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Showing posts from December, 2013

More on GRIT

I have been saving interesting articles and blog posts lately that all point to the importance of certain non-cognitive skills for our students to be successful. Below are links to recent good reads. Also, discussed here on This American Life  and in my blog a bit here . Kids need these skills for success: Focus  - Avoid Distractions Positive Attitude  - Never saying "I'm bad at Math" Resilience  - I haven't mastered factoring YET GRIT , hard work, growth mindset matter most. As teachers, we can't just teach the concepts. We won't be successful unless we are encouraging these skills too.

Kids Need Rest and help with managing Stress...

I heard two interesting reports on NPR while driving to work this morning about two issues facing high school students: they are sleep deprived and stressed out . Key Quotes: Because teenagers need eight to nine hours of sleep, waking up at 6 a.m. can lead to a pattern of sleep deprivation. And that puts them at higher risk of a whole range of potential problems, from depression to automobile accidents. "A little stress is a good thing," Alvord says. "It can motivate students to be organized. But too much stress can backfire." As educators we are always trying to create a rigorous, challenging academic environment for our students to grown and learn. I am constantly preaching the importance of grit and hard work in my math classroom . Still though I often worry about the pressures we put on our students so I was happy to hear this report this morning. Because we only see our students 40 minutes a day, it is easy to lose perspective. My algebra class isn