The Learning Life

"Scientists have another name for failure: data. Expecting that your first stab at a big project will..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:55:48 -0400

“Scientists have another name for failure: data. Expecting that your first stab at a big project will succeed is not only unrealistic, but a bit lazy. We should consider ourselves “tinkering scientists” on our quest to create, with each failure just another data point.”

- At the 2013 99U Conference, Stanford Technology Ventures director Tina Seelig, author of inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity, echoes Neil Gaiman’s timeless advice on failure and the creative life.

A wise woman once said it even better.

Also see Steve Jobs on the fear of failure.

(via explore-blog)

Will: "You Don't Need to be Taught in Order to Learn"

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:34:24 -0400

Will: "You Don't Need to be Taught in Order to Learn":

willrichardson:

Seymour Papert:

The role that the computer can play most strongly has little to do with information. It is to give children a greater sense of empowerment, of being able to do more than they could do before. But too often, I see the computer being used to lead the child step by step through…

thankstextbooks: Based on how old that kid looks, I’d say this...

Wed, 08 May 2013 19:18:56 -0400

thankstextbooks:

Based on how old that kid looks, I’d say this is less a math problem than it is a psychological issue.

"1. Associative orientation: Imaginative, playful, have a wealth of ideas, ability to be committed,..."

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:57:07 -0400

“

1. Associative orientation: Imaginative, playful, have a wealth of ideas, ability to be committed, sliding transitions between fact and fiction.

2. Need for originality: Resists rules and conventions. Have a rebellious attitude because of a need to do things no one else does.

3. Motivation: Have a need to perform, goal oriented, innovative attitude, stamina to tackle difficult issues.

4. Ambition: Have a need to be influential, attract attention and recognition.

5. Flexibility: Have the ability to see different aspects of issues and come up with optimal solutions.

6. Low emotional stability: Have a tendency to experience negative emotions, greater fluctuations in moods and emotional state, failing self-confidence.

7. Low sociability: Have a tendency not to be very considerate, are obstinate and find faults and flaws in ideas and people.

”

- Norwegian researchers find the 7 characteristics of highly creative people. Pair with John Cleese on 5 factors to make your life more creative and Ira Glass on the secret of success in creative work.

Particularly interesting and counter-intuitive is #6 – but then again, we do know that emotional excess is essential to creativity.

(via explore-blog)

Photo

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:37:16 -0400

literaryjukebox: A master in the art of living draws no sharp...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:30:30 -0400

literaryjukebox:

A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both.

François-René de Chateaubriand, quoted in Roman Krznaric’s How to Find Fulfilling Work

Song: “Play on Little Children” by Dan Dyer

iTunes :: Amazon :: Back to Brain Pickings

"The human mind is capable of being excited without the application of gross and violent stimulants;..."

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:47:34 -0400

“The human mind is capable of being excited without the application of gross and violent stimulants; and he must have a very faint perception of its beauty and dignity who does not know this, and who does not further know, that one being is elevated above another, in proportion as he possesses this capability. It has therefore appeared to me, that to endeavour to produce or enlarge this capability is one of the best services in which, at any period, a Writer can be engaged; but this service, excellent at all times, is especially so at the present day. For a multitude of causes, unknown to former times, are now acting with a combined force to blunt the discriminating powers of the mind, and, unfitting it for all voluntary exertion, to reduce it to a state of almost savage torpor. The most effective of these causes are the great national events which are daily taking place, and the increasing accumulation of men in cities, where the uniformity of their occupations produces a craving for extraordinary incident, which the rapid communication of intelligence hourly gratifies. To this tendency of life and manners the literature and theatrical exhibitions of the country have conformed themselves.”

- The folly of sensationalism: William Wordsworth on the news … in 1798. (via explore-blog)

Will: "Why School?" - The Movie (?)

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:35:10 -0400

Will: "Why School?" - The Movie (?):

willrichardson:

(Note: If after reading this you want to help, please fill out this interest survey. Thanks.)

