Parents
"Was Einstein Right About Imagination?"
Are we too obsessed with MATH and losing our upcoming SCIENTISTS? Read more
Zuckerberg Doesn't Have a Tiger Daddy
FACEBOOK Zuckerberg father: "Rather than impose upon your kids or try and steer their lives in a certain direction, to recognize what their strengths are and support their strengths and support the development of the things they're passionate about." Read more
Dear 16-year-old Me
It's that time of year again. Sun is fun, but . . . spread the word. Video. Read more
What we do matters. Al Pacino riffs in this classic . . .
"Inches" Make the Difference. Inspiration for students, parents, educators - - - Read more
Time to Re-think School Award Ceremonies?
Should school leaders take another look at how award ceremonies affect learning and motivation? Read more
"The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination"
JK Rowling, Harry Potter Author, Captivates Crowd With Harvard Commencement Speech Read more
An Awards Day Poem: by a Mom whose son didn't receive one
It's that time of year again, and for many parents, Award Ceremonies at school are like walking an emotional trapeze highwire . . . Read more
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation." - Plato
There is a Play Deficit in our country and it is harming our children. Our children are playing less than any previous generation, and research clearly shows this lack of play is producing profound physical, intellectual, social and emotional problems for today's kids. Read more
"A" students tend to become professors, and "C" students become wealthy donors...
"Creativity, he said, might be an even more valuable asset that educators and parents should emphasize." -WSJ quoting Larry Summers, former President of Harvard, President Obama and Clinton advisor Read more
Ten Lessons For My Daughters - From a Dad
"Take Trips, Girls. Take Chances. Take Off." - Bruce Feiler - The Council Of Dads Read more
Would You Hire Your Own Kids? 7 Skills Schools Should Be Teaching Them
Tony Wagner, Former HS teacher, Principal & Co-Director At Harvard School Of Education Posts. "The Ability To Ask The Right Questions Is The Single Most Important Skill." Read more
What Adults Can Learn From Kids: "Don't Underestimate Our Ability"
12 Year Old Literacy Advocate Sets Us StraightAre Teachers & Parents Actually Making Kids "Shrink To Fit?"
TED Video - Eight Minutes of Adora Svitak Read more
Welcome, Professional Students . . . to the Hunger Games, er, we mean School
"First, students have to jump through ever-more demanding, preassigned academic hoops. Instead of developing a passion for one subject, they're rewarded for becoming professional students, getting great grades across all subjects, regardless of their intrinsic interests." - David Brooks, The Creative Monopoly Read more
Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions
Now, here were college grads looking for jobs, and not recognizing that showing curiosity and asking engaging questions could show MORE about WHO they were than reciting some resume paragraph to interviewers in a random interview. -C.J. Westerberg Read more
Are we creating innovators? 22 Insights
C.J. Westerberg dissects new book by Tony Wagner - "Creating Innovators" Video Trailer Read more
Opting Out from Standardized Testing
Educator Will Richardson makes a decision to opt his son out of the state test & shares his story Read more
High School: Are the Kids Alright?
"Long ago my son determined exactly how not to let the institution of school get in the way of his learning, and had explicit plans for choosing courses carefully so that he had ample time to attend local university lectures and participate in arts events." Read more
21 Things That Will Become Obsolete in Education by 2020
Desks, Language Labs, Computers, Homework, Standardized Tests in College Admissions . . . . Read more
Why I'm a listener
For most of my career, I was an awful listener in almost every possible way. I was arrogant throughout my 30s for sure--maybe into my early 40s. My conversations were all about some concept of intellectual winning and "I'm going to prove I'm smarter than you." -Why I'm a listener, Amgen's CEO, Kevin Sharer Read more
The Flipped Class = flipped homework
flipping a class is also flipping homework. I know, "no kidding, Sherlock" you may be thinking, but the flipped class will have impact on disrupting the concept of homework. Read more
How the Flipped Classroom Is Radically Transforming Learning
. . .AND how it changes the way teachers talk with parents - - - Read more
What Students (Really) Need to Know
"A good rule of thumb for many things in life holds that things take longer to happen than you think they will, and then happen faster than you thought they could." - Lawrence Summers Read more
The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality
We also realize there is a lot of mis-information about the Flipped Classroom and quite a bit of controversy about whether or not this is a viable instructional methodology. Read more
Time to Change STEM to STEAM
The value of art and design to innovation is clear: Artists and designers humanize technology, making it understandable and capable of bringing about societal change. Read more
The 3 Myths about Competition: How it affects student motivation
"When 85% of school is built around competition . . " Read more
The Minerva Project: Shaking up the Ivies?
