This short article talks about video games from a different perspective (though not necessarily in reference to schools), but I believe the focus on moderation is an important one
I liked the point in chapter 2 that while we all want to encourage deeper thinking, that's not possible without knowing the facts. I've been pondering what are the best ways to encourage deeper thinking WHILE learning the necessary facts. This page has a lot of good ideas within.
Here's an education/social service organization that uses the arts as a way to educate, counsel and support members of the community. And it's multicultural!
Here is a resource devoted to special education law, education law, and advocacy for children with disabilities. One really great part about this is the "Yellow Pages for Kids" which has contact info for thousands of advocates, consultants, law offices and other resources.
Learned helplessness can apply to both humans and animals. It is particularly applicable for our students, who may have LEARNED that they just cannot grasp math and/or science.
This is a great point, Connor. I wonder how students displaying learned helplessness behaviors compare to students we talked about this summer who choose not to learn. Could they be related? And how could we, as teachers, address this issue when it may be so ingrained in some of our older students?
"The researchers calculated how much of the variation in MCAS scores was due to the school that students attended. For MCAS scores in English, schools accounted for 24 percent of the variation, and they accounted for 34 percent of the math MCAS variation. However, the schools accounted for very little of the variation in fluid cognitive skills - less than 3 percent for all three skills combined."