© 2015 Jessica Ottewell, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio Over the weekend, Alfie Kohn wrote a piece for Salon headlined The perils of "Growth Mindset" education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system. It’s divided into four parts and I think the first section offers a spot-on critique of some who view the idea of a "growth-mindset" and other Social Emotional Learning concepts as the primary answer to the challenges facing our students and schools. It’s similar to analyses that I’ve offered elsewhere (see The manipulation of Social Emotional Learning and The Best Articles About The Study Showing Social Emotional Learning Isn’t Enough). And I, like Kohn, am critical of what can be perceived as Professor Dweck’s occasional pronouncements that appear to support those in what I call the "Let Them Eat Character!" camp (see Our Students Are Not Supermen & Superwomen and The Limits To The Power Of A Growth Mindset (& The Dangers When We Don’t Recognize Them)). But I think Kohn goes too far by portraying it as an either/or situation facing us in our classrooms — I believe the idea of a growth mindset can have a very positive impact on our students (and I’ve seen it). I also believe that helping students become aware of social/economic/political/racial challenges facing them and how to respond effectively, including through becoming active citizens, can also have a very positive impact on our students (and I’ve seen those benefits, too). I also think it’s unfortunate that Kohn doesn’t mention some of Professor Dweck’s recent public efforts to rein in some of the misuses of her theory (see Why the ‘false growth mindset’ explains so much). Perhaps, as the study in the below tweet suggests, either/or in many instructional situations is often not the paradigm that serves our students best… Fascinating research of what teaching appeared to improve outcomes in Israel (HT @cmr_ed) http://t.co/6DMYOQkhkN pic.twitter.com/yidHfNo01R — David Weston (@informed_edu) May 27, 2015 I’m adding this post to The Best Resources On Helping Our Students Develop A "Growth Mindset."

© 1910 The Library of Congress, Flickr | PD | via Wylio The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified 95 years ago today. You might be interested in The Best Resources For Learning About Women’s Suffrage. 95 years ago today: 19th amendment ratified; women gain right to vote in The United States. http://t.co/ajEIESnmgW pic.twitter.com/pHzQ4N8HI9 — NYT Archives (@NYTArchives) August 18, 2015

© 2008 Alison, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio How to Never Succumb to Boredom is a very good piece over at Bright. I’m going to have students read it and then answer this prompt: What is the author saying about boredom? Do you agree with his view? To support your opinion, be sure to include specific examples drawn from your own experience, your observations of others, or any of your readings. I’m adding this post to: The Best Posts & Articles On Boredom & How Students & Teachers Can Deal With It The Best Posts On Writing Instruction

Here’s an interesting new TED-Ed video and lesson:

© 2005 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio August 29th is the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. You can find many related resources at: The Best Short Video Clips About Hurricane Katrina The Best Websites For Teaching & Learning About New Orleans

The New York Times has just published a review of a new book on the school reform fiasco in Newark, New Jersey titled The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools? I’ve previously posted about the excellent article the author, Dale Russakoff, wrote about Newark for The New Yorker, which she obviously then expanded and turned into this book. Here’s an excerpt from the review: You might also be interested in The Best Posts & Articles For Learning About Newark’s $100 Million From Facebook. You can also find even more recent updates on what is happening with Newark schools here.

This is a pretty interesting, and a bit depressing, video from Vox that I’m adding to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures:

© 1973 The U.S. National Archives, Flickr | PD | via Wylio There has been a lot of media about what has been called a "teacher shortage." Here are some of the best articles I’ve seen about it: Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional) is from The New York Times. Peter Greene has a related post that worth’s a read, too. Teacher Shortage? Or Teacher Pipeline Problem? is from NPR. The Hidden Costs Of Teacher Turnover is a  report from NPR. You might also be interested in a three-part series I published on this topic at Education Week Teacher last year. Is There a Teacher Shortage? That Depends How You Frame It is from Ed Week. Some Districts Battle Shortage of Teachers as School Begins is from ABC News. Thanks to Alexander Russo for the tip. Bay Area school districts scramble amid teacher shortage http://t.co/6dDF2NjLsw — Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) August 16, 2015 The Teacher Shortage, via @nytimes great commentary by @rweingarten http://t.co/Sp8UpaTVPr — Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) August 16, 2015 California's Teacher Supply in 15 Charts http://t.co/8Fu5PLO5uX pic.twitter.com/RBc8Fg7TkT — Paul Bruno (@MrPABruno) August 12, 2015 Two Views: Why Is There a Teacher Shortage? http://t.co/woi8IHQNtp via @dianeravitch — Amy Berard (@1amyberard) August 10, 2015

PertsLab shared a report on an interesting study with unsurprising results, Warmth, not punishment, helps middle-school students learn, U-M study says. Though the study is focused on parenting, it’s easy to substitute the word "teaching." It’s results are similar to two previous studies I’ve written about, Study: "Authoritative," Not "Authoritarian," Classroom Management Works Best For Boys. Here’s an excerpt from the article about the new research: I’m adding this post to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos Explaining Why Punishment Is Often Not The Best Classroom Strategy.

I’ll be developing weekly student interactives for English Language Learners at The New York Times Learning Network starting after Labor Day. The exercises, which should be fairly creative and the posts will include resources to first develop background knowledge and writing prompts for students to respond to — on paper or in the NY Times comments section (if they’re thirteen or older). You can access all my previous ELL posts for The Learning Network here (they include both columns for teachers and interactives for students) and see a list at All My NY Times Posts For English Language Learners - Linked With Descriptions. I think, and hope, that teachers and students will find them useful….