Ron Clark Academy

The kids from the Ron Clark Academy are back in the news are back in the news because they'll be performing at next week's inauguration.

I just think that the excitement about politics expressed by kids of this age is wonderful. Unfortunately, now I can't get that song out of my head.

Ron Clark Academy: You Can Vote However You Like

Writing Contest for Kids Under 15

The bright youth of today can be intimidating. Sure, movies come to mind with the type-A personality high school students running for some seat in student government (Reese Witherspoon in Election comes to mind). But, as my husband would say, "it's a movie. Don't take it so seriously."

When confronted with a 14 year-old who is probably smarter than me, I can't help but recoil in shock...horror...envy. LA Times writer Steve Lopez reacted differently when confronted with his friend's precociously clever Rebekah; he initiated a writing contest.

"I'm calling on youngsters 15 and under to show me what you can do. You can write about what parents don't know about kids. You can explain how we can be better parents. You can lay out what really bugs you about us.

Or, like Rebekah, who just graduated from King Middle School's magnet program in Silver Lake, you can tell us what chores need to be done while you're doing more important things. And if you've already written a set of going-away instructions, like Rebekah, feel free to submit it.

Keep the essays under 500 words and include your name, city or neighborhood and phone number. And parents, DO NOT try to cheat and write the essays for your children. I'll be able to tell, and I'll have you reported to the authorities. Besides, if you're like me, you probably can't write as well as your children anyway.

The winner will get a Los Angeles Times shirt and cap, a tour of the newspaper and lunch in the cafeteria, and the winning essay will be posted on The Times' website. That means someone out there will be able to boast, for the rest of his or her life, of having been a published writer before being old enough to drive."

As for Rebekah, upon leaving for summer camp in Malibu, she laid out a "to-do" list for her parents to follow through on in her absence. A few of the line items are listed in the article, and she's a busy, busy girl. Most impressive for me was knowing that at her age, she can be this insightful.

"'Attend the global warming thing for LACER and film it, please. If they want me to say something, then say, 'I ask you to remember that it isn't the people with cars, air conditioners, running water, electricity, and medicine that are hit first by global warming. Think of the people who don't have these privileges when you decide what you are going to do to keep our environment livable.'"

I'm pretty sure I wasn't thinking of saving the Earth at 14. Self-realization is a b*&$^.

Do the Eldest Boys Have the Advantage?

Norweigian researchers debunk the assumption that the eldest boy in families has the IQ advantage by presenting a more complex story. Boys who grow up as the "senior" child in the family have a higher IQ on average than other siblings. It's a fascinating finding because it really brings back the debate of nature vs. nurture and it reminds us that nothing is ever black and white, but an indiscernible series of grays.

They studied the IQ results of 240,000 men drafted into the armed forces over a 10 year period and found the following:
1st born: 103.2
2nd born:101.2
2nd born if 1st born dies: 102.9
3rd born: 100.0
3rd born if 1st & 2nd die: 102.6

A few concerns I have about the conclusions:
-- Are the differences in the IQ scores statistically significant? Perhaps they are, but the differences seem very slight to me.
-- How do girls rate by comparison? I can understand that given their source of data (drafted men aged 18-19), a comparison simply wasn't possible. However, it would be interesting to see the differences. Do girls fare as well in a similar situation? Does the eldest boy fare differently if he's the elder of sisters only? The article notes that some such studies have been conducted with conflicting results. Is it possible that the boys' higher IQ scores are, as the article suggests, caused by his role in the family? That is, he has to help younger siblings with various tasks including homework. If data on girls is conflicting, perhaps it's because not all families expect the eldest girl to help younger siblings in an intellectual.

One more thought. The article mentions that "the older child benefits by having to organize and express its thoughts to tutor youngsters." This is interesting to me because I've heard of a classroom learning technique where two different grades are mixed together so that the younger student can learn from the older, and the older is challenged to reinterpret something learned so as to explain it to someone else. Personally, I believe that's an incredibly effective method of learning because I know that if I can repeat something effectively in my own words, I've understood the concept, not just the words.

Are School Events Scheduled for Non-Working Parents?

Dani Shapiro, a writer and mother, wrote a piece on the Huffington Post today about having to miss her 8 year old son's school play despite her best efforts to attend. She posed an interesting question that I have to wonder about myself. "Why would a performance of a school play be scheduled for nine o'clock in the morning?"

Since my son isn't of school age, I never think about stuff like this. But it does make me worry about the day I do. I don't plan on being a stay at home parent forever, so what kind of balancing act will my husband and I find ourselves in? And until then, there will surely be days when he will have to miss events because of work. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but the piece certainly made me pause for thought.