Creativity

Puppy dreaming in garden

Science confirms what smart kids knew already: daydreaming makes you intelligent and efficient. Daydreaming can also lead to better life satisfaction, relationships and creativity . Want to help your child release stress and be happy, confident and communicating? Join us on January 31 for my new More than Grades Masterclass.

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“I am optimistic about some things in my life, but you also have to be realistic,” writes an astute reader in response to Saturday’s Love Notes.  This belief in a trade-off between being optimistic and being realistic is something I hear often. In the “real” world of investments, most are aware of the psychological factors […]

Besides being creative, innovative, wildly successful and new-age businesses (that weren’t even dreamed of 30 years ago), do you know what Google, Amazon, Wikipedia & Sim City have in common? The founders of these companies (two at Google) have Montessori educations, says Peter Sims in the Wall Street Journal. What is “a Montessori education?” Although […]

Have you noticed that passion is a favorite new word? “I’m trying to find my passion.” “What if I don’t have a passion?” “You’re so lucky you found your passion.” “I just want my son to find his passion.” I find it inspiring to see that so many people have a passion for passion. It […]

“Bring back Vo-Tech” and “Not everyone needs to go to college—some people would be better in the trades.” These are two comments I often hear when I speak about Gifts that Conflict with School™, The Myths of Education™, or Race to Nowhere. Now, those of you who have been on my calls or in my […]

Successful. Entrepreneur. Prime Minister. Nobel Prize Winner. Scientist. Leader. What words come to mind when you think of people described by this list? Underachievers? Learning disabled? Unmotivated? These probably weren’t your first thoughts, but many people with these job titles weren’t good students. In fact, A BBC-study found that a “significant majority” of self-made millionaires […]

Originally posted on February 21, 2007 What would you expect to hear from a would-be superintendent if you asked him what he wants to change in the public school system? Smaller classes? Stronger academics? Improved test scores? These are often the words we hear proclaimed when discussing school improvement, so I was surprised and delighted […]

The other day, 20-year-old Andy said to me, “I just don’t know what I want to do with my life, and I worry that I’m not going to get a good job when I graduate.” In the past year, I have heard this concern so many times from students that I decided to write… An […]

A “significant majority” of the 5000 self-made British millionaires struggled in school, says a BBC study. Think about that for a moment. One of the myths we tell about education is that kids who struggle in school are not smart, have learning disabilities, or are just plain lazy. Yet, I imagine these terms don’t normally […]

Imagine you were asked to help improve the future prospects of Jill, a high school junior with a GPA of 2.0 who daydreams in English, History, and Spanish. What would you advise Jill to do? a) Get screened for a learning disability and, if needed, take medication to focus. b) Visualize a report card with […]