"A Global Day of Play"

A Global Day of Play
Enjoy this follow-up to "Caine's Arcade!"

"Cultivating a Lifelong Learner: the Private-School Advantage" by Douglas Lyons


	By Douglas J. Lyons, Ed.D., Executive Director, Connecticut Association of Independent Schools

	Flashback to 1980: A mother takes her 10-year-old daughter Melissa to a pediatric group practice for a check-up. She is disappointed to learn that the exam will be conducted by the 35-year-old junior partner. She was hoping that Melissa would be seen by the 65-year-old senior physician, whom she believes has more medical knowledge and vast experience. Flash forward to 2012: 42-year-old Melissa takes her young son Jack to a pediatric group. She is disappointed to learn that the 62-year-old senior physician will be examining Jack. She was hoping that he would be seen by the 33-year-old partner, whom she believes has skill and medical knowledge that is more current and innovative. In 1968, the scholar Marshall McLuhan made a prediction that has proved to be clairvoyant: “The future will not be about earning a living, it will be about learning a living.” McLuhan issued the prophesy at a time when most students graduating from law, medical, dental, engineering and other professional schools had reasonable expectations that they were prepared for a long career in their respective professions. That assurance is not even an illusion today. Technology and the proliferation of knowledge guarantee that all workers will be retraining throughout their careers. A generation ago, a student who graduated from high school with a neutral or negative disposition toward learning new things, collaborating with others and seeking intellectual challenges would be at a competitive disadvantage. In the 21st-century workplace, that same disposition will no longer be a mere disadvantage. It will be an career disability. Read more ... http://www.caisct.org/RelId/633589/ISvars/default/Connecticut_Magazine_2012.htm

"Ten Historic Female Scientists You Should Know" by Sarah Zielinski

Ten Historic Female Scientists You Should Know

Before Marie Curie, these women dedicated their lives to science and made significant advances

By Sarah Zielinski
Smithsonian.com, September 20, 2011, Subscribe

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While Marie Curie dominates the conversation but there have been many other brilliant women who have pursued science over the years.
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"For Young Athletes, Good Reasons to Break the Fast-Food Habit" by Sindya N. Bhanoo

September 14, 2012, 11:15 am

For Young Athletes, Good Reasons to Break the Fast-Food Habit

By SINDYA N. BHANOO

Fast food is a popular choice for a post-game celebration.

When I ran high school cross-country 14 years ago, the bus that took us to meets always stopped at a Wendy’s or McDonald’s after the event. Most of the team would order some variation of burgers, fries and a big soda. It was fast, easy and satisfying.
Things haven’t changed much for young athletes, according to a recent study in The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
Toben Nelson, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, and his colleagues interviewed 60 parents of youth athletes, ages 6 to 13, in Minneapolis and its suburbs. They found that parents brought post-game snacks for the team that typically included such items as candy, ice cream, doughnuts, pizza, cheese puffs, chips, even something called ‘‘taco in a bag.” They also said that stopping at fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s and Dairy Queen or grabbing a hot dog and a sugary sports drink at the concession stand during a meet was the norm.
‘‘Generally, it’s not what you would consider healthy,” one parent told the researchers. “It’s more of the things that the kids want to eat.”
For growing adolescents, a big meal after a tough game or race is necessary to replenish the body, said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University. And since they burn a lot of calories, they also need a fair amount of fat and protein.

Read more ...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/14/for-young-athletes-good-reasons-to-break-the-fast-food-habit/?hpw

"The Young Person's Guide to the (Smartphone) Orchestra" by Kit Eaton

App Smart

The Young Person’s Guide to the (Smartphone) Orchestra

By KIT EATON

Published: August 15, 2012

When I was a toddler, my parents introduced me to music-making through a cheap plastic recorder. Later came a secondhand violin and the tireless efforts of my school’s choir teacher. It was all fun, even if I found it so hard to learn violin the “traditional” way. All I could produce for ages was a horrid squeaking.

