Mind in the Making

Executive Function Skills Are Essential to America's Present and Future

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Families and Work Institute, Mind in the Making, Early Child Development, Executive Functions, Adele Diamond, Cecilia Rouse, Video, Education News
Ellen Galinsky

As we learn more about executive function skills and as we begin to promote them, it is clear that we can make progress on some of America's more enduring challenges.

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Let's Put the Child Back Together -- The Social, Emotional, Physical, and Cognitive Child

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Early Childhood Research, Cognitive Learning, Early Child Development, Mind in the Making, Schools, Education Reform, Social Emotional Learning, Video, Education News
Ellen Galinsky

Although there are times when learning is more cognitive than social or more emotional than cognitive, when children are fully engaged in learning, they are engaged on all these levels.

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Promoting Self Control: It Might Not Be What You Think

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Sandra Aamodt, Promoting Life Skills, Ellen Galinsky, Sam Wang, Arts and Academic Success, Adele Diamond, Mind in the Making, Carol Dweck, Walter Mischel, Promoting Self Control, Mindsets, Parents News
Ellen Galinsky

How do we promote self control? Here are a few ideas from research that show it's not how we might think.

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Give the Gift of Curiosity for the Holidays -- Lessons From Laura Schulz

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 02.18.2012

Read More: Child Development, Mind in the Making, Promoting Curiosity, Ellen Galinsky, Laura Schulz, Curiosity, Video, Parents News
Ellen Galinsky

It is by remaining curious that children learn, whether about the natural world or about people. And that is a gift that lasts long after the holidays are over!

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Helping Children Thrive When Faced With Setbacks: Lessons From Carol Dweck

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 10.30.2011

Read More: Healthy Living News, Brain Science, Ellen Galinsky, Children, Child Development Research, Mind in the Making, Carol Dweck, Healthy Living Mind, Developmental Care, Children's Health, Parents News
Ellen Galinsky

The lesson is this -- every day is a new day in being a parent. We can help our children learn not to wilt when there are setbacks.

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Fast-Tracking to Kindergarten? How About a Good Track to Learning in Kindergarten and Beyond?

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 07.18.2011

Read More: Education, Play, Kate Zernike, Mind in the Making, Kumon, 7-Essential-Life-Skills-for-Kids, Parenting, Learning, Kindergarten, Education News
Ellen Galinsky

There are the two views of early education that have been pitted against each other for decades: pouring knowledge into children to build bigger brains or putting them out side and giving them opportunities to play.

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An Epidemic of Stress Among College Students (and Younger Children) Is NOT Inevitable

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Joe Campos, Ellen Galinsky, Heidelise Als, Megan Gunnar, Nathan Fox, Mind in the Making, Academics, Tamar Lewin, Stress, College News
Ellen Galinsky

Is an epidemic of childhood stress inevitable? No. Life is certainly stressful, but by helping our kids create strategies to manage stress, we are giving them a resource for life.

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Give the Gift of Curiosity to a Child for the Holidays

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Irving Harris, Child Development, Mind in the Making, Laura Schulz, Curiosity, Learning, Fostering Creativity, Education, Keys to Success, Creative Children, Education News
Ellen Galinsky

Being curious is a key to living a life of accomplishment and meaning. So why do we pay so little attention to promoting curiosity in children?

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Changing the Equations to Improve the Bottom Line

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Solix, Mind in the Making, Alfred P Sloan Foundation, Valerie Jarrett, Workplace Flexibility, Health, Menlo Innovations, Business News
Ellen Galinsky

When asked for a closing comment at a Forum on Workplace Flexibility sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation last week, Senior Advisor to Preside...

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Rethinking How We Learn and Work

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Attention, Ellen Galinsky, Focus, Tony Hsieh, Distraction, Edward Hallowell, Mind in the Making, Linda Stone, Technology, Children, Schools, 92nd Street Y, Education News
Ellen Galinsky

We need to focus on managing our attention and energy, not just our time. Some schools are experimenting with providing longer time periods for learning and finding that it can be very effective.

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Fixing Education: Lessons from Waiting for Superman & a Visit to the Harlem Children's Zone

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: The Science of Learning, Education, Waiting for Superman, David Guggenheim, Mind in the Making, Harlem Children's Zone, Geoffrey Canada, Learning, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

I know a documentary can't do everything -- and this one has a crystal clear intent, but we cannot and must not ignore these factors if we are to make progress.

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The Birth of a Playful Movement (VIDEO)

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Education, Roberta Golinkoff, David Elkind, Play, Mind in the Making, Darell-Hammond, Kathy-Hirsh-Pasek, David Rockwell, Stuart Brown, Learning, kaBoom!, Dale Dougherty, Ultimate-Block-Party, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

On Saturday October 3rd, the public in New York City's Central Park will have a chance to enjoy The Ultimate Block Party -- a day of free family fun and the launch of a movement in support of playful learning.

