There’s a slow food movement so why not a slow mind movement? Some years ago Guy Claxton wrote Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: How Intelligence Increases When You Think Less. It made a compelling argument that the mind works best when we trust the unconscious – our “undermind” tortoise mind. The hare brain is the deliberative, logical, conscious thinking we all…
Balance is a wonderful thing. We want it in our lives and in our school curriculum. But sometimes we need just a little disequilibrium to move forward. Take for example the PDS picnic – traditionally held on the first Friday and close to the Gilkeson playground. With that area fenced off for construction we had to come up with another…
Did you catch this NYTimes article on open-source science and seeking collaborative solutions to new challenges? “If You Have a Problem, Ask Everyone”. The process, according to John Seely Brown, a theorist of information technology and former director of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, reflects “a huge shift in popular culture, from consuming to participating” enabled by the interactivity…
There was a great article in last week’s Boston Globe. The authors – Ellen Winner and Lois Hetland – dismiss the idea that arts education produces higher test scores. While it’s true, they say, that students who are involved in the arts do better in school and on the SAT, it’s not about the test scores. Their own research found…
Why do I stand here? I stand on my desk to remind myself that we must constantly force ourselves to look at things differently The world looks different from up here. If you don’t believe it, stand up here and try it! All of you. Take turns. – Dead Poets Society It’s everywhere – the cliché – the admonition –…