A Start-Up "E-lite" University with Urban Classrooms backed by Silicon Valley and Larry Summers Read more
Individuation and Pluralization: The Implications of Multiple Intelligences
"MI is not a statement about learning styles" - Howard Gardner Read more
"Sugar and Kids: the Toxic Truth"
There is a "high" one get from this substance - which is also hidden in so-called "healthy" foods such bread, tomato sauce, yogurt - where one needs more of it over time to get the same feeling of satisfaction, even after a week. Read more
Hard Sciences. A "Boy" Thing?
What schools and parents can do to guide girls' interests in Science, Technology, Math & Science - PBS Video + Series - Judy Woodruff reports Read more
10 Ways to Think Differently about Teaching and Learning
Australian Edna Sackson challenges us whether our classrooms are "old school" or not - Read more
Choke: Test-takers - - - a different way to look at test-prep?
"Most students will not find a steady diet of test-prep drills and worksheets to be particularly meaningful, and accordingly, they will not put forth optimal learning effort." Read more
The Limits of Education
New guest post. Financial Literacy: Yes. Does it equal "doing the right thing?" Not necessarily. Read more
Parents: Are we sabotaging our own kids' math "ability"?
Many parents in the United States assume that (math ability) is just some kind of aptitude - some kids have it, some kids don't . . . The result is most of our kids (in the U.S.) don't do really well in Math . . ." Read more
Japanese schooling: "whole child" education, not just academics
"Japanese Schooling Attempts To Develop Students' Creative Talents,Not Just Academic Skills." Read more
This is your child's brain on homework. Or, is it?
Homework: Too much, too little, or the wrong kind? Read more
How to Create Nonreaders
Alfie Kohn Delivers a Powerful Essay About Motivation, Learning &Sharing Power in the Classroom Read more
TOP VIRAL VIDEO POKES "THE SYSTEM"
Funny and most illuminating. Sir Ken Robinson, one of education's rock stars, WILL transform your view of education. Read more
Singapore Math - The Most Visual Math?
Is It Better For Problem Solving? Are Drawing & Visualization As Important As Numbers? Teacher Bill Jackson Gives Us Answers. Plus Bonus Video. Read more
Two Families. Two different paths to "academic excellence." And, the winner is . . .
But the two families - one Chinese, one Mexican/Jewish - have made strikingly different decisions about how to pursue academic excellence. One relies on a parent-driven focus on tutoring, advanced classes and testing drills, while the other allows . . . Read more
Why Other Countries Do Better in Math
Should Parents "Race to the Tutor"? It's not what you think. Guest post. Read more
Why Testing Fails: How Numbers Deceive Us All
"Tests fail because of an effect I call the "Numerical Outcome Principle". . .Our leaders need to look beyond the numbers..." Guest Post By Joseph Ganem, Ph.D. Read more
Bill & Melinda's Field Trips
What Parents Can Do to Promote Learning. We know that children who are exposed to more real-life outside- the-class-wall activities guided by parents and schools, usually having to do with level of income in their household, tend to do better in school and in life. Read more
Are STEM subjects "Just So Darn Hard?" Or, do we make them so?
Why so many college students are dropping STEM & what to do about it Read more
The Chinese Curse. Is America Next?
"HIGH SCORES BUT LOW ABILITY"Is America Leaving Behind What Asia Wants? : Controversial Book & Video Read more
Great minds don't "do desk" alike. Surprise.
