Self-Directed Education as the Pursuit of Passions
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201811/how-schools-thwart-passions Author(s): Peter Gray, Ph.D. Summary: Passion for learning is thwarted by: Requiring everyone to do the same things at the same time. It’s not possible for all the children in a room to be passionately interested in the same thing at the same time. Replacing intrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivators, such as grades and…
Read MoreThe Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182 Author(s): Kenneth Ginsburg Summary: “Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has…
Read MoreThe Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/3/e20182058 American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report: Guidance for the Clinician in Rendering Pediatric Care (2018) Authors: Yogman, Garner, Hutchinson, Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff Summary Play is: an activity that is intrinsically motivated, entails active engagement, results in joyful discovery, is voluntary, is fun and spontaneous. [pg. 2] “Children are often seen actively engaged in and passionately…
Read MoreScientists Say Child’s Play Helps Build A Better Brain
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/06/336361277/scientists-say-childs-play-helps-build-a-better-brain NPR Morning Edition, Jon Hamilton Summary “The experience of play changes the connections of the neurons at the front end of your brain, [sic] And without play experience, those neurons aren’t changed.” It is those changes in the prefrontal cortex during childhood that help wire up the brain’s executive control center [sic]. But to…
Read MoreThe cognitive benefits of play: Effects on the learning brain
https://www.parentingscience.com/benefits-of-play.html Author(s): Gwen Dewar, Ph.D. Summary Play improves memory and stimulates the growth of the cerebral cortex Play and exploration trigger the secretion of BDNF, a substance essential for the growth of brain cells Kids pay more attention to academic tasks when they are given frequent, brief opportunities for free play (P.E. is not an…
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