So here’s the question: You think our little edu-network could make a movie? Like, a REAL full-length documentary feature? As in the next (and better) “Waiting for Superman?” One that kids had a big…

The Edge

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:17:32 -0400

The Edge: a sudden unplanned flight of fancy

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:59:03 -0400

“Come to the edge,” he said. They said, “We are afraid.” “Come to the edge,” he said. They came. He pushed them … . and they flew. Guillaume Appollinaire

‘Who reaches
A future for us from the high shelf
Of spiritual daring?’
Allen Curnow ’Landfall in…

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Bouncing Back and the Seven C’sHere’s a book that looks...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 06:37:21 -0400

Bouncing Back and the Seven C’s

Here’s a book that looks useful:

Building Resilience in Children and Teens

Strategies to help kids…

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explore-blog: Awakening, the first episode of PBS’s MAKERS...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:29:01 -0400

explore-blog:

Awakening, the first episode of PBS’s MAKERS series on the women who make America, explores the birth of the women’s movement and Gloria Steinem’s legacy.

Play againI love these quotations from the National Institute...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:14:51 -0400

Play again

I love these quotations from the National Institute for Play home page.
“You can discover more…

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Will: Announcing: Raising Modern Learners!

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:17:50 -0400

Will: Announcing: Raising Modern Learners!:

willrichardson:

I’m really excited to announce a new undertaking that my good friend Bruce Dixon from Melbourne, Australia and I are launching today: Raising Modern Learners (RML).

As the proud owner of two teenagers (where’s the handbook?), I’ve been more and more drawn to the question of…

thecompasspoint: Go here for more...

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 11:13:44 -0400

thecompasspoint:

Go here for more information and to reserve your seat.

In association with Vassar College and Oakwood Friends School

Alfie Kohn will present “The Progressive Schools Our Children Deserve: Helping Students Become Critical Thinkers and Lifelong Learners” on Thursday, April 25 at 7:00 pm at Poughkeepsie Day School’s James Earl Jones Theater.

Our knowledge of how children learn – and how schools can help – has come a long way in the last few decades. And schools must too. Alfie Kohn, described in Time magazine as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores” explores alternatives to conventional practices and explains why progressive education is a realistic alternative. Parents, educators and anyone concerned with the future of our children will not want to miss this!”

(via Alfie Kohn is coming to Poughkeepsie Day School)

Alfie Kohn is coming to Poughkeepsie Day School

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 10:32:52 -0400

Alfie Kohn is coming to Poughkeepsie Day School

No Struggle, No Progress: Fighting for the Schools Our Children Deserve

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:26:03 -0400

No Struggle, No Progress: Fighting for the Schools Our Children Deserve:

brianpjones:

This is an edited version of a talk I gave on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in Harlem. I was speaking alongside educator and parent activist Diana Zavala.

We are in a critical situation. Public education is under a sustained attack, and in some cities — New Orleans, Detroit, Philadelphia — is…

No Struggle, No Progress: Fighting for the Schools Our Children Deserve

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:25:21 -0400

No Struggle, No Progress: Fighting for the Schools Our Children Deserve:

brianpjones:

This is an edited version of a talk I gave on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in Harlem. I was speaking alongside educator and parent activist Diana Zavala.

We are in a critical situation. Public education is under a sustained attack, and in some cities — New Orleans, Detroit, Philadelphia — is…

Our RISD: Design + Conquer

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:17:45 -0500

Our RISD: Design + Conquer:

ourrisd:

A great article in Saturday’s National Journal – called Design and Conquer in the print edition and The Art of Techhology online – supports RISD’s efforts to focus national attention on the value of art and design to innovation and the economy.

More specifically, the story by Ron Fournier…

Will: Other Questions for Teachers and Principals

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:45:53 -0500

Will: Other Questions for Teachers and Principals:

willrichardson:

Valerie Strauss:

Nine in 10 principals (93%) and teachers (92%) say they are knowledgeable about the Common Core.

Nine in 10 principals (90%) and teachers (93%) believe that teachers in their schools already have the academic skills and abilities to implement the Common Core in their…