The Daily Riff - BE SMARTER. ABOUT EDUCATION.

Battle Of The Minds: Why Don't Kids Like School?

Sparks Fly In This Book Review By Guest Jonathan E. Martin about Daniel Willingham's Book & His Conclusions About Learning, Imagination & Knowledge Read more

Parents: Be a Pit Bull About Bullying

With so much of this cyber-bullying taking place, one wonders if the bullying kids have any major interests and outlets other than Facebook socializing. Read more

The Battle for the Mind of the High School Student

UPDATE: Technology & the Teenage Brain Mash-up Read more

Cornell Professor Roars at Yawning Student

Having a Bad DayOn-line lectures don't have melt-downs.  No wonder reverse teaching (lectures on-line with in-class work more engaging) is becoming a top-line conversation.  May be a better deal for both students AND professors.Seth Godin has a point.Related posts in... Read more

Daniel Radcliffe Sings the Elements

Harry Potter sings the periodic table of elements on the Graham Norton show with Colin Farrell, Rihanna...humor video Read more

Khan Academy: World's Free Virtual Private Tutoring Lessons In Math & Science

How Kids Can Get Private Tutoring With Ten-Minute Sessions On Targeted Subjects Ranging From Basic Math To Advanced Calculus; Parents Can Check Out Finance,Too. Read more

How Design Impacted a Rural School System

A "Small Story" with Big Implications: "We need to be better citizens in our own backyard" Read more

Cool, Cheap & Clever: 7 Designs for School

Check out the "Lily Pad", a very cool mat for developing countries (why not living rooms?) and the SoapShish - too cool for words so why not Math? Read more

How Kids Learn Through Video Games

So the next time you fret that your child is on a mindless video game (of course, depending which one), take a chill pill. It may not be as bad as you think. Video Read more

Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking in Symphony of Science

Hope schools and parents take advantage of the surreal Symphony of Science website which has the most amazing videos. . . Read more

Stephen Colbert on the Mark Twain 'Huck Finn' Censorship

"As long as the 'N' word doesn't appear in the Cliff Notes, you're okay . . ." Read more

"the Jersey Shore-ization of American Society"

"School Shock": TIME's Joe Klein riffs about parental involvement and our "crap culture" Read more

So you want to get a Ph.D. in Humanities?

Humor: Video Series Plus "So You Want to Go to Law School" Read more

Bullying & the Brain: Tips for Parents

As parents, "our emotional brain wants to fix" the situation and often times we are counter-productive by not being calm in this very chaotic situation. The three steps to remember Read more

Pushing back on mediocre professors

Seth Godin: "The vast majority of email I get from college students is filled with disgust, disdain and frustration at how backwards the system is." Read more

Parents as Role Models in Fighting Obesity

Now, a study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association finds that heavy teens often gain a lot more weight in their 20s. Half of obese adolescent girls . . . Read more