9 Things Educators Need to Know About the Brain:
More Friends = Bigger Brain:
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/more_friends_bigger_brain
Educational Technology – The Pros and Cons of Having it in Our Classrooms (Written by My Amazing Colleague and Friend):
The Child + The Table + The Developing Mind:
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/disruptions-what-does-a-tablet-do-to-the-childs-mind/
E.L. Konigsburg, author of “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” has passed away. I highly recommend this book!
Obituaries:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/books/e-l-konigsburg-author-is-dead-at-83.html?ref=design
Good Discussion Questions – To Be Used With “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler”:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/mixed-files-mrs-basil-e-frankweiler-discussion-guide
Great article about this from the NYTimes:
April is National Poetry Month. Here is a great article to get you excited about poetry:
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/03/11/how-to-enjoy-poetry/
On learning from your mistakes:
http://bigthink.com/think-tank/jonah-lehrer-on-learning-from-mistakes?page=all
I saw a wonderful film last week about the power of educating girls across our planet. (Thank you, Tiffany Shlain for organizing it.) I will be seeing this amazing film again tomorrow (It’s that good!) and supporting Room to Read. Please find this movie in your neck of the woods and see it. We all need to gather and create more change for our fellow female friends.
“Girl Rising” Web Site:
“Girl Rising” Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJsvklXhYaE
“Girl Rising” Review:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/movies/girl-rising-by-richard-e-robbins.html
Another Review of “Girl Rising”:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-e-robbins/girl-rising-girls-education_b_2829029.html
Tiffany Shlain’s Web Site:
Room to Read’s Web Site:
We need to continue to educate ourselves on bullying – learning and applying strategies for prevention and teaching tolerance of differences. I found this moving TED Talk to be powerful and uplifting. There is a spoken word poem with visuals mid-way through. I’d recommend sharing that part with your children and/or students, ages 12 and up.
The TED Talk on Bullying – “The Beautiful and the Bullied”:
http://www.ted.com/talks/shane_koyczan_to_this_day_for_the_bullied_and_beautiful.html?quote=2079
Shane Koyczan’s Web Site:
I think many of us struggle with asking for what we need – really need. Here is another great TED talk on the art of asking – with truth and vulnerability. The talk gave me courage and inspiration to keep learning to be assertive.
The Art of Asking (With Amanda Palmer):
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/03/04/amanda-palmer-on-the-art-of-asking-ted/
On Teaching/Being an Introvert in the Classroom:
On Caring for Your Introvert:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/302696/
The last book I read when I cried, truly cried (tears soaked into pages crying) was “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein when I was a little girl. Well, I have now found a new book that broke my heart (in a good way). It is called, “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. I can’t say enough about the quality of writing – descriptive, eloquent, moving, and “real” (despite it being fiction). I enjoyed this book as a teacher – to share with my students (ages 15 and up) – but also as an adult. I recommend it for young adults AND adults.
I want to remind everyone that checking on the age appropriateness of novels is essential in teaching and in parenting. I read all of the books I have my students read and I always consult “Common Sense Media” and the publishers’ web sites to learn more about the suggested age and content issues related to each book.
More Information on “The Fault of Our Stars”:
http://johngreenbooks.com/questions-about-the-fault-in-our-stars-spoilers/
http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780525478812,00.html
Common Sense Media’s Web Site (To Check on Appropriate Movies and Books for Youngsters):
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/
Newbery Award Winner for 2013 – Another Great Book – “The One and Only Ivan”:
http://theoneandonlyivan.com/book/
Newbery Honor Award Books for 2013 – Other Good Reads:
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal
This is one of the best articles (from The Atlantic) I have read in a long while, explaining the meaningful life vs. the happy one.
The Article – There’s More to Life Than Being Happy:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-happy/266805/
Favorite Lines from the Article:
Meaning is not only about transcending the self, but also about transcending the present moment — which is perhaps the most important finding of the study, according to the researchers. While happiness is an emotion felt in the here and now, it ultimately fades away, just as all emotions do; positive affect and feelings of pleasure are fleeting. The amount of time people report feeling good or bad correlates with happiness but not at all with meaning.
Meaning, on the other hand, is enduring. It connects the past to the present to the future. “Thinking beyond the present moment, into the past or future, was a sign of the relatively meaningful but unhappy life,” the researchers write. “Happiness is not generally found in contemplating the past or future.” That is, people who thought more about the present were happier, but people who spent more time thinking about the future or about past struggles and sufferings felt more meaning in their lives, though they were less happy.
12 Steps to Happiness (easy to “master” steps):
http://www.purposefairy.com/7669/12-scientifically-proven-steps-to-happiness/
How to be Happy at Work (It is possible!):
http://www.fastcompany.com/3003982/formula-creating-happiness-work
What do teens need to be content – to learn, to grow, to get back up on the horse?
The Article – What do Teens Need?
http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/raising_happiness/post/what_teens_need?
Favorite Lines from the Article
Just as kids who don’t get enough sleep are at greater risk for depression, anxiety, and a whole host of things we don’t want for them, kids who don’t have opportunities to take positive risks—like a chance at a game-winning shot, or to play in a band in front of their peers—often take negative risks that land them in the hospital, in trouble with the law, or even worse. They do the “stupid” things that teens are known for.
Sometimes, teens need opportunities to leap despite the odds that they will fall down. Teens need adults who are involved enough to create those “carefully calibrated opportunities for failure,” and who are brave enough to let them fail, so that they might learn to get up on their own.
Great Way to Start the New Year… Read Elie Wiesel’s Lessons on Love and “Light”:
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/10-Lessons-of-Love-and-Light-from-Elie-Wiesel_1/1
Martha Beck’s Advice on KEEPING New Year’s Resolutions:
http://www.oprah.com/money/How-To-Keep-New-Years-Resolutions-Martha-Beck-Life-Coach-Advice_1
Brene Brown’s Parenting Manifesto… (Thank you, Tiffany Shlain for Recommending the Article!):
Tiffany Shlain’s Website (Subscribe to Tiffany’s Awesome Newsletter!):
The Whole 30 Daily – Great PDF List for New Goal Setting:
https://daily.whole9life.com/email_images/pdf/whole30-goal-sheet-day-0.pdf
In reflecting on 2012 and feeling you may have “failed” in certain areas, read this article and have a better perspective on failure and how to grow from it.
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Failures-Worth-Having-Failures-Everyone-Should-Have
