Inspiring+Reads

=Design that Matters=

I came across this website, Design that Matters, recently and found it particularly poignant because I consistently remind students that in art, every decision, every choice…. everything matters. Not that this site necessary supports this claim, but I think there is an analogy between my thoughts and the mission of this ethnographic design nonprofit program.

Click on Design that Matters to learn more about this nonprofit and their impact on underserved communities.

=Time: The Case Against Summer Vacation=

As the article's title suggest, the author is giving several reasons why summer has an adverse affect on learning. The article gives a brief background on the historical aspects of summer vacation and then highlights that, for some children, summer can be a time that does not provide a lot of exposure to meaningful stimulation. This is especially true for the kids that spend a bulk of there summer vacation at home. Not surprisingly, data suggests this lack of stimulation is exacerbated in low income areas where children are more at risk for "falling behind" in their learning. Every summer vacation becomes more and more dangerous for this group of children as the break chips away time from stimulation and they fall farther behind in there studies. However, the article does not just focus on at risk children, but make a point that all children are at risk to be "falling behind" globally when compared to students around the world. Of-course, there is hope and the author explains how several people and institutions are simulating children's vacations with engaging learning opportunities.

Click on The Case Against Summer Vacation to read more on this article.

=Newsweek: The Creativity Crisis=

From the data, the researchers state that creativity is declining within America's youth. How one defines and assesses creativity can be argued within this article. However, I think that this is a side point. The major point is that youth need exposure and practice with solving problems. Not problems that involve convergent problem solving skills to solve one right answer, but problems that involve divergent problem solving skills to solve many possible right answers. Those problems that involve gray area for solutions. I have been preaching this for years and I think it is wonderful that creativity and problem solving is getting the attention that it deserves.

Click on The Creativity Crisis to read more on this article from Newsweek.

=Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School=

I have only just finished reading the first chapter of this book, therefore, I cannot fully recommend reading the entire novel. However, John Medina (the author) makes science and data easily readable. He has done a tone of research and it seems that their is allot of scientific data correlating with "old wife tails." For example, exercise is benefits your health what we commonly think of as our body, but also benefits your brain. Exercise builds blood vessels in the brain and so on which eventually makes you smarter. The book is divided into easily digestible chunks and has great website to promote and support the findings.

To read more click on: @http://www.brainrules.net/

=Time Online: "Pay for Grades: Should Kids Be Bride to Do Well in School?"=

I will start off by saying that this article might not be considered by all as inspiring, but definitely interesting.

To find the answer to the articles titling question, "a Harvard economist named Roland Fryer Jr. did something education researchers almost never do: he ran a randomized experiment in hundreds of classrooms in multiple cities. He used mostly private money to pay 18,000 kids a total of $6.3 million and brought in a team of researchers to help him analyze the effects. He got death threats, but he carried on. The results, which he shared exclusively with TIME, represent the largest study of financial incentives in the classroom — and one of the more rigorous studies ever on anything in education policy."

He discovered results from the program affected kids in ways that he never expected.

"Just like grownups, kids need different kinds of incentives to get through the day, some highbrow and some low, some short-term, some longer-term."

To read more of this article click: []

=International Herald Tribune "Special Report: International Education"=

While on spring break, the International Herald Tribute (IHT) was hung on our hotel door every morning. I would quickly rip through the soy bean stained pages to the sports section trying to find information on the NCAA Basketball Tournament and UEFA Champions League results. On one particular morning I was slowed in my sports data search by this report on education. (can not take a break from it, huh?!) The three articles provide an interesting view on universities and how they are utilizing internet media sites to enhance learning.

"Universities Use Social Media to Connect" - "Business Schools Respond to Demand for Use of Social Media" - "As Colleges Make Courses Available Free Online, Others Cash In" -

="The Data Deluge: and how to handle it"=

There was a special report put out by **__The Economist__** on February 27, on managing information. The report has nine short articles that shed some light into the world of 0's and 1's. It mainly deals with the internet and the content on it. The articles uncover what what has happened, what is happening and tries to predict what will happen in the near future. It also weights some of the benefits and dangers to our and our children's life. I had several "WOW!" and "are you kidding me?!" moments when reading the articles.


