Another fascinating post over at Shrink Rap explores how learning sculpts the brains connections.

“Recent studies have shown that in the absence of any overt behavior, and even during sleep or anesthesia, the brain’s spontaneous activity is not random, but organized in patterns of correlated activity that occur in anatomically and functionally connected regions,” says senior author Maurizio Corbetta, M.D., Norman J. Stupp Professor of Neurology. “The reasons behind the spontaneous activity patterns remain mysterious, but we have now shown that learning causes small changes in those patterns, and that these changes are behaviorally important.” See the entire post at Shrink Rap.

Teen smoking linked to drinking and drug use is reported on Shrink Rap:

“If a teenager feels smoking is socially acceptable and widely practiced, they are much more likely not only to smoke, but to also drink and possibly use marijuana,” says lead author Dr. Jennifer A. Epstein, assistant professor of public health in the Division of Prevention and Health Behavior at Weill Cornell Medical College. “While the differences between how boys and girls are influenced by these social factors are subtle, they could help us develop new gender-specific educational tactics for preventing these behaviors.”…more at Shrink Rap

Content emerging across Partner sites:

6 Characteristics of strong families

Image and Memory

Acadia

Wrestling with Synchronicity

The First Spark of Willingness

A Get Together

Brain Development in Teens

Solar Energy – It’s use for the future

These two posts give some interesting insights and food for thought.

Depression and anxiety disorders in adolescents

Brain research transforming all human needs services

Some more links of interest:

A different slant on inverse steps for parenting.

Enduring unanswered questions.

Last fall students from our school attended a convention in Albany. Along the way they had a great time producing this video, which was then edited back here at school and shared with community. Each showing produced the resounding laughter that it intended. As the creators made clear when they posted their video on you tube, this piece is a comedy. It captures the playful spirit they enjoyed throughout their journey.

A recent re-framing of this piece by some critics has been somewhat, but not entirely, surprising. None the less, we will continue to encourage this type of playful interaction between our staff and students. The road to healthy mindedness is hard enough. Taking away any latitude for the spirit of humor that emerged in this piece would indeed be a sad state of affairs.

Some fascinating content that has been located in different corners of  the web:

Evidence Points to Conscious ‘Metacognition’ in Some Nonhuman Animals

“The field offers growing evidence that some animals have functional parallels to humans’ consciousness and to humans’ cognitive self-awareness…”

Adult Brain Can Change Within Seconds

“The human brain can adapt to changing demands even in adulthood, but MIT neuroscientists have now found evidence of it changing with unsuspected speed. Their findings suggest that the brain has a network of silent connections that underlie its plasticity…”

Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers

“Being a first year teacher can be overwhelming to say the least. There is new curriculum to learn, unfamiliar school policies, classroom management challenges, and new teammates. Technology can help to ease some of these first year growing pains…”

Maori legend of man-eating bird is true

“A Maori legend about a giant, man-eating bird has been confirmed by scientists. Te Hokioi was a huge black-and-white predator with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips…”

Some quick links to Stepping Stone Partner content:

Alex posted some reflections on the interview process.

Jeff shared a report about risky teen behavior.

Gerald took a great stop action shot.

And Richard explores how to raise digital natives.

Lon Woodbury has posted an interesting piece titled “Best Practices vs. Innovation” As Woodbury observes:

In my view, small owner-operated independent private programs are the laboratory of innovation.  Not hampered by a multitude of state or corporation imposed guidelines, the operator is free to draw upon professional knowledge and mix this with his/her own creativity and experience.  The results will speak for themselves whether the operator is on to something or not.  As a result, some of these “experiments” will become the “Best Practices” of the future.

Woodbury’s full perspective on our industry can be read in his successful publication Woodbury Reports.

The Annual Online Auction to benefit the Family Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization committed to the needs of at-risk youth who would benefit from a therapeutic environment to achieve educational goals, will run from Sept. 7th to the 18th.  Visit the auction site and make a bid on a handcrafted wood sculpture or a variety of travel options.