by Denise Granniss There are many things we parents know we should be doing for our children’s well-being and success in life – some more easily said than done (six servings of fruit and vegetables?). One of those is reading. We know how important it is to develop reading skills, and it’s likely that when our children were tiny we read to them dutifully each night (even in utero!). But as the parent of a middle school boy, I can state with certainty that it was much easier reading Good Night … [Read more...]
Why Reading Really Matters
August 1, 2013 By
by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. North Shore mom, Brooke Carnap, was shocked when her daughter, Mattie, came home with a grade of 59 on her 6th grade Social Studies test. “But I know Mattie studied. I saw her reading her textbook and looking over her notes. I can’t understand why she wasn’t ready for the test. In elementary school, Mattie was considered a good reader. In middle school, her grades are slipping and it’s hard to figure out why.” Does your child know how to read? What a stupid … [Read more...]
What Makes Learning Exciting?
May 31, 2013 By
What makes learning exciting? The Question. If you start with the question, you can never go wrong. There are three basic steps to the learning process – any learning process. It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about students in a school; the scientists in the laboratory; or the parent and child at the baseball game. It’s all about asking and answering questions. Step 1: The Question It all starts with the question. Ask questions. Then ask more questions. And then, perhaps, consider … [Read more...]
How to Make Children Care about Learning
May 31, 2013 By
By Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. It’s summer. It’s the time to take time off from learning! Why should I care about how to make my children care about learning? We learn what we do. Period. What does this mean? Question: When are we not doing something? Answer: We are never not doing something. We are always doing something. If this is true, then we are constantly learning. Every action is a source of learning. There is no such thing as a time for learning and a time off from learning. … [Read more...]
Don’t Dismiss Jeff Bliss
May 31, 2013 By
by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. I hope you’ve seen the viral video of the high school sophomore who, when his teacher dismissed him from class, launched into a tirade about the quality of the education he was receiving. If not, you can find it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bYv2AKPZOk. Jeff Bliss is an 18-year old high school sophomore. He had quit school for a year. Having learned that he would go nowhere without a high school education, Bliss returned to school. The viral video clip occurred … [Read more...]
You Can Offer A Kid An Education, But You Can’t Make Him Care
May 31, 2013 By
by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. This is a time honored adage, to be sure. For years, I’ve heard variants of it from secondary school teachers and college professors alike. You can make students come to class, but you can’t make them care about their learning. We offer incentives (grades) to students for completing their work and for doing their best work. I often wonder what would happen if we graded students on how much they … [Read more...]
Helping Children Cope With Tragedy
May 6, 2013 By
by Suzanne Provencher, Publisher Publisher’s Note: The core content for this issue was written before the Boston Marathon bombings and the week of terror that followed. Our prayers go out to the victims, their families and to all who were impacted by and who witnessed this horror. Our sincere thanks go out to the first responders, law enforcement, the medical community, helpful citizens, our leaders and the many heroes who emerged in real life during this unimaginable time in our lives. And … [Read more...]
When Movie Violence Harms, When Movie Violence Moves
May 6, 2013 By
I used to enjoy watching the television program, Law & Order. Its formula was a winning one. The first half of the hour-long show was devoted to the story of police detectives ferreting out criminals for prosecution; the second part told the stories of how the district attorney’s office worked to prosecute the criminals. There was violence on this show; sometimes it crossed the line into gratuitous violence. The show generated a series of different spin-offs. While it followed the same … [Read more...]
Acting Out of Care: Why Self-Interest and Caring for Others are Not Incompatible
May 6, 2013 By
by Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. Becoming a moral person doesn’t have to mean we have to sacrifice ourselves. When we come to identify our life projects around contributing to the good of others, doing the right thing becomes a source of self-satisfaction. We often think of morality in the negative. We tend to imagine a big finger shaking at us, saying “don’t do this” or “do that”. We tend to think of moral rules as restrictive – as something that constrains our freedom. So, “don’t do that” … [Read more...]
What Would You Attempt to Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail?
May 6, 2013 By
By Michael F. Mascolo, Ph.D. Several years ago, I bought my wife a silver bar bearing the question, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” It was meant to be an inspirational gift. Its message, of course, is quite clear: We tend to avoid challenging projects out of a fear of failure. Failing breeds shame, humiliation and other bad things. If we could only get rid of our fear of failure, who knows what we could accomplish? For several years, my wife kept the silver … [Read more...]
