What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?

‘How Children Succeed,’ by Paul Tough “Psychologists and neuroscientists have learned a lot in the past few decades about where these skills come from and how they are developed,” Tough writes, and what they’ve discovered can be summed up in a sentence: Character is created by encountering and overcoming failure. In this absorbing and important book, Tough explains why American children from both ends of the socioeconomic spectrum are missing out on these essential experiences. The offspring of affluent parents are insulated from adversity, beginning with their baby-proofed nurseries and continuing well into their parentally financed young adulthoods. And while poor children face no end of challenges — from inadequate nutrition and medical care to dysfunctional schools and neighborhoods — there is often little support to help them turn these omnipresent obstacles into character-enhancing triumphs.

Бунтове в Лондон се дължат на лошо родителско възпитание - и липса на санкции срещу тийнейджърите Великобритания е унижена от това сравнение по същия начин, по който е унижена от контраста между гражданското неподчинение срещу диктатурите в Либия и Сирия и безразборното обезобразяване на лондонските улици от разюздани младежи, чиято цел е, както гордо заявиха две тийнейджърки "да покажем на полицията и на богаташите, че можем да правим каквото си поискаме". "Богатите" жертви на бунтовниците са предимно квартални магазинчета и семейства, живеещи в малките апартаменти над тях. Макар бунтовете да започват след убийството на Дъган, причината е другадеПозоваването на фаталното убийство от миналия четвъртък, когато полицията простреля млад чернокож мъж на име Марк Дъган (29-годишен, баща на 4 деца), като "спусък" и причина за този хаос, е твърде далеч от истината. Приятелите и роднините му, които се отправиха към полицейското управление в Тотнъм, северен Лондон, за да търсят отговор на своите въпроси, бяха гневни, но не използваха насилие. За всичко си има извинение.

Why Kids Should Grade Teachers - Amanda Ripley A decade ago, an economist at Harvard, Ronald Ferguson, wondered what would happen if teachers were evaluated by the people who see them every day—their students. The idea—as simple as it sounds, and as familiar as it is on college campuses—was revolutionary. And the results seemed to be, too: remarkable consistency from grade to grade, and across racial divides. Even among kindergarten students. A growing number of school systems are administering the surveys—and might be able to overcome teacher resistance in order to link results to salaries and promotions. Brian Rea Nubia Baptiste had spent some 665 days at her Washington, D.C., public school by the time she walked into second period on March 27, 2012. If someone had asked, she could have revealed things about her school that no adult could have known. She sat down at her desk and pulled her long, neat dreadlocks behind her shoulders. A National Report Card The Writing Revolution The Schoolmaster Well, this was different.

Levy, F. and Murnane, R.J.: The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market. As the current recession ends, many workers will not be returning to the jobs they once held--those jobs are gone. In The New Division of Labor, Frank Levy and Richard Murnane show how computers are changing the employment landscape and how the right kinds of education can ease the transition to the new job market. The book tells stories of people at work--a high-end financial advisor, a customer service representative, a pair of successful chefs, a cardiologist, an automotive mechanic, the author Victor Hugo, floor traders in a London financial exchange. The authors merge these stories with insights from cognitive science, computer science, and economics to show how computers are enhancing productivity in many jobs even as they eliminate other jobs--both directly and by sending work offshore. At greatest risk are jobs that can be expressed in programmable rules--blue collar, clerical, and similar work that requires moderate skills and used to pay middle-class wages. Review: More reviews

