Parent Cortical Mass

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

Students are protesting in Jefferson County, Colorado. Why? Their school board wants to make changes to the new AP History class which would downplay civil disobedience. (Yes, ironic.) 4 Follow that article with the one discussing progressive vs. conservative bias in the new history curriculum. Should this matter to parents? 5 Heard about Massive Online Open Courses, known as MOOCs? Read how China is using them. 8 You know about Finland’s top education system, but what about Poland’s? 7 This week there are smart articles laying out the pro-and-con arguments for teacher tenure, accountability testing, and the common core. 1 2 3 Clay Shirky, a popular professor and internet learning advocate, asked his students to put away their devices in class. His explanation of the cognitive science on multitasking is worth knowing. 6 It’s fall. A new season’s stars light the night sky. Look up. Point. This is one of the best parts of parenting! 9

Parenting

Don't Use 'Time-Outs,' Instead Use 'Time-Ins' - Daniel Siegel, Tina Payne Bryson, Time

5 Parenting Strategies to Promote a Kid's Growth Mindset - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

Tiger Mom, Hold That Growl: New Study - Martha Pickerill, Time

Primary-Grade Retention and High School Completion: New Study - Tara Kennedy, Eurekalert

Parent-Teacher Conference TipSheet: Parents, Teachers, Principals - Harvard Family Research Prjt

6 Expert Tips for Keeping Your Kids Safe on Social Media - Kyli Singh, Mashable

Amanda Ripley: Best Thing Parents Can Do for Schools - Lisa Gray, Houston Chronicle

Learning

'How We Learn' Offers New Look at How Our Brains Work - Greg Toppo, USA Today

Why Some Kids Can't Spell and Why Spelling Tests Won't Help - Misty Adoniou, PsyPost

Teen Sleep Deficits Can Hurt Grades - Rick Nauert, PhD, PsychCentral

Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write - Rachael Grate, Arts.Mic

Movement Can Improve Digital Education - Annie Murphy Paul, PBS

Why Girls Tend to Get Better Grades Than Boys - Enrico Gnaulati, The Atlantic

Education

1 Should Teachers Get Tenure? - ProCon.org

2 Is There Too Much Testing in Public Schools? - Judy Woodruff, PBS Newshour

3 Debate: Should Schools Embrace the Common Core? - NPR

Is Character Education the Answer? - Laurence Steinberg, PhD, Flypaper

Our Public Education System Needs Transformation, Not 'Reform' - Editors, The Nation

4 In Colorado, a Student Counterprotest to an Anti-Protest Curriculum - Jack Healy, NYT

5 Getting Our History Right - Rick Hess, Chester Finn, National Review

6 Why I Just Asked My Students To Put Their Laptops Away - Clay Shirky, Washington Post

7 What U.S. Schools Can Learn from Poland - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

8 In China, MOOCs Are Becoming More Popular - A.A. and A.McE, The Economist

With the Right Technology, Can Children Teach Themselves? - Anya Kamenetz, Mind/Shift

Resources

9 The Stars of Autumn's Night Sky: What to Look For - Joe Rao, Discovery.com

24 Video Games You Can Say Yes to After School - Jeff Haynes, Common Sense Media

Education.com Launches Math & Reading Games for Ages 3-7 - Stephen Noonoo, The Journal

New Interactive Map of the X-Men Universe - Josh Ong, The Next Web

15 Banned Books for Banned Books Week - Elyssa Goldberg, Arts.Mic

Highest and Lowest Tuitions of Ranked US Colleges and Universities -ProCon.org

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!

Fall Break

This week, The Parent Cortical Mass Blog is taking a fall break!  Our weekly roundup of news articles will resume next week, on Monday, September 29, 2014. 

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

Remember the Marshmallow Test? The professor who developed it has published his first non-academic book. He's 84. He's got good news for concerned parents. 2 3 Maybe you’ve already heard about lithium in the water. If not, here's your chance. 1 The global achievement gap gets two articles this week. There's an argument for why you should not admire China's top ranked school system. 5 And, if you're curious, peek at the graph to find out how U.S. elementary students time-in-school compares to other nations. 6 Researchers from Harvard and MIT published an article this week that, if you read, will make you smarter. Learn about "crystalized intelligence" and "fluid cognitive skills." Find out how these intelligence factors might explain what makes some schools effective. You'll also learn more about working memory, background knowledge, charter schools and possible impacts of using standardized tests for accountability. 4 Ann McCormick, founder of The Learning Company and developer of Reader Rabbit, has a new reading app. Check it out! 7

Parenting

1 Should We All Take A bit of Lithium? - Anna Fels, New York Times

2 Dispelling the Myth of Deferred Gratification - Alfie Kohn, Education Week

Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent - Nick Bilton, New York Times

Why Everyone Should Read Harry Potter - Bret Stetka, Scientific American

Early Signs of a Reading Difficulty - Susan Hall, Great Schools

Former 'Redshirted' Students May Get AP Edge, Study Finds - Sarah D. Sparks, Education Week

Learning

3 Learning How to Exert Self-Control: The "Marshmallow" Man's Book - Pamela Druckerman, NYTimes

How Levels of Physical Activity Linked to Better Academic Performance in Boys - U of Finland, PsyPost

This is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain on Music - Cory Turner, NPR Ed

Can Students ‘Go Deep’ With Digital Reading? - Holly Korbey, Mind/Shift

Motivated to Learn: Conversation with Daniel Pink - Amy Azzam, ASCD

Fiction Teaches Students Empathy, Research Shows - Kristie Chua, Education Week

Education

4 What Effective Schools Do - M. West, C. Gabrieli, A. Finn, M. Kraft, John Gabrieli, Education Next

Ranking High Schools Tells Which Schools Are Rich or Selective - Libby Nelson, Vox

With Tech Taking Over in Schools, Student Data Privacy Worries Rise - Natasha Singer, NYTimes

5 Why Admiring Chinese Test Scores Might Hurt U.S. Schools - Jay Mathews, Washington Post

6 Hours US Kids Spend in Elementary School vs 33 Other Countries - Mona Chalabi, FiveThirtyEight

It Takes a Mentor - Thomas Friedman, New York Times

The Conservative Case for Common Core - William Bennett, Wall Street Journal

William Bennett Piece Exemplifies Core Problems - Neal McCluskey, Cato Institute

Fact or Fiction?: Video Games Are the Future of Education - Elena Malykhina, Scientific American

Surprising Benefit of Common Core: Really Cool Video Games - B. Winterhalter, The Atlantic

Teacher Tenure Has Little to do with Student Achievement, Say Economists - M. Ehrenfreund, WP

Rise in Alternative Certification for U.S. Teachers - Anya Kamenentz, NRP Ed

Resources

7 Reader Bee - Teaching Children to Read Faster - The Creativity Post

Innovative Thinking Game for Kids: Disruptus - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

Spotlight on New Comic Books - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

10 YouTube Stars Your Kids Love - Caroline Knorr, Common Sense Media

Tips for How Parents Can Help Their Children Search Safely and Effectively Online - Alan Mackenzie, pfg

The Economic Guide To Picking A College Major - Ben Casselman, FiveThirtyEight

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!