Homework and headaches go together like macaroni and cheese, especially now that there seems to be so much to do early on. Cathy McFarland knows the frustration all too well. “When Maddie, my eight-year- old, didn’t understand her math homework, she’d cry and get so upset she’d hyperventilate,” says McFarland. Nightly math meltdowns became the norm. “I finally decided that math wasn’t worth ruining our relationship over. I can be the enforcer with piano practice, nightly reading, baths and bedtime, but I don’t need to be the math czar anymore.” McFarland hired a tutor.
We believe that education is more than the acquisition of information, rigid academic curricula, and high-stakes testing. In fact, the world is changing so rapidly that no one can truly predict what information our children will need to know in the future.
The arts. Schools are redefining what it means to be ‘smart’ through unconventional means: the arts. Research shows studying the arts may not only help students get good grades, but is linked to social and emotional development, problem-solving, cognitive ability, critical thinking, creativity, empathy, innovation, collaboration, leadership, and a wide range of higher-order thinking skills. Reinforcing the benefits of creativity in his ground-breaking book, A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink argues that creative individuals are the ones poised to become successful and rule the world.
Can you please bring me my Chromebook?’ Said the text message I received from my eighth-grade son. Out of my three kids, he wasn’t the worst offender for forgetting important items for school at home. His twin sister easily won that prize by texting me to bring her homework, lunch, or gym clothes twice as often as he did. ‘I’m on my way,’ I texted back to my son.
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