Parent Cortical Mass

PCM's Top Articles of the Week

The big article this week tells of the surprising power of expectations--a topic PCM introduced with Carol Dweck’s research on Incremental Intelligence. ● In every era we discuss work/life balance questions. A NYT story this week revisits the decision some women made to ‘opt out’ of career work. ● Younger kids are moving off Facebook. What new social tech interests them now? ● Time’s writer, Amanda Ripley, released a new book, The Smartest Kids in the World. It’s worth knowing about. ● When Matt Damon mentioned to the press that his kids would attend private schools, a celebrity-smack-down, with Jeb Bush, ensued. It’s lightweight, but you can still learn about accountability testing from their non-egghead comments. Heavy-hittin' septuagenarian Diane Ravitch weighed in, too. ● Do you enjoy spy movies, but not being spied on? Fix yourself up with new gadgetry--read about a few countering tech tools from safekids.com.

Parenting

Has the Economic Recession Led to Harsher Parenting? - Richard Rende, Red Hot Parenting

Redshirting in the Age of Academic Kindergarten: Should Kids Be Held Back? - Lori Day, HP

The Opt-Out Generation Wants Back In - Judith Warner, New York Times

Why Aren't More Girls Attracted to Physics? - NPR, Mind/Shift

I'm 13 and None of My Friends Are on Facebook - Ruby Karp, Mashable

Study Finds Better-Performing K-8 Kids Receive More Attention from Parents - PsyPost

Help Kids Crack the Reading Code (Part 1 of 2) - J. Richard Gentry, Psychology Today

Learning

Your Thoughts Can Release Abilities Beyond Normal Limits - Ozgun Atasoy, Scientific American

Mothers Perception of their Social Status Linked to Kids Brain Dev. - J. Wood, PsychCentral

Brain Scans Could Help Diagnose Dyslexia - Anne Trafton, MIT, Neuroscience News

4 Insights into the Future of Games and Tech for Learning - Anya Kamenetz, Hechinger Report

How Thinking Too Much Can be Detrimental to Performance - Rick Nauert, PhD, PsychCentral

Brain's Flexible Hub Network Helps Humans Adapt - Science News

Education

Why the World is Smarter Than Us - Dana Goldstein, The Daily Beast

Meet Your Child's New Teacher: the iPad - Julia Llewellyn Smith, The Telegraph

Common Core Tests in Language Arts: How Students Will Ace Them - E.D. Hirsch, Jr. CKB

The Architect of School Reform Who Turned Against It - Sarah Mosle, The Atlantic

Jeb Bush vs. Matt Damon on Schools and Testing - Ruben Navarrette, CNN

What's Not to Like About Exeter? Sidwell? Lakeside? Dalton? - Diane Ravitch, D. Ravitch's Blog

The Unintended Consequences of Consequences - Kathleen Porter-Magee, Common Core Watch

Why the Common Core 'Opt-Out' is Not a "Cop-Out' - Michael Petrilli, Education Next

Why We Can't All Get Along Over School Reform - Larry Ferlazzo, Washington Post

Resources

10 Social Networks Every Parent Should Know - Mic Wright, Mirror News

New Visual Tool Teaches Kids How to Code at Home - Katrina Schwartz, Mind/Shift

6 of the Best Educational Videos and Channels on YouTube for Kids - coolmomtech

Preschool Number Activities - Gwen Dewar, PhD., Parenting Science

Ways to Help Reduce Chances of Being Spied On - Larry Magid, SafeKids.com

If you enjoy this weekly news roundup, please pass it along or share on social media. Thank you!

PCM's Top Articles of the Week

An article about Carol Dweck's mindset theory, applied to talent, asks how a growth mindset can impact creative achievements. ● Does sharing family meals together have a positive effect on children? Two studies draw different conclusions. ● There's surprising news on language dancing, and the “30 million word gap” discovered by Hart and Risley more than a decade ago. In “unprecedented scope and audacity” Providence, RI plans to use the entire city to test the theory. Read how. ● A joint statement, made by Randi Weingarten and Vicki Phillips, Ed Director at Bill Gates’ Foundation, on teacher evaluations, caught eduwonks off guard. Diane Ravitch responds. ● Get informed on ability grouping, school report cards, vouchers, and the unlikely political alliances against the common core. ● Don’t miss the giant Mindcraft map, the size of Los Angeles!

