Last week we discussed some positive ways to discipline junior high and high school adolescents and students that attempted to understand their stage of development and show them dignity, respect, and trust with responsibility as a means of preventing major disciplinary disruptions from occurring in the first place. But what do we do when we [...]

In Part One I addressed Mr. Zicherman’s claim that video games make kids smarter. I argued that the only brain benefits of playing video games are related to areas concerned with problem-solving and multi-tasking. Therefore the bold claim that kids are “smarter” from playing video games should not be made without pointing out the many limitations [...]

The subject of video games and kids always evokes strong opinions within me, so recently when I saw a TED Talk called “How Games Make Kids Smarter,” I knew I had to watch the video. My original intention when I clicked on the link was to debunk the basic premise that video games make kids smarter. However, [...]

Recently I wrote about how teens’ brains differ from adults’ brains. They respond to differ stimuli and in very different proportions to adults. Sometimes teens overreact to simple matters, and other times they display contradictory behavior: they’re fearless to jump off the roof but petrified to speak to the opposite sex or risk potential embarrassment [...]

We all know teenagers are, well, different. They aren’t kids…but they aren’t adults, either. Probably you didn’t need to read this to know that. Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or anyone, really, you know that when dealing with teens you are dealing with someone in a unique period of development. You were a teen once, too, after [...]

When I teach Study Skills to students, one of the most important things we do is create a learning portfolio for each individual student that is composed of a number of different inventories and tests that assess the learning styles and personality of each child. As we go through the different assessments, I explain to [...]

This post originally appeared on my blog Equipping Educators. “Students, as you leave class, use your phone to take a picture of the code posted by the doorway.” What? Cell phones in the classroom? I thought we were banning those! I mean, can’t kids use them for cheating, texting each other, and gasp, sexting? THE CELL PHONE [...]

This post originally appeared on www.cultivating-kids.com, Jody’s new parenting blog. You can subscribe to the parenting posts by email by visiting the website. No parent likes to discipline. And no child likes being disciplined. That is the starting point for understanding – and eventually mastering – discipline. To borrow and modify a line from Scott [...]

This post originally appeared on Jody’s blog for parents: www.cultivating-kids.com. You can subscribe to the blog via email from the site. A Smart Phone for Parents In my hand I hold a device which could potentially revolutionize parenting. It is a smart phone for parents, complete with its own GPS. It’s called the Genius Parenting System, and it is [...]

It’s true what they say: blessings often come when we least expect it. Today I received a blessing – one I will never forget – from Kristi Morales’ girls’ Bible class at the Master’s Academy in Duncanville. The girls had invited me to their class because they are using the Christian Charm Course for Girls [...]