Waiting (Before Posting or Sharing) - Sarah Hoffman, A Platform for Good

Survey: Parents as Chief Education Officers - Karla Scoon Reid, Education Week

Learning

What Do Students Need Most? More Sleep - Jessica Lahey, New York Times

Study: Engaging With eBooks Aids Children's Literacy - Karyn M. Peterson, Digital Shift

Building Language Skills Must Begin Early in Life - Too Small to Fail

Study: Caffeine Can Improve Memory - James Hamblin, The Atlantic

How to Use Your Memory the Way Actors Do - Annie Murphy Paul, Brilliant Blog

Education

Obama's Homework Assignment (Steal Duncan's Speech) - Thomas Friedman, New York Times

Arne Ducan: Why Can't We Be More Like South Korea? - Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

South Korea to Focus on Happiness as Edu Outcome - Stuart Grauer, SmartBlogs on Edu

US Math Textbooks Are More Rigorous Than South Korea's - Eleanor Barkhorn, The Atlantic

How Population Size Affects PISA Results - Brandon Wright, Flypaper

World Test? Questions for Randi Weingarten, Tony Wagner, Pak Tee Ng - CM Rubin, HP

How Schools Can Succeed Without Tests - Anya Kamenetz, Hechinger Report

Every Thing You Need to Know About Common Core - Diane Ravitch, Washington Post

Doubts Over Common Core - George F. Will, Washington Post

Student First 2014 State Policy Report Card - Eric Lerum, StudentsFirst

Michelle Rhee Gives the Nation a D+ in School Reform - Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Rep. George Miller, Democrat Leader on Education, to Retire - Lindsey Layton, Wash Post

Resources

11 Books to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King - Denise Cortes, Babycenter

Ultimate Guide to Kids Books About the Olympics - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

8 Safe Search Engines for Kids - Kate Smitty, EmergingEdTech

12 Delightful Websites for Kids, Age 2-13 - Dan Tynan, Yahoo Tech

iPhone-Controlled, Motorized Paper Airplane on Kickstarter - Dean Takahashi, VentureBeat

TED Announces TED Clubs for Youth [2 Min Video] - TED-Ed, YouTube

Read a few articles each week, and gain parent cortical mass! If you enjoy our weekly article roundup, please email it to a friend, or share on social media. Thank you!