The series is called "Desktop Diaries" - with three videos that are such an indulgent insight into their working minds, as expressed by their organization - pack rat version, the streamlined version Read more
"No one tests you on empathy"
Lots of very smart people lack empathy. They're able to test their way through life and get A's. How about empathy, adaptability, initiative and responsibility? Read more
Ask a student, how does your teacher learn?
"They (educators) need to be able to model their own learning process for their students. Ask just about any student how much her teacher knows, and you'll get a quick answer. Ask a student how her teacher learns, and you'll likely get a confused look. This must change . . ." -Will Richardson Read more
Are you "That" Parent?
How many good questions aren't asked about schools and education because of the apprehension of being "that" parent? Read more
Legendary Quincy Jones riffs about technology, music, math, creativity, and . . . parenting
" . . .We'd go to executive conferences with Bill Gates and he'd say, 'Alan will you please take over?' . . . " - Quincy Jones Read more
Are Schools Preparing Kids for Our Age or Theirs?
I can never understand how and why we expect students with far more energy, ideas, natural creativity and far more everything, to be more "contained" in their behavior than adults. Read more
Sleepy Teens in School: Does a later "start time" for the school day work better?
Liz Bowen, The Baltimore Sun, reports that a group of Arundel mothers deliver petition for national legislation. Caption showing high schoolers for the STEM magnet school catching a school bus at 6:15 A.M. Read more
"Gaming the System: Redshirting in Kindergarten"
"I wonder if we'll look back on the way children were raised in our particular time and place and say, 'What were we thinking?'" -Malcolm Gladwell Read more
Five-Minute Montessori
"Seeing the big picture allows students to take ownership of their learning - a critical element in fostering each child's natural learning desire." Read more
When Was the Last Time You Shadowed Your Child-Tween-Teen in School for a Day?
"It is a grim experience." - Grant Wiggins responds to a John Merrow post about the Saving Our Schools Rally Read more
Learning Math: The Symbol Barrier
Street Math, School Math, and Video Games Read more
Ten To-Do's for Young People to Consider
#1 - Build a "Personal Board of Directors" Read more
Is Learning a Sport?
Students should not go to school to win - students should go to school to learn. Read more
What is the "right" kind of parent?
"It is sad to me when I hear parents feeling bad that they aren't doing "x", or feeling bad or embarrassed that they are doing "y"or doing too much of "x", or reluctant to ask questions and convey their concerns." Read more
The Case for Distraction . . . or Ritalin?
"It is the attempted standardization of a human being and of a notion of achievement that is limiting, prescriptive and bullying." Read more
Is Math Art? Dream or Nightmare?
"A Mathematician's Lament"Every parent & educator should check out this book excerpt Read more
New Literacies? Why?
"Relevancy is not an option." Read more
"How to Turn Your Child Into a Bully"
How do you solve family conflicts? How are bullies born? The issue has been the subject of intense study . . . . in a much needed look at the possible origins of bullying behavior: the home. Read more
What Makes Kids Creative? A Box or a Spaceship?
Just tell me what to do. I want to be right. Read more
Say 'No' to the Greek Chorus
"The mess, the mess! . . . an engraved invitation to transformation. . . Certainty is dead. . ." Read more
"What happens to all the Asian-American overachievers when the test-taking ends?"
"Let me summarize my feelings toward Asian values: . . .F--- grade-grubbing. F--- Ivy League mania. F--- deference to authority. . . . F--- earnest, striving middle-class servility." Read more
21st Century Skills: A "thorny problem" in the classroom
. . . .most high schools' science "experiments" are really "demonstrations," because they are "rigged" for the right answer, thereby disqualifying them as true experiments where outcomes are unknown. Read more
What Color is My World? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
African-American Inventors & Innovators: MSNBC Morning Joe video Read more
7 Ways to Spark Engagement
Moving from on-task to learning: "Have you noticed that 'on-task' does not always mean engaged?" Read more
The Cost of College: The Pushback
Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is having a busy week on the heels of President Obama's State of the Union address Read more
A Complex Web: Teacher-Student Relationships
"Like most of us, they (teachers) had complex personalities that meshed with some people and conflicted with others." Read more
The Parent-School Relationship: The Importance of Listening
"....I have been part of schools that have constantly told me what to do but never listened to what I had to say.' " Read more
Does our educational system put the brakes on the entrepreneurial spirit in America?
