Wilson has researched why African-American youngsters score lower on Intelligence tests than Caucasians. Since my school job was to give IQ testing, I was fascinated by his research. He confirmed there is no innate difference. He touched on the usual reason given for the lower scores of non-white students. They include poverty, prenatal exposure to […]
Closing the Achievement Gap Read More »
Wilson points out that one of the best ways to reduce prejudice is for students of different races and ethnic backgrounds to work together to solve a problem. He calls this cooperative learning. Although much of his work was with older students than the ones we mentor, I believe this technique could be used successfully with
Reducing Prejudice Read More »
Wilson talks about how adults use rewards and punishments to shape children’s behavior. From his research, he has concluded that both can be effective if used in moderation. He concludes, “Use the minimal sufficiency principle , whereby you dole out rewards and punishments that are strong enough to get your kids to do what you want
Wilson suggests that personal well-being is the byproduct of happiness which results from three ingredients; meaning, hope, and purpose. Wilson has found that people of faith are able to create a personal life narrative that embraces these three ingredients. So what if life events have interrupted a person’s pursuit of these three goals? Wilson suggests the
Happiness- A Spiritual Pursuit Read More »
As promised, we begin a new book study of a Timothy Wilson book entitled Redirect. He is researching the best way to help persons who have experienced a traumatic event. Since my retirement from public education in 1993, I noticed that each time there is a crisis at any public school particularly involving an unexpected
Back to Basics: Decorum and Discipline at School, by Dr. Brad Schwall For the online version of this e-mail, go to: www.coolkidschannel.com/e-tips/decorum How do your children behave at school? Are they respectful? Are they attentive? Are they confident? Encouraging your children to adhere to some simple principles of behavior can help them learn effectively and
Positive School Behavior Read More »
Ratey points out that with the amount of information doubling every few years, it’s easy for anyone to suffer from information overload and get distracted. He says that our brain is designed to make sense of the surrounding environment as it existed 10,000 years ago. Since we live in an age of instant cyber solutions, our
Exercise Increases Attention Span Read More »
I would strongly recommend that you read Chapters 4 & 5 of Ratey’s book if you want documentation of how exercise reduces anxiety and depression. His conclusions include: 1. Psychotherapy and medication remain the two main treatments for anxiety and depression. 2. The chemicals activated in the brain when taking anti depressant medication are the
Exercise- The Magic Cure Read More »
Since brain researchers like Ratey are often accused of looking at the physical aspects of our being at the expense of environmental conditioning, Ratey takes time this week to share research done in the 1960’s that resulted in the formation of head start to overcome environmental delays in children raised in poverty. Research has consistently
Nature vs. Nurture Read More »
A recent article in our local newspaper had this headline, “Strong body, strong mind. Kids who exercise do better in school.” That is the Ratey’s point this week as he says, “When we exercise, we’re also exercising the areas of the brain involved in the full suite of cognitive functions.” Ratey points out that our
Growing Brain Cells Read More »
