Parent Cortical Mass

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

Worrying is an occupational hazard for parents. That’s why you should check out Eric Barker’s “How Not to Worry.” Besides summarizing heaps of helpful research, it’s an entertaining read. 1 There’s a fierce public debate about whether studying liberal arts is relevant anymore. Some of the world’s wealthiest technocrats say that a liberal arts major is a poor strategy for getting a job. Instead, they say (with urgency,) everyone should learn to code. Their school coding initiatives include students as young as kindergarteners. This week there was more push back. 4 5 Keep current on the topic of the fixed vs growth mindset with these two articles. 2 3 The global achievement gap topic with buzz this week involves Asia’s recent PISA scores compared to the rest of the world. What do you think? 6 7 Check out this math puzzle, given to Vietnamese 8 year olds. Can you solve it?! 8

Parenting

Mounting Evidence of Advantages for Children of Working Mothers - Claire Cain Miller, New York Times

Strategies for Parental Involvement in Schools During Teen Years - Bari Walsh, Usable Knowledge

Free-Range vs. Helicopter Parenting: Get the Facts - Devorah Blachor, New York Times

Generation X's Parenting Problem - Anjali Enjeti, Huffington Post

YouTube Kids Shows Some Very Grown Up Videos - Dylan Tweney, Venture Beat

1 How To Stop Worrying - Eric Barker, Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Learning

2 Fixed vs Growth: Two Mindsets that Shape Our Lives - Maria Popova, Noodle

3 Praise vs Criticism - Which is More Effective? - Noa Kageyama, PhD, Creativity Post

When Kids Engage in "Making," Are they Learning Anything? - Annie Murphy Paul, Brilliant Blog

How We Might Make Ourselves Smarter in the Future - Maria Konnikova, The Atlantic

What If We Prescribed Video Games, Not Ritalin, for ADHD? - Greg Toppo, Medium

Education

Why More of America's Students are Finishing High School - Mikhaid Zinshteyn, The Atlantic

Student Reports of Bullying Fell in 2013 - Carolyn Porter, Wall Street Journal

Should Teachers Be Held Responsible for a Student's Character? - Anya Kamenetz, Mind/Shift

4 Why the Liberal Arts Belong in Elementary School - Robert Pondiscio, US News

5 Coding for Kids: The New Vocational Education - Larry Cuban, School Reform and Classroom Practice

Let Kids Learn Through Play - David Kohn, New York Times

6 Asia Tops Biggest Global School Rankings - Sean Coughlan, BBC

7 Vietnam Wallops US on Test Scores, But Vietnamese Educators Scoff at Tests - Diane Ravitch, HP

Time to Debunk the Myths About Who Is Good at Math - Jo Boaler, Hechinger Report

Resources

8 The Math Puzzle for Vietnamese 8-Yr Olds that Stumps Parents - Alex Bellos, The Guardian

Global School Rankings: An Interactive Map - Nicole Chang, The Independent

How does Adderall™ Work? (video) - American Chemical Society, EurekAlert

Games That Support Kindness and Compassion - Common Sense Media

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 and Education, for Parents

Today’s parents raise kids in the era of internet technologies. You must grapple with determining what practices are best for social media, screen time, and kids' data privacy. Now, add self-driving cars. Will you insist on parental controls? 1 If you’ve been frustrated by how rigid schools are about excusing absences for educational family vacations, you have a new hero. 2 If personalized learning tech makes you feel ”simultaneously optimistic and outright terrified”, read danah boyd’s article. Her articulation of the problem is compelling. 3 Can parents influence top-level education policy? As you can imagine it would take a huge number of parents to do so. On the order of a “movement.” This is happening now, with the opt-out movement. Stay informed! 4 5 6 One day your kid will ask the question. Are you prepared? No worries, with the help of Bill Nye (and some emoji,) you can explain holograms! 7

Parenting

1 Teens Won't Like Self-Driving Cars, But Their Parents Will - Science Daily

2 Should Educational Family Vacations be an Excused Absence? - Terrance F. Ross, The Atlantic

The Impact of an Unexpected Role Model - Kate Haas, New York Times

The Velveteen Mother - Allison Slater Tate, Scary Mommy

Childlessness Falls, Family Size Grows Among Highly Educated Women - G. Livingston, PewResearch

Learning

Why Emotions Are Integral to Learning - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Noodle

