Parent Cortical Mass

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

The parent movement to “opt out” of excessive standardized tests has been so persuasive it actually won over President Obama this week. He announced that his administration needed a "smarter" testing policy. Just about all the pundits agreed. Still, diverse opinions abound. 1 2 3 5 The President’s announcement came two days before scores on the latest Nation’s Report Card were released. For the first time since the launch of these tests in the 1990s, scores declined. What does this mean? Get some facts, read some opinions. 4 5 6 7 8 You’ve probably heard of "adaptive learning software," but, could you explain it to a neighbor? Read Will Oremus’ primer and get informed. 9 In the eighties, E.D. Hirsch developed the controversial “cultural literacy” list, his codification of common knowledge all American’s should know. This list was an ancestor of the Common Core. Thirty years later an effort to establish a new list is underway, and of course it’s crowdsourced! What 10 items would you include? 10

Parenting

Everything You Need to Know About the New SAT - Eric Hoover, New York Times

'Affirmative Testing' a New Way to Look at Learning Process - Leanna Landsmann, uexpress

How the Internet Has Changed Bullying - Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker

Parents’ Dilemma: What Should My School Do About New Technologies - Yalda Uhls, Larry Cuban's Blog

"How to Raise an Adult," a Q&A with Julie Lythcott-Haims - Patt Morrison, L.A. Times

How to Give Your Child the Gift of Failure - Nico Pitney, Huffington Post

Learning

For Babies, Copy-Cat Games Provide a Social Compass - Susan Pinker, Wall Street Journal

Can You Get Smarter? - Richard A. Friedman, New York Times

8 Brain 'Facts' We All Get Wrong - Kate Horowitz, mental_floss

Best Way to Learn Math Is to Learn How to Fail Productively - Jenny Anderson, Quartz

Education

1 Open Letter to America's Parents and Teachers on Smarter Testing - Pres. Barack Obama, Huff Post

2 Study Says Standardized Testing Is Overwhelming Public Schools - Lyndsey Layton, Washington Post

3 The President's Pledge to Reduce School Tests Is Meaningless - Robert Pondiscio, US News

4 U.S. Student Performance Slips on "Nation's Report Card" - Emma Brown, Washington Post

5 Our National Test Fixation Isn't Just Bad for Kids, It Doesn't Work - Diane Ravitch, Salon

6 Beware the NAEP Overreactions - Matt Barnum, The 74 Million

7 Heartbreak on NAEP - Michael J. Petrilli, Flypaper

8 Why Did NAEP Scores Drop? - Grover J. "Russ" Whitehurst, Brookings

No Child Left Behind: What Worked, What Didn't - Cory Turner, nprEd

9 Adaptive Learning Software Is Replacing Textbooks, & Reshaping US Education - Will Oremus, Slate

Resources

10 What Every American Should Know - whateveryamericanshouldknow.org

Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2015 - The New York Times

A Demo of the Pythagorean Theorem Using Water - Flowing Data

Apps That Actually Help Kids Learn - Annie Murphy Paul, The Brilliant Blog

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. Follow us on Twitter at @ParentCorticalM. Thank you!

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

A persistent allegation in parenting journalism says that parents are overly cautious. Are parents really that risk averse? Richard Rende says it's not about parental fear and overprotection. It's something else. 1 You’re familiar with the idea that parents need to talk to babies. But learning more about the why and how will make talking to your baby feel less like parent white noise. 2 4 Get ready for Math Bedtime Story Problems. This is science, so don't be anxious. It's fun! 3 David Brooks wrote an op-ed this week called “Schools for Wisdom.” In it he explains impeccably our top learning concept, "background knowledge." 5 Here’s a terrific list of books for read-aloud time. But first, capture your kids’ interest by watching the movie beforehand. You’ll be preparing your kids for a lifetime of expert conversations about whether a book is better than the movie. Pat yourself on the back! 6

Parenting

The #1 Mistake Parents Make When Arguing With Kids - Eric Barker, Barking Up the Wrong Tree

1 Are Parents Really Averse to Exposing Their Kids to Risk? - Richard Rende, PhD, Psychology Today

Over-helping Kids Causes Them Harm, Says Former Stanford Dean - Emma Brown, Washington Post

2 Parents Gain From Learning the Science of Talking to Kids - Holly Korbey, Mind/Shift

The Question Isn't Whether Tech is Good for Your Kid - Lisa Guernsey, The Weekly Wonk

7 Ways Parents Can Help 13-Yr-Olds Start Their Social Media Lives Right - KJ Dell'Antonia, NYT

Learning

3 Math Story Time at Home Bolsters Achievement in School - University of Chicago, EurekAlert

Peer Pressure Has a Positive Side - Annie Murphy Paul, Scientific American

4 How Infant-Directed Speech Helps Babies Learn Language - Gwen Dewar, PhD, Parenting Science

It Is Impossible to Stop Comparing Yourself to Your Peers - Melissa Dahl, Science of Us

