Sunday, November 25, 2012

Why Online Education Works

Professor at George Mason University and Co-Founder of MRUniversity.com, Alex Tabarrok, thoughtfully lays out the advantages of online education.  While the article is mostly focused on post-secondary education, many of his arguments can apply equally well to k-12 IMHO.

http://www.cato-unbound.org/2012/11/12/alex-tabarrok/why-online-education-works/


Thursday, May 31, 2012

Nice piece about a guy's hero's journey, and some interesting thoughts about nurturing talent:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303674004577434550791785644.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Monday, May 14, 2012

"How to Beat the Odds at Judging Risk"

This short article reminded me of the topic brought up at the recent parents' meeting.  In a nutshell:  Risk Intelligence can be improved by learning probability and statistics.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304451104577392270431239772-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwMzExNDMyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email

Sunday, April 15, 2012

WSJ Article Today - Educating the Next Steve Jobs

It appears Acton's approach is right on the mark per this author. I'm curious if anyone has read Tony Wagner's book: "Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World." Please comment if you do/don't recommend it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577337790086673050.html?mod=WeekendHeader_Rotator

Monday, March 26, 2012

on character

good snack for thought with morning coffee

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/character-and-its-discontents/?hp

Thursday, March 22, 2012

next year, statistics

we can begin to prepare for that with this entertaining article:
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2012/03/18/a-fun-diy-science-goodie-proof-yourself-against-sensationalized-stats/

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

re power


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/21/science/the-snails-of-war-and-other-robotics-experiments.html?_r=1

I'm hoping the scientists and engineers perfect the electric snail before the electric cockroach... our local water bugs strike me as plenty energetic already.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Heroic Imagination Project

I happened upon this Wired article about a Stanford professor's project to teach middle schoolers about social psychology and create the next generation of American heroes. It's an interesting take on developing heroism in young people.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/the-hero-project/

Monday, March 5, 2012

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

I just watched this fantastic documentary about Kevin Cash, the puppeteer responsible for the character of Elmo. It is a fascinating story about the journey he took to actualize his childhood dream of becoming a puppeteer on Sesame Street. I was completely transfixed the entire time. Beautiful and truly inspiring.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Curiosity Propels Student to Learn 11+ Languages

I enjoyed this video by Alex Rawlings on his love of learning languages. I had a similar upbringing as his -- a mother who spoke Portuguese and a father in international business. These influences sparked my curiosity early. Before I left my PhD program in Slavic Linguistics I knew well over 20 languages and had multiple job offers from the CIA. Product of a super intellect? Not really. As Alex rightly admits, the more languages you know, the easier it gets.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17107435

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Danil Trifonov: Dedicated to Learning

An interesting article for pianists -- as well as for those curious about excellence. Danil Trifonov is currently THE top classical pianist in the world, having won a string of important competitions in the last year, topped off by a win at the Olympics of piano, The Tchaikovsky International Competition (which -- if you recall -- Van Cliburn won at the height of the Cold War). He has reached the pinnacle of his profession, however, Trifonov still speaks about finding opportunities for growth and the importance of prioritizing learning.

http://www.chron.com/life/article/Pianist-Daniil-Trifonov-dedicated-to-learning-3344591.php

Here is Trifonov playing a popular virtuoso piece by Liszt. Just watch the fingers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5Qsd0k4ZY

Catch him in Houston tomorrow night if you can!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Developing Self-Control

I enjoyed this article about building self-control. As a parent, I find that teaching my children "how to be" is my most challenging and most valuable role. I agree with the author that "the key is to harness the child’s own drives." We can create an environment for them to succeed in, but ultimately, they need to believe that the pursuit of excellence is worth it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/opinion/sunday/building-self-control-the-american-way.html?ref=opinion

Friday, February 10, 2012

how do we define excellence?

Chapter three of An Ethic of Excellence, one of the books Jeff gave out at the last parents' lunch meeting, offers a pretty stunning vision of what excellence can look like in students' work and how to achieve it. The whole book is valuable, but for those pressed for time that chapter in particular is highly recommended.

Monday, February 6, 2012

sibling relationships

Today I realized that, although we have done research to add dimension to our intuition and experiential understanding of parenting (especially when our kids were babies, and most especially when we were becoming first time parents), it's been awhile since I've read up on parenting strategies that would resonate with our current life situation. Our sons have a special and amazing relationship, but as they grow and change I'm feeling like it's the right time to check in on what knowledge and information are floating about regarding nurturing the sibling bond. Is it very different if the siblings are same gander or different gender? Not sure; Matt and I were both raised with sister(s) and no brothers, so this boy world seems a little exotic.
Does anyone have book - or other- recommendations?
Here's an example in the form of a blog (that may no longer exist) that outlined some obvious stuff- but if you're like me, the obvious is an outstretched hand I will gratefully grab in moments of feeling overwhelmed.
http://raisingbrothers.tumblr.com/

on teaching patience and delayed gratification

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204740904577196931457473816.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Luminarium

This looks intriguing.

http://www.thelongcenter.org/architects_of_air.aspx

Thursday, January 5, 2012

a 13 year old's science experiment

good story about curiosity, inspiration, taking risks and making mistakes

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550304577138511287470508.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_RIGHTTopCarousel_1