According to Einstein you are a genius and so is everyone you know. Einstein said, “everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” We’re all born great at something. As we grow up we also find out there are some things…read more →
As the new school year in Australia commences, approximately 4 million students will head back to school. Of those students, 10% – 15% will experience ‘learning differences’; that is, they have neurological differences that make learning with conventional methods challenging for them. According to Speld QLD, a not for profit organisation supporting young people with learning differences, the ‘lack of identification…read more →
A national survey, commissioned by Woolworths, found that a third of Australian children could not identify fruit and vegetables, nor where the products came from. 92 per cent did not know bananas grew on plants. They struggled to know what grew on tress or what grew in the ground. British kids weren’t much better. A third of the primary school…read more →
Kids have a natural curiosity and love to explore and discover. Imagine if we could have time, in a school day, for them to explore and research a topic or a project they’re passionate about. This article on ‘Genius Hour‘ shares how kids can be excited and engaged in learning new things. They actually want to get better at something…read more →
Karen Bonanno believes every young person has the right to be successful. As an accredited Global Genius Educator and Leader, in partnership with the Genius School Education Movement and MyGenius Incorporated, Karen is passionate about igniting the genius in every child to help them discover their inspiring future. Helping tweens, teens and young adults identify their natural talent and capabilities…read more →
Most of us may have kept a book log or journal about what we’ve read. At school, we probably had to do a book talk at some stage. Sentence stems help students to start thinking about what they’re reading. These sentence stems can help them to capture their thoughts, which they may then record. The author of ‘Critical Reading: 50…read more →
The latest young mental health reports from Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute have unearthed some startling information. 24.2 per cent of young people experienced mental distress (up from 18.7 per cent in 2012). Mental health experts say they are unclear as to why the rates are getting worse. More detail in ‘Mental health concerns increasingly common among young…read more →
Sometimes, when I set a task for the students in my class, I’d get the question, ‘Is this for assessment?’ When I said that it wasn’t, I’d then get, ‘They why do I need to do this?’ I’d try and explain the many reasons with ‘because….’ answers, where I would focus on things like skills development, extending previous learning, new…read more →
In ‘Getting Ready for the Age of Experiential Education’, Matthew Lynch refers to the definition for experiential learning identified by the Association for Experiential Education as ‘a teaching philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people’s capacity to…read more →
Kids just don’t seem to be reading nearly as much these days. Research studies and anecdotal reports from teachers, teacher librarians and librarians indicate that a majority of teens don’t read for pleasure at all. In the article, ‘7 ways to get teens reading in a smartphone culture‘, the author comments that smartphones and teens’ use of social media play…read more →