A leading psychiatrist from Trinity College in Dublin, Michael Fitzgerald, has put forth the idea that many leading figures in the fields of science, politics and the arts achieved success because they had a form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome. Included in his list are such towering figures as Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, George Orwell, H G Wells and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Prof Fitzgerald argues that the link between Asperger's, creativity and genius is caused by common genetic causes. His ideas are in keeping with a theme that has regularly been raised over the years; namely, that "psychiatric disorders can also have positive dimensions."

In particular, he proposed that multiple genes, varying from individual to individual, produce people who show the following constellation: highly focused, don't fit into the school system, often have poor social relationships and eye contact. They can be quite oppositional, and usually highly moral and ethical.

Part of their strength comes from the fact that "they can persist with a topic for 20-30 years without being distracted by what other people think. And they can produce in one lifetime the work of three or four other people."
As examples, he cites Isaac Newton who was known to work non-stop for three days without recognizing day or night, often forgetting to eat, and Einstein who had to work in a patent office because he was too disruptive to get a university job.

Fitzgerald has stated his ideas at length in his book "Genius Genes: How Asperger Talents Changed the World" published at the end of last year, http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Genes-Asperger-Talents-Changed/dp/1931282447

Professor Fitzgerald's ideas fit in with the growing recognition that the range of autistic conditions is not confined to limitations--but rather is often accompanied by unusual strengths. For those of us interested in reading, one of those strengths is a condition known as hyperlexia. This term refers to the fact that the children, without any need for teaching or formal instruction, are superb at decoding the words on the printed page. The results can be amazing--such as a four year old I met who could fluently read the New York Times. But more about that another time.

Posted by Marion Blank at 01:06 PM
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As parents know only too well, America's children aren't reading very much or very well these days. Concerns about the situation keep growing as scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress have shown little improvement in the past 15 years.

In an effort to turn matters around, the Library of Congress and the Children's Book Council, a trade group, announced the appointment of the USA's first "ambassador for young people's literature," a sort of poet laureate for the Harry Potter set.

As the inaugural ambassador, they named Jon Scieszka--a renowned author of 30 books.

Children are attracted to his irreverent style. For example, the hero of his most popular story, The Stinky Cheese Man, is in fact a tiny wheel of smelly cheese.

And here is an example of one of his passages from another book called Science Verse:

Mary had a little worm.
She thought it was a chigger.
But everything that Mary ate,
Only made it bigger.
OK, that's pretty funny, actually.
Would you like the payoff?
It came with her to school one day,
And gave the kids a fright,
Especially when the teacher said,
"Now, that's a parasite."

And that's the Big Idea: Make kids laugh and they'll keep reading. If you would like to learn more, you can go to his website at http://www.jsworldwide.com/

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:11 AM
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At a number of schools in the poorer sections of New York City, students are being paid to do well on citywide exams in reading and math. Seventh-graders earn up to $750 and fourth-graders up to $250. This is all part of the Spark Program--part of Mayor Bloomberg's ant-poverty initiative.

As you might imagine, the idea is generating lots of discussion---and controversy.

The issues range from
-schools that were not included in the pilot program asking to be included
-doubts about whether any gains will be sustained
-questions as to where future funding will be found (since it all currently depends on private money that the billionaire mayor has raised)
-students becoming obsessed with test performance
-what happens to all the grades not included

and on and on.

Still, the program is far more than the usual theoretical discussions about how to improve learning and education. That is a welcome development. It will be interesting to see if it takes hold in a significant way.

Posted by Marion Blank at 03:00 AM
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The many families who struggle with the nightly homework ritual might will be interested in a new Canadian study involving almost 1000 families. It reports that, at least at the elementary school level, homework offers a double whammy. It's of little value to the children while leading to burn out in the children and their parents. At the older grades, things were different with benefits shown for students in grades 7 and 8 and high school.

Significantly, the findings do not include reading. Indeed, reading with, or to, children every day has been shown to be a key factor in boosting academic success.

The findings which fit with a growing body of research in the U.S. came via a study conducted by Professors Linda Cameron and Lee Bartel of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Cameron, a former kindergarten teacher, was quoted as saying, "For elementary school, especially for the primary grades, I am down on homework entirely."

Homework, in Canada and the United States, has been a hot topic since the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan began raising the idea of back-to-basics and more rigorous schooling as the way to economic prosperity. But the rhetoric doesn't fit the facts. Further, given the busy life styles of today's families, a growing number of parents are complaining that children have no downtime. One writer has even gone so far as to say today's children have a "nature deficit disorder."

The study also found:
• Not only does homework cut into family time, it becomes a primary source of arguments, power struggles and is disruptive to building a strong family, including putting strain on marriages.
• A large number of children in kindergarten are assigned homework, most of it "drill and practice."
• 28 per cent of Grade 1 students and more than 50 per cent of Grade 2 students spend more than 20 minutes on homework daily.
• More than three-quarters of parents with children in Grade 4 and under help their children with homework. But, by Grade 4, only half of parents feel they are competent enough to do so.
• Parents are unsure about the benefits of homework; by Grade 5, just 20 per cent of parents feel it has a "positive effect on achievement."
• Half of children in junior kindergarten are enthusiastic about homework; by Grade 6, it drops to just 6 per cent and by Grade 12, just 4 per cent.

Those interested in learning more about this issue can turn to http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/oise/Research_Expertise/Issues_that_Matter.html

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:20 AM
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One of the remarkable advances in the last several decades has been the growing understanding and acceptance of individuals with learning disabilities. As we know from major figures such as Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko's and Charles Schwab, the investment banker along with many others, individuals with learning disabilities can be enormously talented and make phenomenal contributions.

As part of the growing acceptance that has been taking place, The National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) holds a "Portraits of LD" competition. The grand prize winner will win a trip to New York City along with other treats. In addition, two runners-up will be chosen to receive a cash prize of $200 each, while selected submissions will be showcased on the LD.org Web site and showcased at the annual benefit dinner of the society.

The competition is open to all children, teens and adults with LD. But there is not a lot of time left to enter. The deadline is February 8th. So if you, or someone you know, might be interested, go to
http://www.ncld.org/content/view/1104/456150/
for further information.

Posted by Marion Blank at 10:32 PM
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