I’ve nevertheless loved music ever since, and happily my two children seem to have inherited the same passion. Nowadays there’s a technological trick for getting them to play music, one that gives them the different sounds that an orchestra of instruments can make: smartphones and tablets.

"Do You Let Your Kids Watch TV Before School?" by Sierra Filucci

Do You Let Your Kids Watch TV Before School?

9 ways to get your kids out of the house faster.

by Sierra Filucci | Sep. 13, 2012 | Family media management

Getting kids dressed, fed, and ready for school might sound easy, but we all know the reality isn't so simple. A missing shoe or a sock that doesn't "feel right" can turn an entire morning routine on its ear. Add in TV shows, video games, and iPad tug-of-wars, and a peaceful start to your family's day is down the tube.

In my house, we've experimented with every possible morning media rule. But when my kids' teachers requested that parents keep the TV off before school, our rules got much simpler: No electronics at all in the morning. The trickiest part of that equation for us is managing to get two adults ready without the easy distraction of TV to keep the kids out of our hair.

Read more ... http://www.commonsensemedia.org/new/do-you-let-your-kids-watch-tv-before-school

"J. K. Rowling Launches Harry Potter Book Club Online" (Reuters)

J.K. Rowling launches Harry Potter book club online

Author J.K. Rowling and her husband Neil Murray sit on Centre Court at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth

NEW YORK | Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:57pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Author J.K. Rowling launched an online book club for young readers on Tuesday and will appear in a live global webcast in October from Edinburgh, Scotland, to speak with her fans about the magical world of Harry Potter.Rowling's U.S. publisher, Scholastic, which developed the Harry Potter Reading Club website, said it will be a destination for fans of the British boy wizard and a tool for parents and teachers who want to set up book clubs to introduce children to the joys of reading.
"Scholastic has been in conversation with educators, librarians and other book lovers about ideas for bringing the Harry Potter books to new readers in exciting and different ways," Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade, said in a statement announcing the club.
"The Harry Potter Reading Club is a direct response to that feedback and provides an entry point through which the thrill of these books can be shared with new generations of Harry Potter fans both within and beyond the classroom."
Thomsonreuters.com

"Perfect Play Date: How to Set Rules Without Looking like a Control Freak" by Sierra Filucci

Perfect Play Date

How to set rules without looking like a control freak.

by Sierra Filucci | Jul. 9, 2012 | Family media management

Recently I was stuck without a babysitter when an important event came up. I reached out to friends on Facebook, and someone was generous enough to watch my kids at the last minute. But when I picked them up, I found out that they'd spent the entire time watching movies and playing video games.

I don't have a problem with a movie or video game here and there, but I've found that too much of either makes my kids a little nutty. And some of the movies they'd watched at my friend's house made me feel uncomfortable, too.

Read more ... http://www.commonsensemedia.org/new/perfect-play-date

"Don't Prevent Students' Mistakes, Prepare for Them" by David Ginsburg

Don't Prevent Students' Mistakes, Prepare for Them

By David Ginsburg on January 2, 2012 6:39 PM

It's common knowledge that people can learn as much from their mistakes as anything. And yet traditional teaching methods often deny students the chance to learn from their mistakes by preventing them from making mistakes.

In social studies and science, for example, a lot of teachers tell students how to scale and label their axes when plotting data on a line graph. This prevents students from mistakenly assigning the dependent variable to the x-axis and the independent variable to the y-axis, or running out of room on their paper by going with ones or tens for their scales instead of hundreds or thousands.

Setting students up for success like this may seem like the right thing to do. After all, why let kids experience the frustration of botching something when you can prevent it? Here's why: such frustration is a precursor to deep, lasting learning. That's right, students' grasp of new concepts and skills is often better when they struggle through the process of learning those concepts and skills than when teachers error-proof that process.

Read more ...

