In an earlier post, I pointed out how over the course of millions of years of human evolution, reading and literacy have occupied only the last 5000 years of human existence.  Consequently, our brains did not evolve any brain regions specifically for reading, but must make use of preexisting structures of the brain to make...Read More

When I was a kid I used to enjoy Mad Magazine, which I loved for many reasons, the irreverence, the hilarity, the satire, and more. One feature that I remember in particular involved cartoons that spelled out nonsense words as sound effects. For example:  ”Glomp!” “Flaaack!” ”Pffft!” ”Sproing!” (above – a page from Mad with...Read More

New studies have revealed that screen time (TV, video games, Internet etc.) modifies brain structure and cognitive functioning.  In one study where children between the ages of 3 and 5 had their brains scanned, those kids whose screen time exceeded the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines had lower levels of white matter integrity in...Read More

I’m happy to see that educators are paying more attention these days to the impact that past traumas have had on students and the need for an emphasis on social and emotional learning in the classroom.  This comes as welcome relief from the strong emphasis that has been placed in past years on standards and...Read More

Yesterday, I wrote a blog post giving 17 reasons why I believe ADHD is not a legitimate medical disorder.  Today, I’ve converted the script into a video with a narrative track and a series of images to drive home what I am saying.  I hope that it will spark some meaningful dialogue. For more information...Read More