Parenting

A Parent Guide to Teachers’ Unions - Paula Bolyard, PJ Media

Families May Want to Create a Mission Statement - Bruce Feiler, New York Times

Is the American "Boy Crisis" Fictional? - Judith Warner, Time

The Many Myths About Mothers Who 'Opt Out' - Nanette Fondas, The Atlantic

Myth of Family Meals in Parent-Child Bonding Gets Debunked - Carrie Arnold, Scientific American

Family Dinners Boost Teens’ Mental Health - Cynthia Lee-McGill, Futurity.org

The Touch-Screen Generation - Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic

Learning

What Research on Babies and Pointing Reveals - Nicholas Day, Slate

Children Should Be Allowed To Get Bored, Expert Says - Hannah Richardson, BBC News

Scientists Unravel How Kids Learn Math, 1st Grade Is Key - Lauran Neergaard, Washington Post

Mindfulness Improves Reading Ability, Working Memory, and Task-Focus - Science Daily

Talent Isn’t Fixed and Other Mindsets That Lead to Greatness - Jocelyn K. Glei, 99u.com

How to Increase Our Stamina to Learn - Annie Murphy Paul, Time

Education

Providence, RI Plans to Shrink 'Word Gap' with $5M Grant - Ben Zimmer, Boston Globe

Left, Right Unite Against Common Core - Andrea Neal, Indianapolis Star

Let's Go Back to Grouping Students By Ability - Barry Garelick, The Atlantic

Parents Relying on School Report Cards Can Be Confused - Michele Molnar, Education Week

BYOT: Some Schools Urge Students to Bring Their Own Tech - Matt Richtel, New York Times

6 Steps to Effective Teacher Evaluations - Vicki Phillips & Randi Weingarten, New Republic

Weighing in on the Weingarten-Gates Article - Diane Ravitch, Diane Ravitch's Blog

With Vouchers, States Shift Aid for Schools to Families - Fernanda Santos & Motoko Rich, NYT

Good News about Low-Income Students - Caroline M. Hoxby, Brookings Institution

Resources

Here Comes Peter Cottontail, Like You've Never Heard It (Free Music Download) - coolmomtech

How Fans Recreated Game of Thrones in a Minecraft Map the Size of LA - Laura Hudson, Wired

How Do I Get My Kids Started on Minecraft? A Parents' Primer. - coolmomtech

Sylvia Plath's Little-Known Vintage Children's Book - Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Ten Tips for Selecting Great Games - Stevanne Auerbach, Huff Post Parents

Tiger Moms, Carol Dweck, and Mindsets

Do Tiger Moms promote a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?

I asked Carol Dweck this question in the Q & A following a talk she gave at the 2013 ASCD Conference in mid-March. Here’s what she said.

That’s a good question. You can see how a Tiger Mom could be promoting each mindset, which is confusing. So, at first the answer seems to be “both.”

Tiger Moms vigorously uphold that hard work matters. They make it clear to their children that, if you want to achieve a goal, effort counts. Good work doesn’t happen magically, they repeat ferociously. Hard work is the best path to high achievement.  They understand intrinsically the 10,000 Hour Rule, and the value of “deliberate practice.” Children of Tiger Moms are not confused about the value of effort. This is certainly a growth mindset message.

On the other hand, Tiger Moms are utterly focused on results. If her children put in an excellent effort, but don’t achieve at the highest level, that’s a problem for Tiger Moms. Their emphasis on winning, on being at the top, is fixed mindset thinking. If you are a Tiger Mom’s child and have put in a great deal of effort, but didn’t win the prize, then it’s likely you will conclude that you must not be that smart, or that capable of mastering the skills. Indeed, you must not have what it takes. The emphasis on results is why Tiger Moms send a fixed mindset message, too.

Tiger Moms send the messages of both mindsets. But, they don't focus on the journey of learning, or the goal of giving their children a love of learning. Instead, they are all about results. For that reason Tiger Moms are champions of a fixed mindset, not a growth mindset.

If hard work doesn’t lead to externally validated success, then the children of Tiger Moms conclude they don’t have what it takes inherently. Tiger moms demand results, and that is the very condition that creates a fixed mindset in their kids.

Watch some of the experiments Carol Dweck uses in her research on fixed vs. growth mindsets.