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/coach_gs_teaching_tips/2012/01/dont_prevent_students_mistakes_prepare_for_them.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+edweek%2Fcoachg+%28Coach+G%E2%80%99s+Teaching+Tips%29

"Early Music Lessons have Longtime Benefits" by Perri Klass, M.D.

Early Music Lessons Have Longtime Benefits

By PERRI KLASS, M.D.

When children learn to play a musical instrument, they strengthen a range of auditory skills. Recent studies suggest that these benefits extend all through life, at least for those who continue to be engaged with music.
But a study published last month is the first to show that music lessons in childhood may lead to changes in the brain that persist years after the lessons stop.
Researchers at Northwestern University recorded the auditory brainstem responses of college students — that is to say, their electrical brain waves — in response to complex sounds. The group of students who reported musical training in childhood had more robust responses — their brains were better able to pick out essential elements, like pitch, in the complex sounds when they were tested. And this was true even if the lessons had ended years ago.

Read more ...

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/10/early-music-lessons-have-longtime-benefits/

"How to Raise a Reader" by Regan McMahon

How to Raise a Reader

by Regan McMahon | Aug. 15, 2012 | Family media management, Educational issues

Kids become lifelong readers for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes there's one key book that captures a kid's imagination and opens him or her up to the exciting world of fiction. Other times, a teacher who assigns great books in class sparks a hunger for more big ideas and fine writing. In some cases, parents influence kids' appreciation of books by sharing their own love of literature and modeling reader behavior -- always having a book to read, taking books on vacation, reading before bedtime, making regular trips to the library and bookstore, etc.
Here are our best tips for nurturing a love of reading that can last a lifetime:

Read more ...

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/new/how-raise-reader

"10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety" by Caroline Knorr

10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety

Get the parents' guide to Internet safety. We've covered everything you ever wanted to know but were afraid to ask!

by Caroline Knorr | May. 15, 2012 | Internet safety

Wondering how to keep the Internet safe and fun? Learn how to:

find the good stuff (and avoid the not-so-good)
explain how to recognize ads
teach responsible online behavior
encourage digital citizenship

"Managing a Child's Allowance, the Online Version" by Ron Lieber

Managing a Child’s Allowance, the Online Version

By RON LIEBER

Published: September 7, 2012

Giving children an allowance always seems like a good idea at first. But just try following through in practice.

Robert Neubecker

You need to remember to get exact change each week, which may not be easy if you bank online and need a pile of singles. You have to remember to hand over the money to the child on the designated day. You need someplace to put the money — but alas, most piggy banks are terrible, with tiny compartments you can’t see into to get any sense of how the money is piling up.

"Toddler Spatial Knowledge Boosts Understanding of Numbers" (University of Chicago)

Science News

... from universities, journals, and other research organizations

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Toddler Spatial Knowledge Boosts Understanding of Numbers

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2012) — Children who are skilled in understanding how shapes fit together to make recognizable objects also have an advantage when it comes to learning the number line and solving math problems, research at the University of Chicago shows.

The work is further evidence of the value of providing young children with early opportunities in spatial learning, which contributes to their ability to mentally manipulate objects and understand spatial relationships, which are important in a wide range of tasks, including reading maps and graphs and understanding diagrams showing how to put things together. Those skills also have been shown to be important in Science Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

Scholars at UChicago have shown, for instance, that working with puzzles and learning to identify shapes are connected to improved spatial understanding and better achievement, particularly in geometry. A new paper, however, is the first to connect robust spatial learning with better comprehension of other aspects of mathematics, such as arithmetic.

Read more ...

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120613102005.htm

"Victor Wooten: Music as a Language"

Victor Wooten: Music as a Language

"Singapore Math Demystified"

"Singapore Math Demystified!"

Singapore Math Demystified!

Singapore Math:

Can It Help Solve Our Country's Math-phobia?