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A Retrospective on High School Reunions: The First Years Last Forever

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mind in the Making, Education, Suzanne Carothers, Reunions, Preschool, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

If anyone doesn't think the early years are important, doesn't believe the reams of reports and research on their enduring impact, I would love them to have been at my reunion.

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The U.S Is 11th: It's Time to Listen to the Children

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Newsweek, Education, New York Times, Mind in the Making, High School, High School Survey of Youth Engagement, Education Reform, Learning, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

The United States has fallen to 11th in Newsweek's list of the best countries in the world. What is interesting is that the debate about why we are losing our "oomph as a superpower" has focused in part on U.S. education.

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The Brain Unplugged From Technology: Implications for Learning in Young Children

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Unplugging, Early Education, Early Child Development, New York Times, Mind in the Making, Families and Work Institute, Brain Development, Technology, Education, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

Last month, Professor David Strayer organized a week-long camping trip with four other neuroscientists to experience for themselves how unplugging from technology affected their own brains.

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It's Not Just the Teacher -- It's What the Teacher Teaches, Including Life Skills!

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Education, Research, David Leonhardt, Mind in the Making, New York Times, New Study, 7-Essential-Life-Skills-for-Kids, Teachers, Kindergarten, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

As I reviewed study after study, across multiple disciplines, from developmental psychology to neuroscience, it became abundantly clear to me that life skills make a difference in children's short-term and long-term success.

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Seven Ways to Help Your Children Thrive During Summer

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: David Von Drehle, Families and Work Institute, Mind in the Making, Education, Time Magazine, Learning, Back to School, Summer Vacation, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

Incorporating the program principles recently featured in Time magazine, here are seven suggestions for low-cost or no-cost activities to help keep your kids from falling behind during "the summer slide."

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The Promise of Play: A Report from the 2010 Aspen Institute Ideas Festival

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Imagination-Playground, Aspen Ideas Festival, Darrell Hammond, Play, 7 Essential Life Skills for Kids, Let's Move, Mind in the Making, David Rockwell, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Institute of Play, kaBoom!, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

There is no doubt that "play" is under appreciated, even misunderstood. So it was significant to me that the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival boldly embraced play and added a whole track to its agenda called "the promise of play."

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Education: Reform or Transformation? A Report from the 2010 Aspen Institute Ideas Festival

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Maker Faire, School of One, Mind in the Making, Education, Aspen Ideas Festival, MC2STEM High School, Youmedia, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

The United States was once first in the world in college graduation rates, we are now 14th. Many well-known speakers from very diverse fields at see the need for educational change as a societal, economic and moral imperative

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What Nurtures Leaders Who Have Bold Ideas? A Report from the Aspen Institute Ideas Festival

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Greg Mortenson, Mind in the Making, Aspen Ideas Festival, Evan Williams, Sir Ken Robinson, John Guare, Marc Tucker, Biz Stone, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

Let's assume that the people invited to present at the 2010 Aspen Institute Ideas Festival have important ideas to share. There are important things we can learn from their own career paths: how did they become people with "bold ideas?"

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How Kids Learn to Communicate in a Social Media World

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Social Media, Mind in the Making, Parenting, Anne Fernald, Communication, Video, Healthy Living News
Ellen Galinsky

A New York Times' story on June 9, 2010 poses a new question that parents are beginning to ask about kids and technology. We have been asking oursel...

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Bullying: We All Can Make A Difference

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Paul Bloom, Phoebe Prince, Youth, Karen Wynn, Bullying, Colleen O'Neal, Mind in the Making, Felton Earls, Kiley Hamlin, Larry Aber, Video, Healthy Living News
Ellen Galinsky

If very young children are drawn to others who are helpful, then what happens to them as they grow up? Why do some children and their friends become bullies?

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Child Development Experts and Parents: Redefining the Relationship

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 10.27.2011

Read More: Child Development, Mind in the Making, Zero to Three, Joseph Campos, Lisa Belkin, Impact News
Ellen Galinsky

Is there a gap between what child development research has found and what parents believe? A new survey from Zero to Three, a nonprofit devoted to ...

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What is the lasting impact of child care as children grow?

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Child Development, Youth Development, Child Care, Mind in the Making, Ed Zigler, Early Childhood Education, Nih, Deborah Lowe Vandell, Nichd, Healthy Living News
Ellen Galinsky

The children in the largest and most comprehensive longitudinal study of child care are now teenagers! Today, May 14th, a report on how these childre...

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Reducing Aggression in Children When 1/3 of Kids Are Bullied

Ellen Galinsky | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mind in the Making, Parenting, Aggression, Cyberbullying, School Violence, Children, Bullying, Anger, Perspective, Healthy Living News
Ellen Galinsky

What are the implications for parents? For me, it is promoting the life skill of perspective taking in everyday situations with our kids. Whether we are talking, watching television or a movie, or reading books.

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