Smart Parents
We spend a lot of our time creating and sharing resources for educators and parents (who are often one and the same audience). Time and time again, we observe that families are left out of the equation when it comes to determining the primary audience for education reports, papers and articles—even though they are among the hungriest for informed opinions that can help them. Smart Parents is a blog series for parents, by parents who are navigating educational opportunities + making powerful decisions for and with their students. Learn more in Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning.
Smart Parents use Games & Sims to Provoke Powerful Learning
Kae Novak runs the ISTE Games and Simulations. Tom recently joined her and a great panel for a Google Hangout. Read the quick recap of the conversation and the video in it's entirety.
For #SmartParents, It’s About Getting Smart
By: Patrick Riccards. Earlier this year, I was part of an important project from Getting Smart called #SmartParents. It was developed, with the support of the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, to provide both guidance and personal stories from parents to parents about how we can be more active and positively involved in our kids’ learning process.
Hours in Front of a Screen… Wasting Time or Getting Motivated?
What is a parent to do when it appears a child is wasting time on a screen, yet passionate? Here are four tips, and the story of realization from Marie that answers the question, "is hours of screen time, wasting time? Or moments of motivation?
Baby on Board: You are Never Too Young for a Maker Faire
Bring it on Maker Month - no matter what the age. Shared experiences are prime for learning. Even when it seems like more work than it is worth, do it anyway. You never know what your kids will remember!
Smart Parents and Back to School Preparations: Supporting Kids’ Social Learning
By: Jennifer Miller. Now is a perfect opportunity to consider how you will prepare your kids for the social and emotional learning that occurs at school. Take these small steps to model and build caring connections.
What I Learned From My Daughter’s First “C”
So, what did I learn from my daughter’s first “C" I learned there’s a fair amount of “unlearning” that still has to happen before we will all feel comfortable in completely competency-based learning environments. As more and more schools shift from letter grades to levels of mastery, we would all do well to continue challenging the assumptions we all have about how we define and describe when learning is or isn’t happening.
What Do Students Need to Learn Math? Competence, Curiosity and Commitment
By: Nancy Weinstein. What do students need to learn math? Well, it turns out the 3 C's are really important: Competence, Curiosity and Commitment and commitment, writes Weinstein, may be the most important of all. We might not all be math people but we all need math, argues Weinstein, and sometimes commitment is what it takes to learn.
Creating Demand for Change: Smart Parents
Bob Rothman writes that "a new book from Getting Smart offers suggestions for how parents can deepen learning for all students." Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning is creating an opportunity for parents to create and advocate for student-centered learning.
12 Reasons All Kids Should Try a Triathlon
Every kid should try a triathlon. In doing so, they will be active, help others, and prove to themselves what they can do. Most kids (some with adaptations) can participate in swim, bike, and run events where it’s not about “who got picked,” instead it’s about “personal best.”
20 Must-Read Children’s Books for Back to School
My daughter loves to read, and many of the Getting Smart staffers have children that love to read too. Inspired by our kids, here's 20 must read children's books to kick start the "back to school" season.