21st Century Skills

The latest educational push is for 21^st century skills that include analysis, critical thinking and cooperative learning.

I don't think we can protest that these skills aren't worthy of developing. But skills also require knowledge based on experiences that allow accurate and timely feedback. For example, let's say we have a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Unless we have had the experience of eating a freshly baked warm homemade cookie, along with the knowledge on how to acquire the ingredients, possession of the necessary implements to bake cookies, as well as having the obligatory time and supervision to make cookies, not much meaningful learning is going to occur from analyzing the data of our recipe, critically or cooperatively.

The gathering and analysis of data without knowledge and meaningful experiences end up being so much high-tech busy work.

How do we create situations that assure these 21^st century skills as well as provide ''pertinent'' information?

Science research is telling us that we don't remember most of what we learned in school. When I pulled out my college chemistry textbook 20 years after the fact, I marveled that I ever knew any of the information. Conversely, my grade in beginning typing didn't reflect that two years later I could type 75 words per minute on a manual typewriter.

Reflecting over my grade school years, here are some of the highlights:

In kindergarten I tripped over the slide projector cord, breaking the bulb. This was so traumatic that even to this day I don't like using slide projectors. I was enthralled at recess by building leaf forts under the old oak trees. The lunch ladies also brought warm cookies and milk in the afternoon to our classroom.

In first grade, I continued to love to build leaf forts, and I learned to cross the monkey bars, hand over hand, which was quite difficult and took me most of the year to obtain the skill. And the lunch ladies brought cookies.

In second grade, my youngest brother was born, and helping take care of him was an important part of my life. At school, I asked my teacher about numbers to the left of zero on the number line that was above the chalkboard in our classroom. I was erroneously informed that there were none. I gave a report on Hawaii in second grade; my mother helped me make a poster that had coffee and sugar on it, and I served pineapple to my class. My grandfather also served in the Navy in Hawaii during World War II and became interested in studying military ships.

In third grade, I spent hours figuring out the puzzles and brainteasers in a Reader's Digest book my grandmother gave me. After we finished our work in class, we were allowed to read. There was also a school contest on reading the most number of books, and between home and school, I read over 400 books that year, ending the year with Sherlock Holmes.

What I hope to help you see with my walk down memory lane is that the things I remember most about grade school are things I had a passion for and still do: my family, the outdoors, asking questions, solving problems, reading and…warm cookies.

Meaningful experiences create opportunities for learning higher thinking skills. Perhaps the skills we should mentor are helping children follow their interests, passions and dreams. Not only for the 21^st century, but for all time.

Next week: Strong Families Create Success

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

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©2009 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.622.6750
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

Beware of the Tree Octopus

A recent newsletter from the Core Knowledge Foundation introduced me to the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. Going to the octopus' website I found photos of the red octopus in a tree. The red octopus is usually found in the ocean off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. But here was an explanation that the now land-lubbing octopus had adapted to the moist rain forest conditions of the Olympic Peninsula. The site is ''supported'' by the Kelvenic University and the Wild Haggis Conservation Society.

All but one of the 25 seventh graders in a research project found the site ''very credible'' when using a rubric to evaluate the believability of the site. When told that the site was a hoax, students struggled to find clues that showed the site, as well as the organizations supporting the site, was a joke. Some of the students insisted that the site was based on verifiable facts and that the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was real.

The push for 21^st century skills of analysis, critical thinking and cooperative learning may falter if a corresponding push for content knowledge does not accompany the analysis of data. As Sherlock Holmes might say, ''Elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary.''

This study used the RADCAB evaluation tool to test the veracity of the octopus site. RADCAB is a trademarked evaluation tool that stands for Relevance, Appropriateness, Detail, Currency, Authority and Bias.

The site, if you have some knowledge of octopi, and perhaps Homer's Odyssey or Scottish victuals, is quite a humorous read. But with weak knowledge and a focused evaluation technique, failing to spot the joke might be inevitable.

Proponents of content knowledge curriculum for children say that with facts about octopi, the Pacific Northwest and pneumatic mail tubes, among others, the website hoax would be evident.

Enthusiasts of technology tools and online information access tend to support the idea that facts are easily obtained in seconds with an online search.

Our children need an exposure to broad rich content and experiences, as well as to technology innovations that include critical thinking skills. Facts without experiences remain facts. Facts with experiences become knowledge and, eventually, wisdom.

We need to know enough to ask the right questions. If we don't ask the right questions, then we'll be analyzing information for no reason. We'll be spinning our wheels while gulping gullibility.

In the meantime, keep a lookout for red, eight-armed cephalopods hanging out of trees. They may be coming to your town soon.

Next week: 21^st Century Skills

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2009 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.622.6750
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

12 Tips for a Healthier Brain

John Medina, affiliate professor of bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine, gives us 12 principles for surviving and thriving at work, home and play in his book, Brain Rules. While imparting a peer-reviewed summary of current brain research, Medina entertains us with ''the rules.''

Rule #1: Exercise boosts brainpower. Movement helps our brains grow and increases oxygen levels throughout our bodies. Oxygen is critical to effective brain function. Feeling fuzzy-headed and having trouble thinking? Get moving.

Rule #2: Our brain has evolved. We actually have three brains. The reptilian brain focuses on survival. Our mammalian brain regulates our emotions. Our third brain, the cortex, makes us human by allowing us to reason, analyze and create. If we don't feel safe, our reptilian brain focuses on survival and keeps us from tapping into the problem-solving resources of the cortex.