 * //Click on the following highlighted titles to see the articles.//**

Data, Data Everywhere - "Information has gone from scares to superabundant. That brings huge new benefits, but also big headaches" All Too Much - Explains the "monstrous amounts of data" A Different Game - Analysis of how "information is transforming traditional business" Clicking For Gold - "How internet companies profit from data on the web" The Open Society - "Governments are letting in the light" //With privacy being respected, I think schools are and should go more this route// Show Me - "New Ways of Visualising Data" //I have briefly looked at some of the highlighted free programs and the programs are amazing with how they sort and manipulate data.// Needle In A Haystack - "The uses of information about information" New Rules For Big Data - "Regulators are having to rethink their brief" Handling The Cornucopia - "The best way to deal with all the information is to use machines. But they need watching"

="The Commission on the Whole Child"= The co-chairs of ASCD's Commission on the Whole Child—Hugh B. Price and Stephanie Pace Marshall—spoke with Educational Leadership about what it means to educate the whole child. Price, senior fellow with the Brookings Institution and past president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, and Marshall, founding president of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, share their different—yet complementary—perspectives.


 * Quote from text:** "Each moment we live never was before and will never be again. And yet what we teach children in school is 2 + 2 = 4 and Paris is the capital of France. What we should be teaching them is what they are. We should be saying: "Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been another child exactly like you. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel." -Pablo Casals

=Cognitive Coaching=

I took a course in cognitive Coaching last year and found it helpful inside and outside the classroom setting. The mission of Cognitive CoachingSM is to develop cognitive capacities for self-directedness independently and in community. Research indicates that teaching is a complex intellectual activity and that teachers who think at higher levels produce students who are higher achieving, more cooperative, and better problem solvers. It is the invisible skills of teaching, the thinking processes that underlie instructional decisions, which produce superior instruction. Cognitive CoachingSM is a research-based model which capitalizes upon and enhances teachers' cognitive processes.

Click on Cognitive Coaching Website to learn more about coaching.

=The Wonder of Boys / The Wonder of Girls=

A few years back, I was talking with Tom Pado (last years MS Principal) about the differences between boys and girls. He brought Michael Gurian to my attention and now that I am expecting a child of my own, his books have again springed into my conciousness.

If you are interested in understanding more about the uniqueness of boys or girls and their brain development, bio-chemistry, and societal (family, friends, media) influences, then consider reading anyone of Michael Gurian's books. Tom had two daughters and found //The Wonder of Girls: Understanding// the Hidden Nature of our Daughters particularly thought provoking. This book has two interesting chapters which he found to be interesting- "The Artful Mother" and "The Gifts of a Father".

Michael Gurian is a family therapist, corporate consultant, lecturer and the New York Times bestselling author of twenty five books published in twenty one languages. The Gurian Institute, which he co-founded, conducts research internationally, launches pilot programs and trains professionals. Michael has been called "the people's philosopher" for his ability to bring together people's ordinary lives and scientific ideas.

He has pioneered efforts to bring neuro-biology and brain research into homes, schools, corporations, and public policy. A number of his ground-breaking books in child development, including THE MINDS OF BOYS, THE WONDER OF GIRLS, THE WONDER OF BOYS, BOYS AND GIRLS LEARN DIFFERENTLY!, and NURTURE THE NATURE have sparked national debate.

=Positive Discipline=

//Positive Discipline// authored by Jane Nelsen, are a series well known books that provides parents and teachers with very concrete approaches and strategies to disciplining children of all ages. Many of the underlying values and beliefs about behavior, effective communication, and discipline contained in the book may challenge some of our beliefs about the needs of children at different ages. There are a few copies of her books in the library if you wish to do some reading. If you wish to explore this approach further, then click on Positive Discipline Website to see the array of books offered and access to their website.