Лица | Джилда - забравената звезда на "Свободна Европа" | Никога непоказвани фотографии и документи излизат наяве в първата по рода си изложба, посветена на 60-годишнината на радио "Свободна Европа"* "През 1970-1971 година… обявихме един телефон… Най-много обаждания имаше за Джилда Карол – най-голямата ни звезда." Евгений Силянов,бивш заместник-директор на радио "Свободна Европа", в книгата "Мисия Париж. Разговори с Евгений Силянов" Това момиче на снимката е единствената жива свидетелка на българското начало на радио "Свободна Европа". "Ние почнахме, без да имаме хабер от broadcasting, и се учехме в същото време, в което говорехме пред микрофона. Джилда ми праща това писмо на Груев по пощата преди седмица. В началото е скептична към мен, но е много гостоприемна – отваря кутиите със снимки и аз ахвам – Джилда с Джордж Харисън, Джилда с Шарл Азнавур, Джилда… Така в малкото й жилище в Мюнхен, отрупано с архиви, български икони, записи на магнитофонни ролки и спомени, с гледка към чудесна вътрешна градина, обградена с грамадни борове, аз разбирам, че нейната история ме вълнува и искам да я разкажа. Малко преди унгарските събития през 1956 г. Искам да я снимам за спомен, за себе си.

About Moodle is a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments. You can download the software onto your own web server or ask one of our knowledgable Moodle Partners to assist you. Moodle is built by the Moodle project which is led and coordinated by Moodle HQ, an Australian company of 30 developers which is financially supported by a network of over 60 Moodle Partner service companies worldwide. Built for learning, globally Proven and trusted worldwide Powering tens of thousands of learning environments globally, Moodle is trusted by institutions and organisations large and small, including Shell, London School of Economics, State University of New York, Microsoft and the Open University. Designed to support both teaching and learning Easy to use Free with no licensing fees Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software, under the GNU General Public License. See also

Teaching the New Basic Skills Teaching the New Basic Skills Book suggest ways that schools can help students to meet demands of new economic environment By Bunmi Fatoye-Matory Special to the Gazette In 1979, a 30-year-old man with a high school diploma earned a yearly average of $27,000 (in 1993 dollars) but by 1993 that same man with the same diploma earned $20,000. The problem is not that the quality of American schools is declining, according to Richard Murnane, education professor at the Graduate School of Education, and Frank Levy, professor of urban economics at M.I.T., authors of the new book, Teaching the New Basic Skills: Principles for Educating Children to Thrive in a Changing Economy. The New Basic Skills What then are the abilities needed to meet both the demands of an altered global market and the typically American aspiration of upward mobility? * The "hard skills" -- these include basic mathematics and problem-solving abilities at levels much higher than many high school graduates now attain;

Лица | Ирена Георгиева | Момичето, което знае какво се случва през следващата седмица Със сигурност четеш "Една седмица в София". Е, тя е главният му редактор. Въпреки че ако я питаш, никога няма да каже "аз съм главен редактор". Аз съм... Добре. Бягството? При баба ми, в къщата, която дядо е строил. Вдъхновението? Цвят, аромат, звук, филм, текст, секс. Грешката? Един мъж. Дрехата? Рокля. Емоцията? Каквато и да е, важното е да я има. Жестът? Преди си гризях ноктите - това жест ли е? Заблудата? Мислех си, че мога да живея сама. Истината? Е в детайлите. Книгата? "Закуска в Тифани". Любовта? "Мина бързо в синя мъжка риза/ и изчезна във пресечката отляво." Музиката? Тийвъри, Крюдер и Еър. Надеждата? Че един ден ще видя Африка. Отборът? Най-добрият - този на Александър Жеков. Предметът? Котки, във всякакви пози и размери. Разочарованието? Не се сещам. Случката? До нас, на "Скобелев", има едно обущарско ателие от типа "клек шоп". Тръпката? Всеки вторник срещу сряда, когато затваряме броя. Учителят? Александър и Ивайло. Филмът? "Дух Куче: Пътят на самурая", "Изгубени в превода", "2046", "Отблизо". Храната?

COMAP: Mathematics Instructional Resources for Innovative Educators Back to School Ira talks with Paul Tough, author of the new book How Children Succeed, about the traditional ways we measure ability and intelligence in American schools. They talk about the focus on cognitive abilities, conventional "book smarts." They discuss the current emphasis on these kinds of skills in American education, and the emphasis standardized testing, and then turn our attention to a growing body of research that suggests we may be on the verge of a new approach to some of the biggest challenges facing American schools today. Paul Tough discusses how “non-cognitive skills” — qualities like tenacity, resilience, impulse control — are being viewed as increasingly vital in education, and Ira speaks with economist James Heckman, who’s been at the center of this research and this shift. Doctor Nadine Burke Harris weighs in to discuss studies that show how poverty-related stress can affect brain development, and inhibit the development of non-cognitive skills.

