Friday, February 27, 2015

Talking About the Birds & the Bees

The previous post was meant to be an introduction to this post. As preadolescent and adolescent kids attempt to figure out the birds and bees and parents try to figure out how to tell their children about the birds and bees, there is an expert who is the best at helping kids and parents understand the birds and bees. Her name is Deborah Roffman!

Read her most recent article to get some insight into her expertise
"Fifty Shades of Blush: Why Is It So Hard to Talk to Kids About Sex?" Better yet, get her to speak at your child's school.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Lessons on Middle Schoolers

I love talking to parents of middle school students. The middle school years are a special challenge to students and their parents.

Listen to this great piece from This American Life, "Act 1: Error at First Base" where Mike Birbiglia does a stand-up routine describing his first kiss in seventh grade and all of the many difficulties kids have at that age around getting to know one another. (Be sure to advance to Act 1)

Friday, February 13, 2015

A Hierarchy of Learning



Originated by Edgar Dale in 1946, his Cone of Experience has taken on many iterations over the years. Nevertheless, I appreciate what it conveys. Read more — "Tales of the Undead . . . Learning Theories: The Learning Pyramid," which is found on the Association of College & Research Libraries' (ACRL) blog.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Impulse Control, Rejection Sensitivity (RS) & Bullying

As you dive deeper into the wealth of information contained in The Marshmallow Test, the more you can understand what underlies bullying, unwanted weight, smoking, anger, AND overall health. Here is an excerpt from this remarkable longitudinal study and book by Columbia University psychologist Walter Mischel.

“THE MOST EXCITING FINDINGS from the marshmallow studies are not the unexpected long-term links between seconds of waiting on the Marshmallow Test and doing well later in life. More impressive is that if we have delay ability and use it, we are better protected from our personal vulnerabilities—such as a predisposition to gain unwanted weight, become angry, feel hurt and rejected, and so on—and can live with these predispositions more constructively. The research that shows how and why self-control has this positive effect has focused on a widespread and pernicious vulnerability called rejection sensitivity (RS), and I turn here to what has been learned about it.


In middle school, high RS children are more easily victimized and bullied by their peers and are lonelier. In the long run, people who are high in this vulnerability continue to experience more rejection, which in time erodes their sense of personal worth and self-esteem, making depression more likely.”