Something’s happening here. Last week new battle lines over the common core and charter schools were drawn. Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, announced the union would no longer take money from the Gates Foundation on common core projects. Bill Gates countered, telling teachers to explain to parents the common core’s value. On the charter school front, Diane Ravitch said wealthy philanthropists were destroying public education with their hidden agenda to make money by privatizing education. Bloomberg News answered saying charter schools were not a Trojan horse. Confused? Articles below will get you informed on these top policies. And there’s more! Does current research debunk the 10,000 Hour Rule? Are the results of experiments about teens, sleep, and later school start time definitive? Is college worth the cost? There’s a lot to read here. Have you tried the speed reading app, Spritz? It’s a thrill to read at 600 WPM.
Parenting
Should Parents Pay for Their Children's College Education? - Journal Report, Wall Street Journal
5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew - Jessica Lahey, New York Times
Homework's Emotional Toll on Students and Families - KJ Dell-Antonia, New York Times
Is Audiobook Reading Really Reading? Leslie Crawford, GreatSchools
Yik Yak Shuts Off Access to US Middle and High Schoolers - Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In - Jan Hoffman, New York Times
Can We All "Have It All"? [17 min video] - Anne-Marie Slaughter, TED Talk
5 Things You Should Know About Working Dads -Scott Behson, Time
Learning
Scientists Debunk the Myth of 10,000 Hours - Suzanne LaBarre, FastCompany
The Science of Success: Blood, or Sweat and Tears? - Michael Bond, New Scientist
What If You Stopped Sleeping? [3 min video] - AsapScience, Big Think
Do We Underestimate Our Youngest Learners? - Daniel Willingham, Real Clear Education
Gesturing Deepens Kids' Grasp of Math - Traci Pedersen, PsychCentral
The "Brain App" That's Better Than Spritz - Annie Murphy Paul, Time
Education
The Truth About Charter Schools - Joshua Greenman, New York Daily News
Diane Ravitch: Say Goodbye to Public Schools - Josh Eidelson, Salon
Charter Schools Are Under Attack - The Editors, Bloomberg View
Big Business Targets Common Core's Band of Mothers - Joy Pullmann, The Federalist
In Defense of Common Core -Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times
Randi Weingarten: AFT Will No Longer Accept Gates Funding - Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week
Bill Gates Calls on Teachers to Defend the Common Core - Lindsey Layton, Washington Post
Letter Grades Deserve and 'F' - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic
Rewarding and Employing Teachers Based on Their Value-Added - Caroline Hoxby, EducationNext
Google Under Fire for Data-Mining Student Email Messages - Benjamin Herold, Education Week
How Big Data Will Haunt You Forever: High School Transcripts - Schonberger & Cukier, Quartz
Google's Eric Schmidt: Critics Are Wrong. Go to College! - Gregory Ferenstein, TechCrunch
Resources
Spritz: The Science Behind the Speed Reading App - Spritz
3 Things Kids Need to Know About Yik Yak - Diana Graber, Huffington Post
Protecting Your Child's Privacy Online - Federal Trade Commission
Tynker: Learn Programming with Visual Code Blocks! - Best Apps for Kids
How Science Can Help You Find a 4-Leaf Clover [3 min video] - Scientific American
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!