„Българите са неспособни да създадат работеща държава.“ – едно интервю на холандския премиер Марк Рюте « Бъзикилийкс – Истината такава, каквато можеше да бъде!? Интервюто е дадено за Българското национално радио, коментарите и анализите оставяме на читателите: ” – Г-н премиер, защо вашата държава упорито се противопоставя на приемането ни в Шенгенското пространство? Не мислите ли, че преигравате с това си ваше решение, след като всички останали са готови на компромисен вариант? Дори и Финландия промени позицията си, а вие се дърпате, както бихме казали по български, “като магаре на мост”. - Отговорът и преди и сега е един и същ: вашата държава е пропита от корупция, съдебната ви система не работи, престъпниците се чувстват комфортно и безнаказано, живеят на свобода и дори парадират с престъпния си статус. - Но ние сме изпълнили техническите критерии, това нищо ли не означава? - Техническите критерии във вашия случай са без значение, дори и да ги презипълните. - Добре, но къде виждате причината за това състояние на нещата и как смятате, че то може да се промени? Вие, българите, се обединявате само когато има перспектива за келепир. Like this:

NYT | Paul Tough Saturday, August 25th, 2012 Bill Moyers on Times Magazine Article Bill Moyers comments on my Times Magazine article on Roseland, poverty, and Barack Obama. Sunday, August 19th, 2012 Obama/Poverty Reaction Some reactions to my article in the Times Magazine on President Obama, Roseland, and poverty: 1. 2. 3. 4. Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 Times Magazine article My new article on poverty, Barack Obama, and the Chicago neighborhood of Roseland is now online on the New York Times’s website. Sunday, March 18th, 2012 Three Things Three fairly random items from various sources, each, in its own way, heart-warming (for me, at least): 1. 2. 3. “This is a life-changing book,” Wentworth says of Tough’s look at the work of social activist and educator Geoffrey Canada, who created the Harlem Children’s Zone, a cradle-to-college, community-based organization. Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 Talking about Character Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 Character response Curious’s blog post has so far collected 219 comments.

Why Germany needs the euro By Cyrus Sanati, contributor FORTUNE -- Booting out the weak members of the eurozone won't solve the continent's economic problems. Such a bold move would cause more harm than good for core members of the euro, most notably, export-driven Germany. A coordinated effort to share the pain seems to be the best option out there, but it's unclear how much pain the core eurozone countries are willing to take. The integrity of the eurozone has been considered sacrosanct by its core members throughout the long running European sovereign debt crisis. But cracks in that resolve have started to form. Traders have interpreted this to mean that a smaller eurozone may be on the horizon, one where the core members of the euro unite to form a strong fiscal and monetary union, while the peripheral nations exit the common currency and drown in debt. The Eurozone crisis will not go away until banks face reality Of course, things aren't that simple. Germany relies on the weakest members Would you blame them?

How I Failed, Failed, and Finally Succeeded at Learning How to Code - James Somers The programming website Project Euler provides a plan for how to learn anything in fun, discrete steps When Colin Hughes was about eleven years old his parents brought home a rather strange toy. It wasn't colorful or cartoonish; it didn't seem to have any lasers or wheels or flashing lights; the box it came in was decorated, not with the bust of a supervillain or gleaming protagonist, but bulleted text and a picture of a QWERTY keyboard. It called itself the "ORIC-1 Micro Computer." The package included two cassette tapes, a few cords and a 130-page programming manual. On the whole it looked like a pretty crappy gift for a young boy. It's not hard to see why. In less than an hour, the ORIC-1 manual took you from printing the word "hello" to writing short programs in BASIC -- the Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code -- that played digital music and drew wildly interesting pictures on the screen. No wonder Colin got hooked. More than all that, though, he learned how to teach.