Sound body, sound mind is not a new concept, but it is one we seem to need some reminders about. Here it is again, made all the more interesting by the new brain scan technology…
children need to move around and that movement does actually not only stimluate their brains, it activates their brains.
Thanks goodness for physical education, recess and kinesthetic learning.
As Tuxedo Park School builds out our Strategic Priority regarding differentiated instruction, we are heartened by all the great data coming out regarding what facilitates classroom learning and what works for children. And, this is for all students, not just children with a learning difference. The more we can make options available in classes, the more conducive a learning environment we can create for everyone.
This Washington Post article reinforces this message quite nicely!
This articulates so much of what we say to parents and what we live as parents during the tunnel of adolescence. We need all the help we can get as we navigate this very tricky time in their, and, by extension, our lives. Brain food for thought.
I could not have said it better myself! A great start to a terrific year and all the makings of a fantastic experience for our students. This is what good teaching looks like AND it is what we do at TPS. Amen.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/four-ways-to-spot-a-great-teacher-1409848739?mod=trending_now_1
The important work (and play) of school starts again. We had some great opening speakers at our in-service week for teachers. My favorite quote of the week is from Rick Ellis: Let us not ask How smart is this child? and let us instead ask HOW is this child smart? It’s going to be a great year.
Welcome Back!
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!
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 that are the hallmark of our program.
All youngsters need to believe that they have a stake in the future, a goal worth striving for, if they’re going to make it in school. They need a champion, someone who believes in them, and that’s where teachers enter the picture. The most effective approaches foster bonds of caring between teachers and their students.
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!
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 to those seeking employment in some of the technical areas: coding, computer science and engineering, but those very same individuals are NOT employable if they are incapable of working cooperatively with others, capable of expressing their opinion orally and in writing and able to negotiate and compromise and read the interpersonal clues evident in everyday interactions.
At Tuxedo Park School, we will always value interpersonal skills and the knowledge inherent in learning the humanities to create a complete education for all of our students.
Do not dismiss the humanities… Op Ed in the New York Times
I grew up in a household where all four of my brothers played sports from the youngest possible ages: Pop Warner Football, Little League, Parish Basketball. But each season, a new sport emerged. The idea of specializing in just one sport was not even an option until college. As my own children, and my nieces and nephews, have come up through the ranks of youth athletics, specializing and playing on elite teams all year long has started to emerge as the favorable option, but they all still liked the diversity of switching it up each season: soccer, cross country and football in the fall, basketball, ice hockey and running in the winter, track and field, rowing and lacrosse in the spring. I think we really need to look at whose aspirations we are fulfilling when we push our children into athletic pursuits that are not always of their choosing…
See what one docto,r who is also a parent, is saying about the state of stress injuries in children pushed to choose too young, to specialize in a sport.
Head's Up, Kathleen McNamara 