Editor's Note: Due to the interest expressed over our previous posts about Singapore Math and the non-Singaporean-specific classic, "Why Our Kids Don't Get Math" here, The Daily Riff is featuring an exclusive original four-part series by Bill Jackson, Math Helping Teacher, Scarsdale, NY Public Schools, one of the highest performing districts in the country.

We asked Bill to share his truly incredible (which is both humbling and exhilarating) global journey into math education from Singapore to Japan and back again to the United States in an original series for The Daily Riff. His posts are becoming classics in the Singapore Math lexicon. - C.J. Westerberg

How I Became Interested In Singapore MathPart 1

By Bill Jackson

In 1997, I attended a series of workshops on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). That study compared math achievement in over 40 countries in grades 4, 8 and 12. Singapore and a handful of East Asian countries performed extremely well, much better than the United States, which had a mediocre performance. I was an 8th grade teacher at Public School No. 2 in Paterson, New Jersey at the time.

At the workshop we watched videotapes of mathematics classrooms from Japan, Germany and the U.S. The U.S. lesson looked very familiar. The teacher showed his students how to do a procedure and then they practiced while the teacher helped individual students. The Japanese lesson looked very different, however. The teacher began the lesson by posing a rich problem. Then the students solved the problem based on what they had learned previously and shared different solution methods. Important mathematical points of the lesson were brought out through class discussion of the various methods. The students looked very engaged and they even clapped for each other. After watching the video, I felt that my students were getting shortchanged and I became determined to learn how to teach like that Japanese teacher!

"The Whole Against the Sky; the new art of separation"

The Whole Against the SkyThe new art of separation (how schools can help guide parents)
Wendy Mogel
Winter 2012

During the first two days of kindergarten, a girl sobs. On day three, she dials it down to sniffling and decides to join four other students at the clay table. Her teacher overhears this conversation:

Boy: Why are you crying?

Girl: Because I miss my Mommy.

Boy: We all miss our mommies.

This normalizing of emotion through the provision of context has an apparently good effect. The girl nods, albeit with a look of resignation. The next morning, for the first time, she hugs her mom and says goodbye without protest.

The boy, our separation guru, grasps an essential truth. Growing-up is hard, but also necessary and unavoidable, so we might as well accept it and get down to the business of making snakes out of clay. T’was ever thus and always thus will be… except, of course, that times change, and leave-taking these days takes on greater complexity and nuance — which means that independent schools face new challenges in helping children make a smooth separation from their home and their parents.

Read more ... http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?Itemnumber=155940&sn.ItemNumber=145956

"About that App Gap: Children, Technology and the Digital Divide"

About That App Gap: Children, Technology and the Digital Divide

"Technology-handling skills" and "the app gap" are catch phrases among early childhood educators these days. Low-income kids, the argument goes, are disadvantaged by inadequate exposure to tablets and other new technologies. But as Matt Richtel pointed out in the New York Times recently, children from low-income families spend more time handling technology -- across platforms -- than their wealthier counterparts, and across class, kids mainly use their "handling skills" for entertainment. They play games, watch videos, and visit social networking sites. There are documented gaps in the education of low-income children -- for instance, in vocabulary and reading -- but research shows that the time young kids spend with technology takes them away from activities known to be educational -- hands-on creative play and interaction with caring adults.

"The digital divide" was coined in the 1990s to address inequalities in Internet access. Now it's used to push digital technologies on ever younger children. There are tens of thousands of allegedly educational apps on the market for preschoolers. The National Association for the Education of Young Children is working with Hatch, an ed-tech company, and the Fred Rogers Center to encourage the use of digital devices in early childhood settings. Every week we hear about some benefactor donating iPads to needy kindergarten classrooms. While there's scant evidence that anyone but the companies who make, sell, and advertise on these new technologies benefit from the time young children spend with them, there's plenty of reason to be worried about it. I certainly am.

Read more ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-linn/app-gap-and-kids_b_1560784.html