This just in!  Responses and more in my latest Vlog.  Please check it out below:

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We are not all born equal. At birth, each of our children is born with his or her own degree of vulnerability and resilience based upon both genetics and experience in utero. Experience after birth – the kind and quality of interactions our children have with others in the environment – challenges that vulnerability and resilience to bring about either more or less vulnerability and resilience. Though our capacity to parent our children in healthy ways is paramount, the school we choose for our children is equally so. Read more

As many of you may already know, my 5-year-old son, Jules, attends a Waldorf-inspired school. Please click on the following link to read an article I wrote explaining the neuroscience behind why I chose Waldorf education.

http://themagiconions.blogspot.com/2010/10/discovering-waldorf-waldorf-from.html

With former chancellor Michelle Rhee’s announcement of StudentsFirst.org and its initiative, teachers may feel discouraged about the stability of their profession. There is a movement in education, supported by a swelling of parents, to let bad teachers go. What I hope can be the focus of such a movement is a thoughtful and productive examination of what makes teachers great. There are plenty of fantastic teachers working today. This I know because of the privilege I have had over the last 19 years to work with them. What makes teachers great is not just what you would think from a common sense point of view. Recent neuroscience makes clear how teachers can be most effective no matter how difficult the challenge. Read more

Recently back from speaking to educators in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, I am reminded of the importance of prioritizing in a precise manner when it comes to educational reform. As we consider all the different options we have – more charter schools, longer school days, single-sex “academies” – we must remember a proven fact: Programs don’t change people. People change people. Read more

Some of you have seen the film, “Waiting for Superman,” or at least have heard about its moving account of 4 families struggling with the limits of our current public school system. It was released at just the right time, as educational reform is getting the kind of attention it deserves. The topic is being explored in magazines, movies, on television, and in congress, but what can we expect? Will there finally be the kind of change that leads to long-term results, the kind of change that will alter the trajectory of birth to prison for far too many of our students? Read more

What an inspiring announcement and momentous occasion for education everywhere! A 100 million dollar challenge grant has been given to the city of Newark to help its educational system become a beacon of hope and possibility for the entire country. I know without a doubt that with Governor Christie and Mayor Booker leading the way, we will finally see the kind of reform to our schools that we have needed for decades. Read more

Educators and parents today have bought into the myth that “more equals more.” If our children spend more time in school, have longer academic days, more homework, and less time for “fluff,” like music and art, our test scores will go up, right? Not if the “more” they are experiencing does not involve MORE BALANCE between academics and the arts, academics and physical activity, academics and nature, academics and learning stress-relief skills that they will take with them for the rest of their lives. It is never too early – or too late – to start! Read more

Children pick up on the energy of the adults in their life. The level of activation in our nervous system has a profound physiological effect on them. It matters that we take care of ourselves in the moment a child is struggling before us, that we ground, and breathe, and notice (see previous blog). It also matters how we are taking care of ourselves at every other moment. Here are 3 more important choices we need to make in order to heal a child: Read more

WAKE UP PARENTS!!! — Your Child is Stressed!

5 Ways You Can Heal Your Child

I am so excited to announce the availability for your listening pleasure of a recent teleseminar I gave to parents and educators on the 5 Ways You Can Heal Your Child. Please check it out. Ongoing news, information, and resources are at your fingertips!