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Resilience is the ability to successfully manage life and adapt to stressful events. Resilience is developed in childhood, when there are loving people available to help during difficult times, but if a child feels alone, resilience is not developed just because challenging things are happening.

Due to recent brain research on neuroplasticity, we know that brains are growing and creating neural pathways during childhood and through adolescence. What's new in this book is the focus on a repetitive practice that strengthens these neural pathways and teaches young people concrete skills to calm themselves and focus their attention.

The interesting part of the connection between stress and learning is that the prefrontal cortex of the brain is the area for paying attention, calming, and focusing as well as the area for short- and long-term memory.

Cindi Rigsbee, for example, makes sure her students know when text language is appropriate and, more important, when it's not. She talks frequently in class about types of writing, the intended reader, and the evolution of language. At the beginning of each school year, she introduces a discussion about the way English has transformed over time. "We look at Old English, Middle English, and what was contemporary English in the time of Jane Eyre. Then I show them a MySpace page."

Finnie's students designed an emergency plan for the home, and an emergency kit. They also created a newspaper, complete with illustrations, that "tells someone who doesn't know anything about earth science all about earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate tectonics how they're all related, and why we have earthquakes." In addition, the students videotaped a five-minute earthquake-safety commercial in the form of a rap song, and victory was theirs.

finished reading a deeply philosophical essay by Isaac Mao from The People’s Republic of China called “Sharism: A mind revolution.”  This essay is part of a collection of essays gathered by Joi Ito  to celebrate the power of Web 2.0 and “all the people who are willing to share.”  It was first brought to my attention by Will Richardson who reflected on Mao’s thoughts in his own blog last week as he lamented that there are still educators out there who are not willing to share their best teaching practices and lessons with others online (Nov. 18, 2008). 

Financial Literacy:Special Report Table of Contents Financial Literacy: Making Sense of Dollars and CentsThe Bucks Start Here: A Hands-On Approach to Personal FinanceHow To: Teach the Soft Side of BusinessTake It to the Bank: Students Learn to Manage Their MoneyMoney Corps: Finance Experts as Guest TeachersEntrepreneurial Education: The Successful Investor ProjectMoney Lessons: A Guide to Financial-Literacy Resources