Category Archives: academic excellence in elementary schools

Atlantic Monthly: How Preschool is crushing children

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Some incredible reminders about the power of childhood, the importance of play and making sure in schools we continue to value childhood with developmentally appropriate curriculum and schedule. This is where we live at Seven Hills. The New Preschool: Atlantic … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development | Tagged character education, early childhood education, seven hills school walnut creek | Leave a comment

Washington Post on Play!

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

There is mounting evidence that allowing children to play and sort out their mini squabbles is great training for problem solving in the short and long terms. The more adults intervene, the more the message implied becomes “You can’t seem … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, parenting, Uncategorized | Tagged child, education, parenting | Leave a comment

Teaching Traditional Ethics in Japanese Schools?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

I have recently become a student of all things Japanese, largely thanks to our Seven Hills Japanese Exchange Program. This is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about culture clashes (between the generations) in Japan. As we prepare … Continue reading →

Posted in academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, leadership in children, Uncategorized | Tagged education, parenting | Leave a comment

Tomorrow marks the release of a new report…

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

New Report on College Admissions about to be released by Harvard’s GSE and Rick Weissbourd! Because the Bay Area Heads had the chance to meet with Denise Pope last week, and she will be speaking at Seven Hills in April, … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, Challenge Success, childhood development, College Admissions, Denise Pope, Harvard's Caring Schools Initiative, Making Caring Common at Harvard, Rick Weissbourd, Seven Hills School, Uncategorized | Tagged Challenge Success, Denise Pope, education, educational leadership, Harvard GSE, Making Caring Common, parenting, Rick Weissbourd, seven hills school walnut creek | Leave a comment

Serendipity and its role in Innovation

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

I am in the middle of visiting a few other schools to see what they are doing with innovation and how they are BUILDING IT into their curriculum. Making room for opportunity and then embracing it when it arrives, we … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education, leadership, new york times, NY Times, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, Uncategorized | Tagged 21st Century Education, 21st Century Skills, education, educational leadership | Leave a comment

The Science of Emotion: Dacher Keltner

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

The first of our Seven Hills School Parent Lecture Series events was a tremendous success! As parents, neighbors and friends of the school exited Hunt Hall, the refrains were resoundingly positive: “I could listen to him all day.” “I’d love him … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, Dacher Keltner UC Berkeley, education, the science of emotion | Tagged 21st century, adolescent development, brain development, character education, Dacher Keltner, Dacher Keltner UC Berkeley, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Parent Speaker Series, the science of Inside Out | Leave a comment

NPR and a conversation about Overparenting.

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

There is plenty of room for adjustment on all sides here. Schools and parents DO need to work together. I feel sure that we could definitely improve how we think about autonomy for students from all angles. NPR: Overparenting?

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development, education | Tagged 21st Century Education, character education, educational leadership, Parenting Teens, seven hills school walnut creek | Leave a comment

KQED’s Mindshift on the Teen Brain…

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Adolescence is a tornado of change: Not only is it the period of fastest physical change in life – aside from infancy I often quote statistics about developmental changes in the middle school years: people change more between 10 and 15 than … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development | Tagged advisory programs, CA, CAIS, Seven Hills Walnut Creek, social emotional development | Leave a comment

Are we sending the right messages about what’s important?

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

After all, college admissions is a beginning, not an ending. This is a serious and honest piece about the damage we unwittingly inflict on children when we focus on the immediate outcome, rather than the long term journey… I think … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development, Uncategorized | Tagged education, high stakes testing, parenting, Seven Hills School | Leave a comment