5 Ways to Help Your Child Conquer Tests, and Learn From Them - Annie Murphy Paul, NYT

Education

5 Schools for Wisdom - David Brooks, NYT

How Parents and Teachers Should Talk to Each Other - Michelle Maltais, L.A. Times

5 Things Teachers Might Believe, But Parents Shouldn't - Robert Pondiscio, US News

What 15 Years in Ed Reform Has Taught Bill and Melinda Gates - Kyla Calvert Mason, PBS News Hour

Parents Support Testing, but Think There's Too Much - Lauren Camera, U.S. News

Why I Shouldn’t Give Up on Gifted Ed - Jay Mathews, Washington Post

Is Universal Pre-K Worth the Price? - Joseph Williams, TakePart

Pre-K Researchers Can’t Get Past the 3rd Grade - James Heckman, Hechinger Report

Resources

6 Family Movie Night: 8 Movies that Send Kids to Read the Book - Gemma Alexander, ParentMap

Sneaky Camera Apps Parents Should Know About - Christina Elgersma, Common Sense Media

How to See Uranus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars - G. Gaherty, Space.com, 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. Follow us on Twitter at @ParentCorticalM. Thank you!

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

Yippee, the kids are back in school! After our summer break, Parent Cortical Mass is back, too, and there's so much to cover. Parents, how many clever ways can you ask your kids that all-important question, “How was school today?” Getting kids to talk about what they're learning in school fortifies that learning. 8 In this week’s batch of articles we revisit four of PCM’s Top 10 Learning Concepts: language dancing, the growth mindset, flow, and background knowledge. 1 2 3 4 Four of our Top 10 Education Influencers -- E.D. Hirsch Jr., Arne Duncan, Linda Darling-Hammond and Diane Ravitch --have mentions this week. 4 5 6 7 A Washington state court ruled last week that tax-payer funded charter schools in that state were unconstitutional. Why? Because public schools are subject to the voters in school districts, and charter schools, by definition, bypass required local control. What do you think? 7 It's September. You've just recommitted to reading nightly to the kids. Check out Bonnie Lathram’s list of must-read kids' books for some fresh selections! 9

Parenting

Why We Should Let Our Children Fail - Jessica Lahey, The Guardian

When Did Parents Get So Scared? I Blame It on Bridge to Terabithia - Melissa Schorr, Boston Globe

How Schools Are Handling an 'Overparenting' Crisis - Anya Kamenetz, nprEd

When Homework Stresses Parents as Well as Students - KJ Dell'Antonia, New York Times

Fathers Who Serve as the Primary Parent - Andrew Moravcsik, The Atlantic

Wondering at What Age Children Can Safely Play with a Tablet? - C. Featherston, Hechinger Report

Learning

4 Ways to Remember Everything You Learn - Drake Baer, Time

The Lesson You Never Got Taught in School: How to Learn! - Simon Oxenham, Big Think

1 Pretending to Understand What Babies Say Can Make Them Smarter - Cari Romm, The Atlantic

2 3 Tricks to Find Your Flow - Christine Carter, Medium

3 Growth Mindset: How to Normalize Mistake Making & Struggle in Class - K. Schwartz, Mind/Shift

Education

Teachers Aren’t Dumb - Daniel T. Willingham, New York Times

5 Critical Skills to Empower Students in the Digital Age - Ki Sung, Mind/Shift

4 How Common Core Can Help in the Battle of Skills vs. Knowledge - Natalie Wexler, NYT

5 Arne Duncan: U.S. Needs to Modernize Its Schools - Sec. Duncan & Sec. Perez, eSchool News

6 A New Moment in Education - Linda Darling-Hammond, Huffington Post

7 What Makes a Public School Public? WA Court Finds Charters Unconstitutional. - Emma Brown, WP

New Poll: Heartening and Glum News for Ed Reformers - Chester Finn, Education Next

National Leaders Fail in School Reform - Jack Jennings, Huffington Post

The Problem with Making Education a Campaign Issue - Joy Resmovits, LA Times

Resources

8 25 Other Ways to Ask "How Was School Today?" - Liz Evans, Huffington Post

Parents of College-Bound Students: About the Upcoming SAT Changes - J. Bolkan, THE Journal

What is a Math Circle? - Anna Kuchment, Scientific American

The Best Way to Guess Correctly on a Multiple Choice Test - Justin J. Couchman, Quartz

9 20 Must-Read Children’s Books for Back to School - Bonnie Lathram, Getting Smart

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!