Smart Parents
We spend a lot of our time creating and sharing resources for educators and parents (who are often one and the same audience). Time and time again, we observe that families are left out of the equation when it comes to determining the primary audience for education reports, papers and articles—even though they are among the hungriest for informed opinions that can help them. Smart Parents is a blog series for parents, by parents who are navigating educational opportunities + making powerful decisions for and with their students. Learn more in Smart Parents: Parenting for Powerful Learning.
Parenting for Powerful Learning: 35 Tips
We can turn our parenting interactions into learning opportunities at home, on field trips, and during weekends to help our kids learn while with us. From making dinner together to turning old cardboard boxes into whatever the kids' imagine, here are 35 tips for creating powerful learning experiences for all ages.
How to Turn Screen Time into Family Time
By: Michelle Miller. Michelle brings her expertise from working in early childhood and technology at Joan Ganz Cooney Center to this article about ways parents can decide what to download and how to use technology as a learning tool. She includes questions parents can ask themselves about screen time including what tech they allow and also advice for how parents can set predictable routines for tech at home.
Ready For The World: Redefining Success In The Age Of Change
By: Antonia Slagle. As part of our Smart Parents series, Antonia writes about her son's own educational experiences and how her son's high school allowed him to have personalized learning opportunities including important internship experiences and mentors.
Kids, Smart Phones, and Social Media: 6 Rules for Success and Safety
By: Janice Wyatt-Ross. Janice brings her expertise as an administrator and a parent in this article about how parents can help their students navigate social media. Janice offers 6 tips for parents and educators to help ensure success and safety.
Everything is Different Now: Parenting for Powerful Learning
Parenting is quite a bit different than it was when Tom and his wife Karen were busy raising their two daughters. In this post, Tom writes about the ways parenting has changed and the ways that it has stayed the same. Tom argues that the most important thing a parent can do is create lasting learning experiences for and with their child.
Is Your Child’s School Student-Centered? A Checklist for School Visits
Whether it’s your neighborhood, district, public, private, or charter school, parents often want to visit a school before their child attends, or after they have started a new school. Student-centered learning drives performance, enhances engagement and puts students in the driver's seat. This article features things to look for during a school visit and questions to ask school staff to learn more about student-centered learning.
10 Things Parents of High School Juniors Should Start Doing Now
By: Carol Barash. As part of our Smart Parents series, Carol offers 10 tips for parents of high school juniors that go beyond a practical checklist and instead invite an opportunity to connect with your child at this critical age. Recommendations include listening to your child, keeping the doors of communication open, and having fun.
Growth Mindset Parenting
By: Eduardo Briceño. As part of our Smart Parents series, Eduardo, CEO and co-founder of Mindset Works, writes about the importance of growth mindset and how parents can encourage a growth mindset through becoming a growth mindset role model and monitoring how they talk to their students about hard work, praise, and intelligence.
Leveraging Innovative Policy Options for Students
By: Jamey Fitzpatrick. In this Smart Parents series blog, Jamey writes about the role of parents in helping their children successfully navigate online learning options, and shares resources for learning more about supporting students in online learning environments.
Early Childhood Education is Critical for our Own Kids’ Future – and the Nation’s
By: Kris Perry. High quality early childhood education makes sense and helps prepare our youngest children for success in school but there's a need for support and funding.