A little light summer reading
Our vacation last week was wonderful for several reasons, one of them being the fact that I was able to do a lot of reading. It's an interesting group of books that I'm working my way through (or finished entirely) and not altogether related. But one of my favorite things is to read a group of disparate books and discover ways that they comment on one another. Here is my reading list:
"Constant distractions are known to impair children's cognitive development in other ways, too. A University of Massachusetts study conducted by the preeminent academic researcher Daniel R. Anderson on the effects of television on young children showed that even the seemingly benign practice of keeping television running in the background at home can be disastrous for toddlers' development because it interferes with their ability to concentrate on their own activities. The study reported that one-year-olds' focused play is reduced by half when the television is on, even if the children are not specifically tuning in to the programming. Focus play -- which, as the celebrated preschool pioneer Maria Montessori pointed out, is the work of childhood -- is essential for normal cognitive development. In other words, it is essential for little brains to grow." (p.12)
- Surviving the Applewhites
(It was our recorded book for the drive and we all are now consumed with the idea of needing a barn to renovate into a theater.)
- Outliers: The Story of Success
- Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children be Children in our Achievement Oriented Society
- Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds
"Constant distractions are known to impair children's cognitive development in other ways, too. A University of Massachusetts study conducted by the preeminent academic researcher Daniel R. Anderson on the effects of television on young children showed that even the seemingly benign practice of keeping television running in the background at home can be disastrous for toddlers' development because it interferes with their ability to concentrate on their own activities. The study reported that one-year-olds' focused play is reduced by half when the television is on, even if the children are not specifically tuning in to the programming. Focus play -- which, as the celebrated preschool pioneer Maria Montessori pointed out, is the work of childhood -- is essential for normal cognitive development. In other words, it is essential for little brains to grow." (p.12)
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