The Child Whisperer

Over the past ten years I have been struck by how Dr. Maria Montessori's understanding of the child was so powerful. It inspired me to express her gift in an article I wrote that was recently published in Montessori Life. Here is the article, "The Child Whisperer."

Manage or Lead? Do Both.

Here's something for all educators to think about whether leading colleagues or modeling for students.

This great quote comes from Erika Andersen's article in Forbes, "Manage or Lead? Do Both."

"Great leaders and great managers listen well, are curious, manage their self-talk, and hold themselves accountable for moving the business forward."

Grandparent Advice

  Stumbling upon this Brian Crane comic on the "Pickles" section of the ArcaMax website,  I asked, "Could this really happen?"  ; )

Learning Flows When Kids Are in Their Element

I write a column for Public School Montessorian, a quarterly publication for "ideas and information intended to improve the lives of children and adults with public Montessori programs." My most recent column, "Learning Flows When Kids Are in Their Element" talks about children being in their element when it comes to learning what interests them.

Technology Expanding

In her book, Cathy N. Davidson author of Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn quoted from "Exactly How Much Are the Times A-Changin?" Newsweek, July 26, 2010, (p. 56).

"By one recent accounting, in the last decade we've gone from 12 billion e-mails sent each day to 247 billion e-mails, from 400,000 text messages to 4.5 billion, from 2.7 hours a week spent online to 18 hours a week online."

A Beautiful Kindness

Why Teach Kindness

In his book Flourish, author Martin Seligman says "we scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise we have tested."

Here is a beautiful quote from Aung San Suu Kyi to share with students and adults: 

"Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in the world."  Kindness she said, "can change the lives of people."

(This was reported in the NYTimes on June 17, 2012 the day after Aung San Suu Kyi accepted her Nobel Peace Prize, which was originally awarded to her in 1991 while under house arrest in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.)

How the Internet Works

What was life like without the Internet—for teachers, parents and our children? Coincidentally, I happened upon this YouTube video AND a piece that aired on WNYC/NPR,  "A Journey to the Internet Through Telecom's Past."

Watch the video then listen to the WNYC/NPR clip; both overlap nicely.

Memory After 60

"I can’t remember that song. I grew up with it; I should know it by heart."

"What was that author’s name? I just read her latest book."

"I can’t remember anything . . . like now, what’s your name? Only kidding, dear; how could I ever forget your name after 35 years of marriage?"


Until I read “Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain” by Sara Reistad-Long in a past issue of Sunday’s NYTimes, I was getting pretty critical of what I remember or do not. Whether you are 30, thinking about your parents, or 60, thinking about yourself, read what the research is saying about . . . ah . . . let me go back and read the article.

The Other Wes Moore

Wes Moore's NYTimes bestseller The Other Wes Moore is a must-read book for teachers, parents, and students. Having read the book and hearing the author speak at a diversity conference inspired me in so many ways — one of which was to present each of this year's graduates with a copy for their summer reading. Check it out. You won't be sorry.

Flourish with GRIT - 2 of 2

In Flourish, Seligman uses the equation: achievement = skill x effort where effort is the noncognitive ingredient and self-disciline is the character trait that engenders deliberate practice.

Angela Duckworth, a protege of Seligman, gives great advice on resilience and GRIT. She wanted to find out how self-discipline compares with IQ in predicting who will succeed. Here is Duckworth talking about GRIT. Take the time to hear what she has to say.

Flourish with Flourish - 1 of 2

I was first introduced to positive psychology when I heard Shawn Achor speak at a conference (Be sure to watch his TEDx Talk). I remember him mentioning a mentor of his, Martin Seligman, who is the founder of positive psychology. Now, after reading Flourish, Seligman's excellent book that presents, kindness, psychology from a positive point of view, happiness, well-being, meaning and purpose, and grit with lots of research-based data, I am convinced that it is the best way to navigate life for students and adults.

You might also want to view Seligman's TED Talk.

Please Don't Throw Math Under the Bus

Here is "Please Don't Throw Math Under the Bus," an article I wrote and is published in the Summer 2012 Independent School magazine. See if you agree with what the article says.

Learning About Diversity

Yesterday, a "pod" of 12 from my school, consisting of students, alumnae/i, teachers, parents, diversity coordinators, administrators, and trustees worked with 22 other school pods from the New York City independent school community to collaborate on building diversity in our schools. 

The full-day event hosted by The Dalton School held two highlights for me: hearing author Wes Moore talk about his NYTimes bestseller book The Other Wes Moore and listening to student participants present their reflections through poems, letters, and essays on

What diversity means to me . . .

My ideal school . . . 

Dearest School . . . 

Who am I . . . 

Three main things schools must address in diversity . . . 

2012 Summer Reading

Each summer our faculty and staff read a book from a collection chosen by our professional development committee. Here is a link to the post that displays the books that the committee chose last year.

This year the committee chose to focus on Dr. Maria Montessori, her life and work. Here are the books from which we can choose.