Perseverance Key to Kids' Intellectual Growth, Stanford Scholar Says - Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News

Limits to the Power of a Growth Mindset - Larry Ferlazzo, Larry Ferlazzo's Blog

Does the Science of Self-Control Diminish our Self-Control? - Jonah Lehrer, Jonah Lehrer's Blog

Dark Chocolate Can Boost Attention - Traci Pedersen, PsychCentral

Education

3 Are We Training Our Students to Be Robots? - danah boyd, apophenia

What the Future Economy Means for How Kids Learn Today - David Price, Mind/Shift

Does The Grit Narrative Blame Students For School’s Shortcomings? - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

4 Why Civil Rights Groups Say Opting Out of Tests Hurt Kids - Emma Brown, Washington Post

5 Opt Out Parents Have a Point - Frederick M. Hess, U.S. News

6 4 Lessons From the Opt Out Debate - Robert Pondiscio, U.S. News

The Big Problem With the New SAT - Richard C. Atkinson and Saul Geiser, NYT

School Districts Embrace Business Model of Data Collection - Motoko Rich, NYT

Teaching Geopolitics: Fantasy Football as a Learning Game - Greg Toppo, Mind/Shift

Resources

7 What Exactly is a Hologram? Let Bill Nye (and a Bunch of Emoji) Explain - Rafi Schwartz, Good

The Man Who Became Big Bird - Jessica Gross, Longreads

College Majors Figure Big in Earnings - Melissa Korn, Wall Street Journal

5 Math Apps for Math Averse Students - Robyn Scott, Edudemic

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12 - Common Sense Media

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 and Education, for Parents

This week Daniel Willingham, a cognitive scientist and expert on the science of learning, published five articles at the Washington Post about reading. We’ve selected three here, but really, read all five! Find out if it’s even possible to teach reading comprehension. And, learn how the common core boosts comprehension by building background knowledge. Parents need to understand this. 1 2 The Department of Education released the results of the nation’s 8th grade NAEP tests in History, Civics and Geography. Since the last test in 2010, did our 8th graders do better, worse, or the same? Here are two perspectives on the results. 3 4 Have you heard of MOOCs--Massive Open Online Courses? If you have a high schooler, they’re worth checking out. 5 Don’t you love a summer reading list? Don't miss Melissa Taylor’s fabulous grade-by-grade summer reading lists! 6

Parenting

Helping Kids See Themselves as Readers: Self Image Matters - Daniel Willingham, Washington Post

Choice in Books May Help Kids' Reading Score Over Summer - Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters

Thinking Beyond Screentime: Creativity Over Consumption - Devorah Heitner, Raising Digital Natives

For a Child With Learning Differences, Making Home a Safe Harbor - Jessica Lahey, NYT

Learning

Nothing Beats a Good Night's Sleep for Helping People Absorb New Information - ScienceDaily

Study: Dramatic Math Improvement Playing Video Games 10 Minutes Per Day - Jordan Shapiro, Forbes

Child Prodigies and Autism: Is There a Genetic Link? - Michael Dhar, LiveScience

The Teenage Brain: Scaffolding the Brain for Lifelong Learning - Dr. Frances Jensen, Getting Smart

Education

1 Can Reading Comprehension Be Taught? - Daniel Willingham, Washington Post

2 Does the Common Core Help Boost Reading Comprehension? - Daniel Willingham, Washington Post

3 No Real Gains in U.S. 8th Grade History, Civics, Geography NAEP Test - Emily Richmond, The Atlantic

4 This Paradox Hides the NAEP Gains (Again) - Chad Aldeman, Education Next

Is Testing Students the Answer to America's Education Woes? - Room for Debate, NYT

25 States Now Require Computer Science for Graduation - Katie Kilfoyle Remis, District Administration

5 Five Reasons High School Students Should Consider MOOCs - Charlie Chung, Class Central

What’s the Best Way to Teach Sex Ed Today? - Room for Debate, NYT

Resources

6 Summer Reading Lists for Kids Ages 6 – 14 - Melissa Taylor, Imagination Soup

Free, World-Class Test Prep for the New SAT - KhanAcademy and the CollegeBoard

5 Fantastic Learning Channels on YouTube Kids - Andre Infante, MakeUseOf

This Summer Build Math and Science Skills with Daily Practice - CK-12 BrainFlex

Kids' Summer Movie Guide 2015 - Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media

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!