The Huffington Post – Kenneth Barish, Ph.D.

“Although it is at times difficult to distinguish cause and effect, clinical research consistently finds high levels of criticism (and fewer positive statements) in the interactions of parents and troubled children.”(more)

Education Week – Lisa Madigan & John Suthers

“As state attorneys general, we know the evidence shows that mental- and behavioral-health treatments and efforts to foster safe school climates go hand in hand when it comes to eliminating school violence.”(more)

NPR – Nancy Shute

“Almost half of teenagers cop to texting while driving. And those texting teens are more likely to make other risky moves while in the car, too.”(more)

Pysch Central – Traci Pedersen

“Early childhood adversity — such as maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence, or living with another person with serious mental illness — may carry heavy consequences from generation to generation, according to a recent report published in JAMA. “(more)

Time – Jeffrey Kluger

“The mind of the polyglot is a very particular thing, and scientists are only beginning to look closely at how acquiring a second language influences learning, behavior and the very structure of the brain itself. At a bilingualism conference last weekend…language experts gathered to explore where the science stands so far and where it’s heading next…”(more)

Time – Maia Szalavitz

“The effects of going hungry in childhood may be more lasting than previously thought. Researchers studying people raised on Barbados who suffered severe starvation as infants found these adults were more anxious, less sociable, less interested in new experiences and more hostile than those who were well-nourished throughout childhood, according to a study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry..”(more)

The Washington Post – T. Rees Shapiro and Sarah L. Voisin

“The curlicue letters of cursive handwriting, once considered a mainstay of American elementary education, have been slowly disappearing from classrooms for years. Now, with most states adopting new national standards that don’t require such instruction, cursive could soon be eliminated from most public schools.”(more)

The New York Times – Alan Schwarz & Sarah Cohen

“Nearly one in five high school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of school-age children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”(more)

Education Next – Joshua Dunn and Martha Derthick

“In a recent wave of cases, lower federal courts have reached contradictory conclusions about school officials’ authority to punish students’ speech in social media, raising difficult questions about the applicability of today’s First Amendment doctrine to online speech.”(more)

The Telegraph – Graeme Paton

“A “perfect storm” of poor parents and over-ambitious heads is fuelling a breakdown of discipline in the classroom, teachers’ leaders warned today.”(more)