Parent Cortical Mass

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

For years we’ve thought that all parents needed to know the research on the 30 million word gap. This concept is now on the White House’s radar. New initiatives from government and non-profits will surely spread the word, helping parents gain cortical mass! 1 Have we reached a tipping point about the use/overuse of standardized tests for NCLB accountability? Read Lyndsay Layton’s summary of who is saying what now. Has Sec. Arne Duncan jumped the shark? 2 Then, follow that news story with op-ed pieces that express a range of opinions. (You could just read what confirms your thinking, but you won’t be as much fun at parties.) 3 4 5 EdX, the Harvard/MIT non-profit that offers free online college coursework, just made high school AP classes available. For FREE. Every high school should know about this. 6 Don’t miss the Taxonomy of Halloween Monsters--80+ monsters from folklore and mythology, all bewitchingly categorized! 7

Parenting

New Research: Repeating K-5 Grades Is Harmful - Jill Barshay, Hechinger Report

Explaining the News to Our Kids - Caroline Knorr, CommonSenseMedia

Why Kids Sext - Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic

New Tool For Children with Speech Errors - Sumathi Reddy, Wall Street Journal

Why is Educational Achievement Heritable? - King's College London, EurekAlert

Hot Topics in Work and Family Research - Judi Casey, Huffington Post

Learning

Want to Ace That Test? Get the Right Kind of Sleep - Benedict Carey, New York Times

The Surprising Problem of Too Much Talent - Cindi May, Scientific American

Why Does Retrieval Enhance Learning? It's All About Trying - Nate Kornell, PhD, Psychology Today

How Does Memory Work? (2.5 min video) - John Medina, Brain Rules

Curiosity: It Helps Us Learn, But Why? - Maanvi Singh, KUOW.org

Consensus Statement from Neuroscientists About the Brain Training Industry - Stanford University

Education

1 Poor Kids Are Starving for Words - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Early Childhood Education Boosts Lifetime Achievement, Paper Finds - Pedro Nicolaci Da Costa, WSJ

The American Dream Is Leaving America - Nicholas Kristof, New York Times

US Public Schools Are Better Than They've Ever Been - Libby Nelson, Vox

2 Standardized Testing is Under Growing Attack - Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post

3 High-Stakes Tests Damage Reading Instruction - Robert Pondiscio, Flypaper

4 In Defense of Annual Testing - Andy Smarick, Flypaper

5 What Matters More Than Test Scores - Diane Ravitch, Huffington Post

US Schools Train Kids for a World That Doesn't Exist - David Edwards, Wired

Howard Gardner: Beyond Wit and Grit - Mary Tamer, Harvard

What the Heck is "Deeper Learning?" - Alexandria Neason, Hechinger Report

A Time Magazine Cover Enrages Teachers--Again - Valerie Strauss, Washington Post

Resources

Magic Math App Is Like Having Stephen Hawking on Your iPhone - John Brownlee, Cult of Mac

6 FREE AP Classes Debut Online at edX - Nick Anderson, Washington Post

10 Streaming Video Services for Kids and Families - Polly Conway, CommonSenseMedia

Gravity Maze: A Marble Logic Game - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

Parents' Choice Awards: Fall 2014 Toys and Games -Parents' Choice

7 A Taxonomy of Halloween Monsters - Big Group

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 Best Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize! Last year we published her moving speech to the UN, given on her 16th birthday. Imagine what she could do for women and global education in the years ahead? 4 Do violent video games contribute to youth violence? Parents must set (and carry out) the household policy on playing video games rated for violence. ProCon.org can help. They’ve collected excerpts from smart sources, and put 11 in the “yes” column and 11 in the “no” column. The positions quote diverse sources, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, to The Economist, to the Supreme Court. Heheh, after reading, you'll be ready to defend your position. 1 What is bullying and what isn’t? Good question. Understanding the categories could save time and worry. 2 3 The Lego re-creation of Act 5 Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet made me want to start building Act 2 Scene 2 right now! 5

Parenting

1 Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence? - ProCon.org

2 How Do I Know What's Bullying and What's Normal Conflict? - Carrie Goldman, New York Times

3 Why Defining "Bullying" is Important for Schools - Anne Collier, NetFamilyNews

Sexting is the New First Base. But Don't Panic Yet - Amy Joyce, Washington Post

Can You Teach an Old Parent New Math? - Eliana Osborn, Washington Post

Parental Misconceptions About Concussions - American Academy of Pediatrics, ScienceDaily

Learning

Nature Trumps Nurture When It Comes to Academic Achievement, Study Says - M. Healy, L.A. Times

How Exercise Can Boost Young Brains - Gretchen Reynolds, New York Times

Daniel Goleman: How Research Supports Social Emotional Learning - Betty Ray, edutopia

