Are we fostering a generation of anxious learners?

What is up with kids today?

At each conference, I heard from both the speakers and from teachers about an apparent tsunami of stress among students.

In the last 10 years of my 40 years of practice, I have been so bowled over by the amount of anxiety I’m seeing in children,” said Martha Bridge Denckla, a clinician and researcher at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and a member of the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives

We’re making pseudo-diagnoses of everyone because we’re asking too much of them at an early age.

“Kids seem to be increasingly less ready than years ago, and yet we’re asking them to do so much more. From the developmental point of view, this is absurd.”

“The level of stress in kids, Stixrud said, “is a similar crisis to global warming.”

He recommends movement and meditation to offset daily anxiety and chronic sleep loss

“If we take care of the nervous system, if we take care of development, we get better results.”

Nobody wants a generation of stressed-out adults with cramped-hand handwriting and trouble paying attention. And if, as Stixrud suggests, we don’t get good results from all this pushing, shouldn’t we stop?     –Nicky PenttilaRead more at danapress.typepad.com

TEDxSydney – Nigel Marsh – Work Life Balance is an Ongoing Battle

Totally inspiring. Most people in his position know what he says is true but few have the guts, or integrity, to publicaly say so. Nigel rocks. hazza199813 1 week ago Read more at www.youtube.com

The Short but Powerful Guide to Finding Your Passion

Following your passion can be a tough thing. But figuring out what that passion is can be even more elusive.

This guide won’t be comprehensive, and it won’t find your passion for you. But it will help you in your journey to find it.

1. What are you good at?

2. What excites you?

3. What do you read about?

4. What have you secretly dreamed of?

5. Learn, ask, take notes

6. Experiment, try

7. Narrow things down

8. Banish your fears

9. Find the time

10. How to make a living doing it

“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” - Confucius Read more at zenhabits.net