FYI

The UW Department of Psychology is having a lecture series with a couple that might be of interest to parents. The lectures are free but seating limited and you have to register at
www.uwalum.com or call 543-0540

Wednesday, 2/17, 7 – 9pm
Location: Kane 120
UW Seattle Campus

The Development of Thinking About People: From Behavior to Brain
Adults are armchair psychologists: we attribute to ourselves, and to our social partners, a host of mental states such as goals, intentions, desires and beliefs in order to explain our own and others' behavior. Drs. Sommerville (UW) and Saxe (Massachusetts Institute for Technology) are investigating the development of thinking about people from infancy through the school years using both behavioral and brain-based methods.



Wednesday, 3/3, 7 – 9pm
Location: Kane 120
UW Seattle Campus

Early Adversity and the Neurobehavioral Development of Children
Adversity or disadvantage experienced early in children's lives can lead to enduring social, emotional, and academic issues. Drs. Lengua (UW) and Fisher (University of Oregon) examine how familial and social factors associated with adversity can shape brain development in a way that undermines children's self-regulation and positive adjustment. They will highlight promising programs that promote positive family and school contexts and prevent adverse outcomes for children.

Also, KUOW had a great show this week with Sir Ken Robinson who wrote a book called The Element. He was a really fascinating guest and he talked a lot about education. From the show notes:

Wouldn't it be great if you devoted your life to the thing you were most passionate about, and that best used your talents? If you've already found your 'element,' Sir Ken Robinson would congratulate you — but he believes too many of us haven't a clue what we're best at. Find out why, and get your imagination going!

Sir Ken Robinson is a creativity expert and educator. He has led commissions on creativity, education and the economy for governments including the UK, the US and Singapore, and for Northern Ireland's peace process. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 2003 for his achievements in creativity, education and the arts. His most recent book is "The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday Open Thread

The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested.  It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio.  (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Read more

Breaking It Down: Where the District Might Close Schools

Update 2: an absolutely fabulous interactive map made by parent Beth Day (@thebethocracy on Twitter - she covers Board meetings and is fun to read).   end of update    Update 1: Mea culpa, I did indeed get Decatur and Thornton Creek mixed up. Thanks to all for the correction. end of update   I suspect some who read this post will be irate. Why do this? Because the district seems very hellbent on this effort with no oversight skid marks from the Board.    To clearly state - I do not believe that closing 20 schools is a good idea. I think they hit on 20 because they thought it might bring in the most savings. But the jury is still out on the savings because the district has not shown its work nor its data. I suspect closing schools and THEN leasing/renting them is the big plan but that means the district really has to keep the buildings up.   But this district, with its happy talk about "well-resourced schools" is NOT acknowledging the pain and yes, grief, that is to come fro
Read more

MEETING CANCELED - Hey Kids, A Meeting with Three(!) Seattle Schools Board Directors

 Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting.  In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance.  - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
Read more