"Parents could turn the system on its head if they weren't so caught up in outmoded mentalities about education forged in the stable economy of the 1950s (but profoundly misguided in today's chaotic, entrepreneurial economy)." Read more
A Connected Teacher: Priceless
Does This Look Like Your School Classroom? Read more
Campbell's law in education: test scores vs. accountability
"A society in which decisions are based solely on numbers instead of sound judgment is one in which no one is truly accountable." Guest post. Read more
The Best Book about Education for Everyone?
The Global Achievement Gap: Why even our best schools don't teach the survival skills our children need - and what we can do about it Read more
The learning and achievement "gap" in every family
Testing, One, Two, Three . . . Read more
The Kindergarten Marshmallow Test
Will Your Child Be Successful? Read more
The Parent Trapped
"While educators beat the drum about the importance of parental involvement in their child's education, many really mean parental compliance." Guest Post. Read more
Understanding Dyslexia: Watch Documentary Video Trailer
"By conservative estimates, one in five people are dyslexic.' James Redford, director, of "D for Dyslexia" premiering at the Sundance Film Festival this month. Read more
Technology: Enabling a "Golden Age" for Introverts?
"Rather than riding the texture of a live conversation to figure out how to give and receive information, people are now used to simply pushing their thoughts out into the world, to be responded to at some undetermined future point." Read more
Visions of Mathematics: What Content Should We Teach?
Ben Daley of High Tech High Outlines a Revolutionary Approach to Math Read more
Don't be a bully. LOSER.
New Video Release Read more
"An Amazing Time For Math In This Country"
High School Math Teacher Dan Meyer, gig At Google, riffs about Math - photo NOT Meyer(!) TED talk Read more
Misconceptions about learning and teaching
"If I were trying to select a school system for my children or grandchildren, I'd beware of . . . ." Read more
10 Steps . . . for smarter schools
Dennis Littky, Big Picture Learning, gives us his 10 top musts. Read more
Boy Role-Modeling: The "Man Box"
New TEDWomen Video: Tony Porter Makes a Call to Men Everywhere Read more
Why Can't a Boy Be More Like a Girl?
Why Boys are Tuning Out. "Indirectly, that's what she (the teacher) tells them (boys): 'Be a Girl' " Read more
Parents: Do our kids know what "it takes" to be good at something?
Youth Motivation & Mastery: Create the environment conducive to having kids discover what it takes to become good at something on their own, rather than having "us" - the authority figures - telling them how. Read more
Are Girls Really Alright?
"The Morale of this Story? Embarrass Your Daughters"- Rachel Simmons Read more
Richard Dreyfuss: "We have mis-educated our children so badly"
New Update links: Announces new Civics Initiative PLUS his iTunes EULA Read more
Mike Huckabee: Kids leave school not because they are dumb, but because they are BORED
Who Woulda Thunk? Chats with Sir Ken Robinson Read more
Math Tutors to the Rescue?
Why So Many Students Aren't Mastering Basic Math Facts Read more
Singapore Math Demystified!
Guest Post By Scarsdale NY Teacher Bill JacksonThe Daily Riff EXCLUSIVE
Can It Help Solve Our Country's Math-phobia? Read more
How Much Do Early Years Lead to Student Success?
"Well, I'm going to follow up a little bit with the notion that a parent is the child's first teacher. Parents are also the most consistent teacher that a child will have over time. . . ." Read more
Teachers: Don't Leave Out the Parents
"I think we should start assuming that parents are truly on our side and not someone who is out to get us." Read more
Why I Would Fail Third Grade Math
Guest post from a physics college professor with a Ph.D who shadowed his own daughter's 3rd grade class Read more
"Why Can't Playgrounds Look More Like This?"
