Parents
February 2012
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
The 3 Myths about Competition: How it affects student motivation
"When 85% of school is built around competition . . " 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
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
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 moreMany of the Innovation Generation are deeply worried about the future of the planet, seek healthier lifestyles, and want to make a difference more than they want to make money. . . . . But they are swimming against the tides of tradition. A lot of parents still harbor hopes that their children will pursue prestigious careers and be economically better off than they are. . . . Too many teachers and employers still reward the 'old school' behaviors of deference to authority and striving for 'success,' conventionally defined - and count on carrots and sticks . . . . for motivation.Tony Wagner, Harvard-educated author, Educator, Collaborator, Creating Innovators, The Finland Phenomenon with Bob Compton, The Global Achievement Gap
Follow The Daily Riff on 
