My Note: During my recent trip to the Philippines, I did a number of media interviews (television, print, and online). Here is an article that came out of one such interview. It appeared at www.InterAkyson.com, the online news portal of TV 5 in Quezon City, Philippines: Educator warns: Be wary of schools preparing kids for ‘next level,’ focus...Read More
During my recent visit to the Philippines, I had the pleasure of visiting two exemplary schools that meet my definition of “best schools” as described in my book The Best Schools: How Human Development Research Should Inform Educational Practice. They were the Explorations Preschool and its sister school, the Keys Grade School, both in Mandaluyong, part...Read More
Cesarean section births are on the rise. In 2007, 32% of all births in the United States were C-sections compared to 23% in 2000 (in other developed countries the rates range between 10-15%). While some C-sections are medically necessary due to birth complications (e.g. a breach birth etc.), there has been an increase in the...Read More
A mother’s relationship to her infant during the first few months of life is an archetypal one. That means that baby sees the mother not as a personal mother, but as the “great mother” — the all sustaining mother earth. The infant’s connection to the mother is very much a primal one, for he depends...Read More
Eating disorders such as anorexia or bulemia are serious illnesses that affect millions of adolescents and young adults in this country. While much attention has been focused on these disorders, less has been said about how its seeds may be sown in the preteen years. Surveys have shown that the more kids are exposed to...Read More
We’re all familiar with midlife crisis from Gail Sheehy’s bestselling book Passages, and all the references made to it in cartoons, self-help books, movies, ads, and jokes. We’ve become so accustomed to thinking about midlife crisis, that many people cringe when they approach the age of 35 or 40, worried that they’re going to be...Read More
Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (MI theory) has revolutionized the field of education. But it also has important implications for developmental psychology. Gardner’s theory says that there are at least eight different intelligences: linguistic (word smart), logical-mathematical (numbers and reasoning smart), spatial (picture smart), musical (music smart), bodily-kinesthetic (body smart)), interpersonal (people smart), intrapersonal...Read More
A curious developmental phenomenon is occurring in Japan as a result of the stagnant economic conditions that have been present there since the early 1990’s: the emergence of a new group of young adults, mostly men, who have given up going to school or working at a job and have instead chosen to spend virtually...Read More
Fast food chains, snack food companies, and beverage manufacturers that target young people are creating a health crisis that is like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode sometime in the next few decades. Through promotional tie-ins, two-for-one deals, free beverage refills, and access to public schools and other places where kids congregate, corporate pushers...Read More
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