Strollerderby : smart kids

Overachiever Alert! 13-Year-Old Owns Business, Is a Motivational Speaker and Rings Stock Exchange Bell

SunnyChanel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:30:00 GMT

What were you doing when you were thirteen? Did you have your own business? Did you do motivational speaking? Did you get to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange? Yeah, I thought not. But who did? Why 13-year old Long Islander Leanna Acher, teenager and over achiever. This spunky entrepreneur has her own hair care company aptly named Leanna, Inc., which she started when she was the ripe old age of nine. In her spare time, she does motivational speaking around the country. And today she became the youngest person ever to ring ~~the toll of death~~ the opening bell of the NY Stock Exchange.

What advice does she have about the financial crisis? “Stay positive," she said. "Be optimistic. If they're determined, if they keep going at it and really work hard, everything's going to be fine." Pretty amazing stuff for a thirteen year old don’t you think? She’s accomplished more than many twice or three times her age! *

(*I should mention that she doesn’t do it alone, her father helps run Leanna Inc. )

Via NY Daily News

They Say: Sad Kids Smarter Than Happy Ones

Madeline Holler — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Does your kid come home from school a little down? Kind of sad? Oh, man, you're so lucky! That little genius is going to Harvard!

A recent study has found that sad kids out-perform happy ones in tasks where attention to detail is required, which pretty much kicks in the pants the notion that happy kids make better learners.

But all is not lost for your Little Miss Sunshine. She outperforms the Debbie Downers in creative thinking.

Said one of the researchers (via Science Daily):

"Happiness indicates that things are going well, which leads to a global, top-down style of information processing. Sadness indicates that something is amiss, triggering detail-orientated, analytical processing.

"However, it is important to emphasize that existing research shows there are contexts in which a positive mood is beneficial for a child, such as when a task calls for creative thinking. But this particular research demonstrates that when attention to detail is required, it may do more harm than good."

So, go ahead and send the kids off to school in tears. I mean, you want what's best for them, right?

Photo: scottcounseling.com

Goodbye Recess; Kids Don't Need Play

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:29:00 GMT

An essay from the latest issue of Greater Good magazine talks about the disappearance of childhood play, and while I had heard all about kids sitting in front of their TVs or computers all day or kids getting roped into adult-led activities that will eventually earn them a spot on the PGA tour or get them into Yale, I was surprised to see recess was being axed at school after school.

Recess. Kids can't even have a half hour during a 7-hour school day to burn off some steam? Is that what we've come to?

The essay by David Elkin, professor emeritus of childhood development at Tufts University, says more than 30,000 schools have eliminated recess in favor of academics, while outdoor fun time has dropped by 50 percent. When kids aren't playing organized sports, they are simply lounging or watching TV. In short, imaginative, creative, unstructured play has all but disappeared in the lives of over-scheduled, over-educated children.

"For too long, we have treated play as a luxury that kids, as well as adults, could do without. But the time has come for us to recognize why play is worth defending: It is essential to leading a happy and healthy life."

It's an interesting essay that touches on the importance of play -- kids who learn via play have higher IQs -- and why educators and parents are failing their children. I only wish Elkin would have offered more solutions, however. Not necessarily for bringing play back into our lives -- he suggests more playgrounds and parents getting outside to lead by example -- but in how to fend off crazy parents who make you feel like you're not doing enough to raise a genius child.

At a party recently, a mother of a child about the same age as our own asked my wife and I which vocabulary flashcards we liked best and whether we had any tips for better numerical value comprehension. Our daughter just turned 2. At that particular moment in time, she was dipping her face in a cupcake and singing the chorus of "American Pie." My wife and I looked at the woman like she was an alien, and we could only assume she thought we were bad parents for not even owning flashcards, let alone using them.

How do you jump off the frenzied bandwagon of non-stop lessons and learning? How do you give kids their childhood back?

Raising a Little Smartypants

Adrienne Martini — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Want your kids to grow up with a brain in their head? The trick isn't to keep them away from TV or feed them all organic produce. Nope, the key to smart cookies is to avoid telling the kids that they are smart.

Research has shown that praising children for innate qualities that they have little control over -- like being pretty or talented singers or intelligent -- doesn't help them learn how to solve problems. It appears that if they believe that their skill is something they are born with, they tend to just give up when the going gets tough.

However, if you praise the tots for being able to make the effort and solve the problem even when it is hard, they seem to grow up with a robust ability to deal with what's handed to them.

It's a subtle difference, yes, but one that might make a huge difference in a society where everyone has the "talent" to audition for American Idol.

Photo credit: Scientific American