"Because a playground doesn't have to cost a million bucks and come in a box. In fact, it's better if it doesn't." Read more
Thugs In The Locker Room: Listen To The "Culture Of Silence"
" . . . sports columnist Sally Jenkins wrote about the swagger of young male athletes and the culture of silence that protects their thuggish locker-room behavior." Read more
Why Our Kids Don't Get Math
Three surprising reasons why and how it may change our idea of "rigor". Guest Post. Read more
"I'm her mom, not the nanny!"
" 'I don't think we know anybody Hispanic who isn't a baby sitter,' he said." Read more
"My screwed, coddled, self-absorbed, mocked, surprisingly resilient generation."
" . . we had a PC education - people tried to hide from us as long as possible that not everyone is equal we were told we all have a fair chance of making it that's just not so and we're starting to realize that . . ." Read more
"Let's Raise Our Kids To Be Entrepreneurs"
"We're Giving Them Ritalin & Saying To Them: Don't Be An Entrepreneur Type, Fit Into This Other System And Become A Student". Video Read more
Schools and Parents: A Kabuki Dance?
We asked then, why do some schools still play a kabuki dance when it comes to parental/family engagement? Read more
Conversations that happen in the middle
"We (parents and teachers) really don't get into a conversation . . ." Read more
A 13-year old shows us how the Fibonacci sequence relates to trees: got that?
Museum of Natural History Award Read more
How I Spent My Summer: Being Edgy
"Colleges have moved people from thinking they should be exceptionally well rounded to using the vocabulary that 'well rounded' means 'no edge,' " Read more
Are our kids sitting too much? (Are we?)
"What's particularly interesting about recent research is the revelation that sitting for extended periods of time does significant damage to human health that cannot be undone by exercising." Read more
How about a Family Awards Ceremony?
The key here is that by encouraging our children to strive for these awards, and defeat the other, they will achieve more and be pushed toward a more successful career in the real world. Read more
The Unintended Parent-Child Disconnect
"The real value of college isn't in teaching what is known; it is in preparing students for the unknown." Read more
7 Lessons From My Father
Chris Wejr is school principal at Kent Elementary School in British Columbia. He has spent his career working with students as a high school physical education, math, and science teacher, an intermediate teacher, an elementary vice-principal, as well as a... Read more
50 Ways to Make Your School More Like a Place Where Real Thinking Happens?
Kirstin Olson Hits a Bull's-Eye Front and Center: How to Make Schools More Welcoming for Everyone? Read more
Seven Reasons to Say 'No College' to Your Kids:
"But in my view, the entire college degree industry is a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now." - David Altucher Read more
Are Chinese Moms Better than American Moms?
The parents reading this article in the Wall Street Journal are more likely to be the ones having their their children tutored, equally-scheduled, and possibly kinda cheating, and/or privately schooled, and legacy-guaranteed to some marquee-name university, so they can agree with Chua's so called superior- parenting techniques . . . ." C.J. Westerberg Read more
Kindergarten Test-Prep Nightmare
Are You Tipping Off Your Child's Test Monitor? A Jaw-Drop View of How To Prepare Your Kindergartner To "Win" Private School Entry Read more
Dealing with Parents of a Cyber-bully
Parents who present the other parents with a printout of their child's most repugnant moments should be prepared for minimization, even denial. Why schools must be involved. 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
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
Eyes Wide Open: Parental Advice About Teens
How To Distinguish Between Typical Teen Behavior & Serious Problems Read more
Dear Millennials: Your Parents Lied To You
"You're wonderful, sweetie. Just keep working hard and you can be anything you want to be. Great job!" (soccer mom, 1992) Read more
"Math Survivor" Game: Created By Two Moms
A Big Hit: Based on the "Survivor" Reality Show, Kindergarten Through Grade 5 Kids Had The Chance For Their Own Adventure, Complete with Math Challenges, Flags, Tribe Council & Worm Eating Read moreThere's something in this country that is so opposed to understanding the complexity of children.Maurice Sendak RIP, best-selling childrens'author, Where the Wild Things Are, during interview with Stephen Colbert
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