Rule #3: Every brain is different. We are not going to find a common place in the brain where certain memories or functions are found. Our brain grows based on our response to our environment, and that is as unique as every person on this planet.

Rule #4: We don't pay attention to things that aren't interesting to us. If something is boring or holds no meaning for us, we tune out. Also, the brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Multi-tasking is a myth. We waste a lot of time and brain effort switching back and forth between multiple activities. We are better off if we focus consistently on one thing at a time. So, yep, turn off the television when you study. And instant messaging and...

Rule #5: We have to repeat information to learn it. Also, the richer the sensory experience, the more likely we are to remember it. A rich sensory experience is like we repeated information several times. We need to make an effort to repeat and use all our senses to help us remember.

Rule #6: Reliable long-term memories take many intervals of repetition, perhaps years. We can't cram for the exam. We need to repeat the feat.

Rule #7: Sleep is important to optimum brain function. Loss of sleep affects attention, our ability to make good decisions, short-term memory, mood, the ability to deal with numbers and logic and well as quantitative skills and motor dexterity. Protect your brain. Sleep 8 -10 hours a day.

Rule #8: Stressed brains don't learn the same way. With a stressed brain, the reptilian brain takes over, and survival trumps our ability to learn and remember.

Rule #9: The more senses we use, the more we remember. The smell of hot cocoa can trigger memories of a Christmastime sleigh ride and the words to a tune you haven't heard in years.

Rule #10: Vision is our dominant sense, and it is not 100% accurate. We learn best through pictures, not through written or spoken words. This brain rule suggests that the old adage is true: A picture is worth a thousands words.

Rule #11: Male and female brains are different. Men don't think like women, and women don't think like men. Understanding the differences in how men and women process information can help us.

Rule #12: Humans are natural explorers. We are born to explore our world and be inquisitive. Our natural tendency to explore, if we use it, keeps our brain flexible and growing for all of our lives.

Use these 12 tips to have a healthy brain that will survive and thrive at any age.

Visit John Medina's site at www.brainrules.net.

Next week: Beware of the Tree Octopus

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2009 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.622.6750
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing

Thoughts on Freedom

As we approach Independence Day, my mind turns to the idea of freedom. Freedom is a difficult word to define. Ask 10 people what freedom is, and you will get at least 10 different answers. There are at least that many definitions in the dictionary.

The first five usages given in The American Heritage Dictionary for freedom follow:

1. The condition of being free from restraints;

2. Liberty of the person from slavery, oppression, or incarceration;

3. Political independence;

4. Exemption from unpleasant or onerous conditions;

5. The capacity to exercise choice; free will.

This idea of freedom is a little mind-boggling. Do we have it? How do we keep it? Do we want it? Can we give it? Can we take it way? On purpose or accidentally? Here are a few thoughts on freedom.

''Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.'' ~Moshe Dyan

In this statement, I believe Dyan uses this definition of freedom, ''the capacity to exercise free choice,'' as being the fuel of our deepest being. This freedom to choose feeds the flame of human existence, and it must be protected from the very beginning of our lives.

''We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.'' ~William Faulkner

Faulkner, I think, is referring again to the definition of free will when he writes of freedom. We can't sit around and say we are free or that we live in a free country. We must practice freedom. We must use our capacity to choose or lose this thing called freedom. Faulkner places a lot of responsibility on our exercising this ability to choose.

''Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err.'' ~Mahatma Gandhi

With freedom, Gandhi is talking about our capacity to choose. Our fear of failure, to borrow from other definitions of freedom, creates personal prisons, sentences us to a form of slavery or oppression and exiles us to unpleasant or onerous conditions. We are human. We err. Humans are the problem creators, as well as the problem solvers. Dyan's pure oxygen of the soul allows us to make mistakes and dissolves the bonds of fear, granting us the power to fail and to learn.

''There are two freedoms--the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.'' ~Charles Kingsley

Kingsley's version of freedom uses the definition of free will and our ability to choose. Gandhi and Kingsley understood that in exercising our ability to choose, we will err. Selecting false freedom is easy because it beckons us with pleasantries. The true choice lies in creating a life based on universal principles of truth, justice, courage, humanity, compassion, forgiveness and understanding.

Celebrate the Fourth of July. Think about freedom. Yours and our children's.

Next week: 12 Tips for a Healthier Brain

Kids Talk™ is a column dealing with early childhood development issues written by Maren Stark Schmidt. Mrs. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland.

She has over 25 years experience working with young children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. She is also Creative Director for a video-based reading series for children ages three to six, The Shining Light Reading Series. Contact her via e-mail at maren@shininglightreading.com.

Complete Collection of the Shining Light Reading Series Now Available on DVD
Visit www.shininglightreading.com for more information.

Ask your local newspaper to carry Kids Talk. Call, write or e-mail your local newspaper editor and recommend Kids Talk.

Would you like to send Kids Talk to friends and family or receive Kids Talk e-mail updates in your own inbox? Sign up for FREE here:
Click here for a FREE subscription.

©2009 KIDS TALK™
25877 East Bright Avenue
Welches, OR 97067
503.622.6750
503.550.3143
maren@kidstalknews.com

Kids Talk is published in conjunction with Scribe Marketing