USD #417 Parents

What Makes a Nightmare Sports Parent -- And What Makes a Great One

Hundreds of college athletes were asked to think back: "What is your worst memory from playing youth and high school sports?"

Their overwhelming response: "The ride home from games with my parents." (Read more . . . )

 

iPad and iPod Resources

Financial Aid Night

CGHS Financial Aid Night will be January 25th at 7 pm in the high school auditorium. This informative meeting is for all seniors and their parents.

Tested Apps for Education

IQ changes in teens as brain changes, study finds

Students celebrate their 2011 graduation from North Hollywood High School, in Los Angeles. Researchers have shown that IQ can rise and fall in teenagers, and that these IQ changes are correlated to changes in brain structure. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times / for the Booster Shots blog

October 19, 2011, 4:26 p.m.

IQ, or intelligence quotient, has been thought to be unchanging over the course of a lifetime.  

But researchers with the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London have found that IQ can rise and fall in teenagers.  Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, they showed that ups and downs in verbal and nonverbal IQ correlated with changes in brain structure.  

The team's study was released Wednesday by the journal Nature.

Professor Cathy Price and colleagues administered IQ tests and MRI scans to 33 healthy teens -- the first time in 2004, when the kids were 12 to 16 years old, and then a second time in 2007-08, when they were age 15 to 20. They found changes in individual subjects' performance on the tests, with verbal IQ, nonverbal IQ and composite IQ fluctuating up or down, in some cases around 20 points.  In all, 39% of the sample had a change in verbal IQ, 21% in nonverbal IQ and 33% in composite IQ.

Studying the MRI scans, the team discovered that changes in verbal IQ tracked changes in gray matter density and volume in a portion of the left motor cortex that is activated by speech.  Changes in nonverbal IQ were correlated with gray matter density in the anterior cerebellum, which is associated with hand movement.

Acknowledging this plasticity in the developing brain could have implications for education, the researchers said in a statement.  

"We have a tendency to assess children and determine their course of education relatively early in life, but here we have shown that their intelligence is likely to still be developing," Price said.  "We have to be careful not to write off poorer performers at an early stage when in fact their IQ may improve significantly given a few more years."

Squishy Circuits

If your children are interested in electronics but are not ready to play around with the real thing yet, consider squishy circuits. "Kids of all ages can create circuits and explore electronics using play dough." If you make your own dough following the recipes here, it conducts or insulates better than purchased dough.

Nine Things Successful People Do Differently

by Heidi Grant Halvorson

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10 pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers. To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%. (. . . read the rest of the article here.)

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com

A Parent's Guide to the Common Core Standards

                Currently, each state has a separate set of education standards, lists of skills that students are expected to do by the time they graduate each grade. However, in response to concerns about American student achievement and just how prepared students are for college and careers, education leaders in 48 states, along with the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), have written a set of standards for students across the U.S. The common core state standards were released in 2010. Now, 44 states, including Kansas, are working to implement them by 2013-2014.

The Common Core Standards are State-Driven

                  The common core state standards are a set of learning skills that all American students should achieve, not a federal curriculum. They set the benchmarks and guidelines for what each student should learn, not how or what teachers teach. 

The Standards are a Progression

                  In general, standards set a progression of skills that students learn as they move through school. Kindergartners work on phonics and letter sounds, while eighth graders work on building vocabulary and reading fluency.

Students will Delve Deeper into Core Concepts

                  One complaint about separate state standards was the concern from teachers that students were learning about too many topics in a year to fully understand them, says Carrie Phillip, CCSSO program director of common core standards implementation. The common core state standards, on the other hand, focus on the most important topics that students need to know. In math, that means that students focus on really understanding numbers in elementary school before they start to apply that understanding of numbers to data in middle school.                 

The Reading Standards will Get More Difficult
           
                As the common core is implemented, students will be expected to read more difficult text sooner, and discuss what they read at a more complex level. For example, instead of pulling out individual text elements, such as characters, plot, and setting, students will be reading or listening to various stories, and will compare stories using their understanding of text elements.

Focus on Informational Text

                To prepare students for college-level work, there will be more of a focus on informational and expository text. In middle school especially, students will be reading informational text, including original documents, from the Declaration of Independence to presidential speeches.

Assessments Will Change
          
                  Compared to current achievement tests, common core assessments will likely be more difficult. Ideally, instead of multiple choice tests, students will be analyzing and synthesizing information, writing essay responses, and answering in-depth questions to show how much they understand.

Focus on Practical Skills

                  The common core standards were designed with the workplace in mind. So, students will be working on taking the role of scientists, historians, researchers, and more. For example, says Bill McCallum, co-author of the standards and professor at the University of Arizona, the standards “describe what a mathematical practitioner does, make sense of problems, persevere and solve them, and critique the reasoning of others.” 

by Samantha Cleaver © Copyright 2006-2011 Education.com All Rights Reserved. http://www.education.com/magazine/article/parents-guide-to-common-core-standards/

ACT Test Taking Strategies Class Available in October

Facebook Security

Straightforward and clearly written, this guide helps you understand how to make your Facebook presence secure.