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

This week free-range parenting went from a philosophical to a legal debate. A few weeks back police picked up two children (ages 10 and 6) as they walked home from their neighborhood park. Authorities said their parents were responsible for “unsubstantiated child neglect.” Then, police picked up their kids a second time. The parents, “free-rangers,” are outraged. They intend to file a lawsuit, to clarify parents’ rights. 1 This week educators in the Atlanta schools' cheating scandal were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to seven years. Was this just, or is the school accountability system guilty? 2 3 4 For seven years reauthorizing No Child Left Behind has been gridlocked in Congress. This week a rewrite of the law passed the Senate committee unanimously. The new bill, named the Every Child Achieves Act, moves to the Senate floor. It’s a step. 5 Check out the amazing scrolling graphic of Mt. Everest. It conveys the “tallest mountain in the world” like you’ve never seen! 6

Parenting

1 The Murky Law on Free-Range Kids - Amanda Kolson Hurley, CityLab

There's Never Been a Safer Time to Be a Kid in America - C. Ingraham, WashPost

Kids Take More Risks Crossing Streets Than Parents Think - Lisa Rapaport, Reuters

Helicopter Parents Can Be a Good Thing - Julie Hiltz, PDK Sage Journals

5 Ways to Smooth Transition from Senior Year to College - Annie Berning, Grown and Flown

6 College Experiences That Make College Worth It - Brandon Busteed, Gallup

Encouraging Teenagers to Read, by Choosing From Non-YA Shelves - Jessica Lahey, New York Times

Learning

Babies Learn Best When Surprised - Janice Wood, PsychCentral

Letting Go of Executive Control Speeds Learning of Motor Tasks - Geoffrey Mohan, L.A. Times

Self-Affirmations May Calm Jitters, Boost Performance - ScienceDaily

Emotional Intelligence: The Social Skills You Weren't Taught in School - Eric Ravenscraft, Lifehacker

Wait for It: Delayed Feedback Can Enhance Learning - Tori Rodriguez, Scientific American

Education

We Should Be Asking Why and How We Test, Not Just How Often - Linda Darling-Hammond, HuffPost

End the Education Wars - Frederick M. Hess, US News

The Lost Purpose of School Reform - Diane Ravitch, New York Review

2 Accountability on Trail in Atlanta - Robert Pondiscio, US News

3 Teachers Were Offered Bonuses for Test Scores. Of Course They Cheated - Annie Murphy Paul, WP

4 Cheaters Never Prosper - Dana Goldstein, The Marshall Project

5 NCLB Rewrite Heads to Senate Floor - Allie Bidwell, US News

PISA's Potentially Dangerous Problems, And What to Do - Yong Zhao & Alma Harris, Washington Post

Resources

6 How Tall is Mt Everest? [Amazing Scrolling Graphic] - Johnson, Berkowitz, Gamio, Washington Post

The Math Question That Went Viral - Terrance F. Ross, The Atlantic

Fun Way to Learn About Leonardo da Vinci: Read His Resume - Marc Cenedella, Cenedella

7 Wonderful Books that Help Kids Make Sense of Death - Maria Popova, BrainPickings

Get Your Kids to Vote on the Children's Choice Book Awards - CBC

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

We hear frequently that digital devices are eating away at our brains. Cognitive Scientist, Daniel T. Willingham, writes this week, “Smartphones don’t make us dumb.” Read his illuminating article on the impacts to our attention spans. 1 The most intriguing article this week comes from an English teacher in San Luis Obispo, CA. As he integrates into his teaching the common core’s emphasis on cognitive skills, he says, “My job description has evolved, and I’m fine with that. But where are the students getting their wisdom?” Interesting question. 3 When personality or character are talked about in education, debates are inevitable. Ellen Galinsky sorts out the gritty tiff. Teaching executive function skills, she says, by-passes these debates. Her distinctions clarify the problem. 2 NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is in the news. Read Libby Nelson’s primer and get current. 4 Inevitably during the child rearing years, kids ask parents, "Why do zebras have stripes?" Be ready with a brilliant answer! 5

Parenting

Why Parents Shouldn't Fear Student-Teacher Texting - Randye Hoder, Time

Is Your Son Really Ready for Kindergarten? - Meeghan Mousaw Good Men Project

The New Meaning Of Success For Professional Women - Dr. Peggy Drexler, HuffPost

Lessons from League of Legends: Why I Taught My Son to Play Violent Video Games - K. Smith, Salon

Kids Must Learn to Control Their Own Screen Time - John Keilman, Chicago Tribune

Solving the Autism Puzzle - Stephen Hall, MIT Technology Review

Learning

1 Smartphones Don't Make Us Dumb - Daniel T. Willingham, New York Times

Re-reading is Inefficient. 8 Tips for Studying Smarter - Joseph Stromberg, Vox

6 Sneaky but Scientific Ways to Help Kids Learn - Kate Leary, Time

Sleep Quantity + Sleep Quality = Better Math/Language Scores - Rick Nauert, PhD, PsychCentral

How Science Can Teach You to Stay Calm - Lolly Daskal, Inc.

Education

Should Teachers Be Allowed to Touch Students? - Jessica Lahey, The Atlantic

2 Teaching Character Versus Life Skills in Schools: What's the Best Approach? - Ellen Galinsky, HP

3 The Wisdom Deficit in Schools - Michael Godsey, The Atlantic

4 A Guide to No Child Left Behind as Congress Tries to Rewrite the Law - Libby Nelson, Vox

What Sen. Lamar Alexander Thinks About No Child Left Behind - Haley Sweetland Edwards, Time

Ravitch, Former Adviser to Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sends NCLB Advice - Diane Ravitch, WashPost

The Past, Present And Future Of High-Stakes Testing - Anya Kamenetz, nprEd

Why Annual Statewide Testing Is Critical to Judging School Quality - M. Chingos & M. West, Brookings

New SAT, New Problems - James S. Murphy, The Atlantic

Resources

5 So Why Does the Zebra Really Have Stripes? - Laura Poppick, Washington Post

How Small is an Atom, Really? (or How to Make Your Head Explode) - J. Diaz, Sploid

NASA Just Released the Largest Picture Ever Taken at 1.5 Billion Pixels - Daily Epic

Lenore Skenazy's New Show Brings Free-Range Parenting to Your TV Screen - R. Soave, Reason.com

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!