Category Archives: childhood development

Why some teams are smarter than others? Listening, empathy and more women…

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

As we struggle in schools to quantify the very real needs and uses for social emotional learning and self regulation skills as part of an academic skill set, this Op Ed piece hits the right chords! Read on… Why Some … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development, gender studies | Tagged 21st Century Skills, administration, education, teamwork | Leave a comment

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Last week, I had the opportunity to address a few topics with the Parents’ Association. We were slated to discuss the book Free to Learn by Peter Gray. I shared a few slides with quotes from the book and then … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education | Tagged books, educational leadership, K-12 education | Leave a comment

Common Sense Media resources for the Holidays

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

This is just a reminder that as we parents struggle with lots of down time over the holidays and some of the “new technology” our children will receive, do not sacrifice quality to time to read and be with your … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, parenting in 2014 | Tagged 21st Century Skills, education 2014, parenting | Leave a comment

What’s going on inside the brain of a child?

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Lots of valuable insight here into the role of curiosity in the mind of a child as he or she learns at school. If we can harness that curiosity early and often, the results can be inspiring. http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/10/whats-going-on-inside-the-brain-of-a-curious-child/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=linkedin+company+page&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

Posted in childhood development, education, parenting in 2014 | Tagged early childhood education, education 2014, K-12 education, parenting | Leave a comment

Everything I thought I knew about school was validated at Harvard… and there were a few surprises!

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Listening to Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot present The Third Chapter and hear how it applies to our work in schools? Priceless. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/04/i-have-always-been-temperamentally-wired-to-carry-on/

Posted in academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, parenting in 2014 | Tagged diversity, educational leadership, Harvard, HGSE, sara lawrence-lightfoot | Leave a comment

My three days at Harvard Graduate School of Education… Day 2

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Listening to Justin Reich, https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/jreich as we discuss the future of technology in Independent Schools. I have been meaning to blog about the recent NY Times article on whether children benefit from interactive books on tablets to the same extent … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education | Tagged 21st Century Education, disruptive technologies, education 2014, educational leadership, Harvard, Justin Reich, K-12 education | Leave a comment

What a 4 year old really needs to know (as well as what to focus on for parents!)

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

what a four year old needs to know by alicia-bayer This is a great piece on four year olds, and should be a calming influence on parents as well. Thanks, Mr. K., for the suggestion!

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education, parenting in 2014 | Leave a comment

New York Times: Teaching is not a business.

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

This opinion piece in the August 16 New York Times strikes the right cord about the value of good teaching! Tuxedo Park School prides itself on the excellent caliber of our teachers and the close relationships between students and teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education | Leave a comment

Letting Middle Schoolers Take Risks

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

This is a terrific piece on children entering early adolescence and how to help them take risks safely to develop their skills for school and for life. Thanks, Mrs. Frimet, for the link! http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2014/08/20/want-to-keep-your-new-middle-schooler-out-of-trouble-then-let-them-take-risks/

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, education, parenting in 2014 | Leave a comment

Don’t dismiss the humanities… Op Ed by Nicholas Kristoff

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

For those of us who have chosen a career in education, this piece harkens back to what we are most likely to think of as our bread and butter; yes the world and our workplace is a more hospitable host … Continue reading →

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, education | Tagged 21st Century Skills, college process, customization, differentiated learning, education 2014, educational leadership, humanities, independent schools, John Dewey, NAIS TPSeducation | Leave a comment