Children Who Are Not Yet Peaceful - Donna Brynt Goertz
Maria Montessori: A Biography - Rita Kramer
Montessori Learning in the 21st Century - M. Shannon Helfrich, Andre Roberfroid 
The Secret of Childhood - Maria Montessori

Recipe for Anxiety

Here is a link to one of my articles, which is a recipe for anxiety, but don't worry, there is also a recipe for support soufflé, which is much more comforting for youngsters and young adults. 

You choose the recipe that fits your family situation.

Joey Pigsa

When I asked our school librarian if there was a book about children taking medication, she pointed at the book Joey Pigsa Loses Control, and that was my first introduction to author Jack Gantos. There is a whole Pigsa series, but this book is about 11-year old Joey who has to deal with ADD, and while visiting his father, Joey stops taking his medication. Gantos is also the author of the Rotten Ralph series.

Trust the Students

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to see John Hunter's film "World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements" at a theater in Manhattan. The viewing was followed by a Q&A with John, film producer and director Chris Farina, and The Martin Institute for Teaching Excellence sponsor, Jamie Baker. 

Much like Montessori education, John's message, which came through loud and clear in his movie, was: Trust the students. You can click on my previous posts to learn more about this amazing man.

World Peace

A Voice in Technology

5 Misunderstandings About Bullying

You'll want to read Dr. Danah Boyd's excellent article from the Wall Street Journal about bullying. Here are the beginnings of the five misunderstandings:

1. Bullies usually aren't the source of the problem . . . 
2. Not all meanness and cruelty is bullying . . . 
3. "Cyberbullying" has become an unnecessary distraction . . .
4.  When a child has been hurt, people want someone—or something—to blame . . .
5. Most anti-bullying assemblies are ineffective . . .

Between Now and Feed

Technology keeps exploding daily with amazing, new ideas. I think about the evolution of textbooks (printed, e-texts, and publish your own); music (vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs, and MP3s); home movies (8mm, VHS, Flip HD cameras); and telephones (rotary, wireless, cellphone, Smartphone). You get the idea.

Will we ever get to what M. T. Anderson writes about in his futuristic, young adult book, Feed? I think so.

In case you have not seen Google Project Glass, click here to read and view the amazing video, "Project Glass: One day . . ."

From desktop computers, to laptops, to Smartphones, to glasses, to eventually a direct feed to our brains?

9-Year Old?

If you are not one of the 1.6 million (as of this posting) viewers of "Caine's Arcade" and you love seeing talented 9-year olds, check out this beautiful video. It's worthy of viewing at a faculty meeting. There's more info about Caine Monroy at his website.

Bully

There is a lot of hype regarding the documentary film "Bully" that will premier this Friday. Part of the rise in publicity is the rating it received from the Motion Picture Association of America. The R rating was assigned because of the real-life profanity used by children in the movie. Filmmakers struggled with the MPAA on whether to release their film as "unrated" or PG-13.

Having spent many years in middle school education, there is no doubt about how preadolescent/adolescent children can treat each other. Check out my July 11, 2009 post on bullying.

I suspect that the film will have an impact on educators and parents but may leave our children continually mired in the pitfalls of growing up. Here's the trailer . . .

Inspiration for Students, Teachers, & Parents

So, you say you've had a bad day? When that happens, click on the video below to see and hear Rohan Murphy's story.

Smart v. Healthy

As I read management and leadership consultant Patrick Lencioni's latest book The Advantage, I find it so eloquent when he states that teams/organizations need two requirements for success—"smart" and "healthy."


"Smart" includes

• strategy
• marketing
• finance
• technology

"Healthy" includes

• minimal politics
• minimal confusion
• high morale
• high productivity
• low turnover

He goes on to say "if someone were to press me on which of the two characteristics of an organization, intelligence or health, should receive first priority, I would say without hesitation that health comes out a clear number one."

Center of the Story of the Universe

I never heard of Brian Swimme until I heard him speak at the AMS Annual Conference in San Francisco. His work on the universe is unbelievable and a challenge to wrap your arms around. Check out this trailer to his movie "Journey of the Universe":

Working with Heads and Boards

I had a wonderful opportunity to present at the American Montessori Society (AMS) Annual Conference in San Francisco last week. Here are the slides I used in my presentation, "Fostering Relationships Between Heads of Schools & Boards of Trustees."

Ams Heads-Boards Session 5 March 2012

Shame and Vulnerability

One of the keynote addresses I attended at the American Montessori Society (AMS) Annual Conference in San Francisco was by Dr. Brené Brown, presenting her work and analysis on shame and vulnerability. Here is her excellent TED Talk

Benefits in Failure?

"The Benefits of Failure" by Peter DeWitt in EdWeek's Blog "Finding Common Ground" is an excellent perspective on kids and failure. It is a perfect follow up to my article "Rethinking the 'F' Word" that I wrote for Independent School magazine back in the fall of 2008.

Small to Big <-> Big to Small - Take 2

In my March 17, 2010 post I introduced readers to the video "Powers of Ten." Here is a phenomenal interactive site where you can control getting from small to big and big to small. Try "The Scale of the Universe 2" by Cary Huang.

That's a Family!

If you ever think about family structure, you will want to view this trailer to "That's a Family!" a documentary that presents all kinds of families in a beautiful light. To learn more, check out the GROUNDSPARK website.