How Video Games Like Minecraft Actually Help Kids Learn to Read - Clive Thompson, Wired

Struggles of a Psychologist Studying Self Control - Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker

Brain Scans Map a Pathway to Reading and Dyslexia Diagnosis - J. Richard Gentry, Psychology Today

Education

4 Two Champions of Children's Education Given Nobel Peace Prize - Declan Walsh, New York Times

What's Right About Common Core - Robert Pondiscio, National Review

How to Start Cleaning Up the Common Core - Carol Burris, Washington Post

Pygmalion Effect: The Power of Teachers Expectations - Ulrich Boser, M. Wilhelm, R. Hanna, CAP

Pediatricians Say School Should Start Later For Teen's Health - Nancy Shute, Mind/Shift

Delaying School Start Times Could Cost Up to $9.2 Million - Kelcie Pegher, Capital Gazette

This School Has Bikes Instead of Desks--Turns Out That's A Better Way to Learn - Adele Peters, FastCo

How Billionaires and Millionaires are Ruining Our Schools - Bob Herbert, Politico

Time for a Reboot - Chester Finn, Education Next

Resources

5 12 Works of Literature Recreated in LEGO - Abbey Stone, Mental Floss

Kano Lets Kids Build Their Own Computers and Learn to Code - Walt Mossberg, Recode

12 Incredible Malala Quotes - Baindu Kallon, Salon

5 Steps to a Cooler Halloween Costume That Saves Money - Sierra Filucci, Common Sense Media

What Parents Want Teachers to Know: 12 Conversation Starters -Dr. Joe Mazza, edutopia

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 Best Articles on Learning & Education, for Parents

“A growth mindset is the best gift we can give our children,” says Jessica Lahey. Read her smart tips on helping kids deal with criticism. This is an all-important parenting skill. Get informed. 1 You’ve seen those diagrams of brain scans with colorful patches. But what do they mean? Watch the TED Talk by Nancy Kanwisher, a prominent MIT neuroscientist, and learn the basics of brain scan research. Her engaging 17-minute talk makes it completely understandable! Really. 2 Recent studies have shed light on the 10,000 Hour Rule. This week's article discussing deliberate practice, meritocracy, and equality and inequality in capacities, is a must-read. 3 Common core math continues to vex parents. Stay current. 4 5 6 Do you enjoy taking pictures of the family during the holidays? Check out this project from the Library of Congress. Could be a fun family project! 7

Parenting

1 Helping Kids Take Criticism Constructively - Jessica Lahey, New York Times

Parenting as a Gen Xer: We're the 1st Parents in the Age of iEverthing - Allison Slater Tate, Wash Post

Kids and Screen Time: Cutting Through the Static - Cory Turner, NPR Ed

In Defense of Screen Time - Heather Hopp-Gruce, Boston Globe

The Recession's Baby Bust - Olga Khazan, The Atlantic

Preparing Your Child for Common Core Tests - Kenneth Chang, New York Times

This Is the First Weekend in America With No Saturday Morning Cartoons - Robert Sorokanich, Gizmodo

Learning

2 The Brain is Like a Swiss Army Knife - Nancy Kanwisher, TED Talk

3 Practice Does Not Make Perfect - D. Hambrick, F. Ferreira, & J. Henderson, Slate

Curiosity Prepares the Brain for Better Learning - Daisy Yuhas, Scientific American

Q&A: Plumbing the Mysteries of the Teenage Brain - Anya Kamenetz, NPR Ed

How Siblings Teach One Another About the World - ScienceDaily

Why Daydreaming is Critical to Effective Learning - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Playing Tag Keeps Children More Focused in Class - Kathryn Baron, Education Week

Education

4 Common Core Makes Simple Math More Complicated. Here's Why - Libby Nelson, Vox

5 Newer New Math - Erick Erickson, RealClearPolitics

6 Teaching Math to People Who Think They Hate It - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

Is the New AP US History Really Anti-American? - Emmanuel Felton, Hechinger Report

Public Schooling: War Without End - Neal McCluskey, Townhall.com

Why Finland's Schools Are Top Notch - Pasi Sahlberg, CNN

If Massachusetts Were a Country, It's Students Would Rank 9th in the World - James Crotty, Forbes

Report Finds 'Deeper Learning' Model Improves Outcomes for All Students - K. Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Where Did 'Race to the Top' Lead? - Stephen Brill, Reuters

Resources

Comics: A Candy Alternative for Halloween - Jenn Fujikawa, GeekMom

NASA's Space Racers App - Coolmomtech

10 Things Parents Should Know About Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS - Z, GeekDad

7 The Library of Congress Wants Your Holiday Pictures - Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing

AP U.S. History Practice Test -College Board

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!