Parent Cortical Mass

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

The mid-term elections have finally arrived. Communities around America are debating the top education policies, like common core and accountability. 2 4 It can be perplexing because the debates don’t follow political party lines. Read Motoko Rich’s news story on the California race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, where two Democrat candidates vie for citizens' votes. They would take public schools down very different paths, so there's an unequivocal choice. This race spotlights the issues in the national debate. 3 Have you been waiting to read a good explanation for A.D.H.D.—what it is and why it’s on the rise? Click on Dr. Richard Friedman’s clarifying article. 1 Now when you are in nature, there’s a handy app that helps you identify birdsong, like a Shazam for birds! (Full disclosure: #NutsAboutBirds) 5

Parenting

Less Parental Control, More Support of Kids' Self-Regulation: Study - Anne Collier, NetFamilyNews

The Hows and Whys of Early Entrance Into Kindergarten - Kali Sakai, ParentMap

1 A Natural Fix for A.D.H.D. - Richard A. Friedman, New York Times

Another College Expense: Preparing for the SAT and ACT - Ann Carrns, New York Times

3 Unique Ways Parents Can Assure Digital Safety - Sandra Mills, A Platform for Good

Learning

Parenting Style Probably Does Not Raise IQ in Children - Rick Nauert, PhD, PsychCentral

Reading on Screens is Different--Does It Matter? - New Scientist

How Relearning Old Concepts Alongside New Ones Makes It All Stick - Freemark & Smith, Mind/Shift

The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control - A Book Reivew - Hillary Levey Friedman, Brain,Child

9 Questions to Help Kids Develop a Growth Mindset - Ed Tech and Mobile Learning

Education

2 10 Facts About What the Candidates Are Saying on Education - Rick Hess, Education Next

3 California Race Brings Democrats’ Differences on Education Into Focus - Motoko Rich, NYT

4 Public Evenly Divided Over Common Core - Adam O'Neal, RealClearPolitics

Common Core Math Can Be a Mystery. Parents Go to School To Understand It - Lyndsey Layton, WP

What Makes a Good Common Core Math Question? - Emmanuel Felton, Hechinger Report

Should Schools Mandate Computer-Coding Classes? - Fawn Johnson, National Journal

The Problem with Tests That Are Not Standardized - Alfie Kohn, Washington Post

The Myth of Chinese Super Schools - Diane Ravitch, New York Review of Books

Not The Top Of The Class: Why American Schools Are Mediocre - Rifka Schonfeld, The Jewish Press

States Backtrack on Student Tracking Technology - Jeffrey Stinson, Government Technology

School Policy to Search Devices & Approve Kids’ Web Posts Unconstitutional: ACLU - K. Zetter, Wired

Resources

10 Most Violent Video Games of 2014 (and What to Play Instead) - Jeff Haynes, Common Sense Media

Ted-Ed Interactive Periodic Table with Video Lessons for Every Element - EdTech & Mobile Learning

30 Online Learning Sites to Learn Almost Anything - Getting Smart

Learn to Read Chinese...With Ease [6 min video] - ShaoLan Hsueh, TED

Why Scratching Makes You Itch -Washington University School of Medicine, PsyPost

5 Shazam for Birds? Shazam for Birds - Kif Leswing, GigaOm

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 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

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!