One of the greatest predictors of academic success that exist is the emotional stability of the home. So if parents are interested in education reform, they should also be interested in how they conduct themselves in front of their children. If they are homeschooling their kids, they are even more exposed, so the idea is even more important.
John MedinaThe problem in todayโs economy is that people are typically starting a family at the very time they are also supposed to be doing their best work. They are trying to be productive at some of the most stressful times of their lives. What if companies took this unhappy collision of life events seriously? They could offer Gottmanโs intervention as a benefit for every newly married, or newly pregnant, employee.
John MedinaPeople try to apply directly results from the cognitive neurosciences directly to classroom practice and I have to tell you I am very skeptical about the exercise. We don't know very much about how the brain works - we don't even know how you remember to write your name.
John MedinaThe brain cannot multitask. Multitasking, when it comes to paying attention, is a myth. The brain naturally focuses on concepts sequentially, one at a timeโฆTo put it bluntly, research shows that we canโt multitask. We are biologically incapable of processing information-rich inputs simultaneouslyโฆStudies show that a person who is interrupted takes 50 percent longer to accomplish a task. Not only that, he or she makes up to 50 percent more errors.
John MedinaIf you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you would probably design something like a classroom.
John MedinaNot even identical twins can have the exact same experiences, and their brains are not wired the same way.
John MedinaAmericans have been good at improvising for a long time, but in the last few decades, we have gotten very sloppy about the rote memorization of facts. That's a discipline issue. You need the rote skill in order to have something to improvise off of, otherwise you are simply playing air guitar.
John Medina