• 16Aug

  Juggling: A Cognitive Powerhouse for Your Child

  ADHD, ADD, Brain Optimization, Cognitive Restructuring, Neuro-Education, Sparks of Genius, aspergers, learning disability, music, parenting, school, spatial intelligence, stress 1 Comment

  Dr. Rohn Kessler

  Parents are juggling so many things today that the metaphor of juggling can turn a bit negative. But juggling itself can be a cognitive powerhouse, especially for children. A cognitive powerhouse is an activity like learning to play a musical instrument, that, when practiced enthusiastically over a period of time, improves mental skills like attention, memory, information processing efficiency and spatial reasoning. This is important because in everyday life it can generalize to important skills like better goal setting, planning, map reading and reducing stress.

  Learning to juggle is a cool, fun-filled activity for children and can be a terrific aerobic exercise for improving attention, endurance, balance, rhythm, eye-hand coordination and confidence.

  Juggling is great for the brain. As little of 7 days of training leads to an increase in the density of the gray matter in the brain and boosts connections between different parts of the brain by tweaking the architecture of the brain’s white matter. The real significance of this finding is not only that juggling boosts brain connections but it suggests that learning a new skill is more important than exercising what you are already good at – the brain wants to be puzzled and learn something new.¹

  Children as young as five or six can begin to juggle with scarves. School programs which incorporate juggling into the curriculum report improvements in focus, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, reading and behavior. ²

  These schools also report that learning to juggle increases both motivation and self-discipline and reduces impulsivity. Juggling can level the playing field because some students who don’t excel or even like athletics can juggle very well.  Students who learn to juggle can also build communication and teamwork skills.

  Some teachers even report that juggling helps students improve their ability to listen and follow directions. What parent wouldn’t like more of that at home!

  Juggling is one of many creative, brain-enhancing activities encouraged and practiced at the Sparks of Genius Neuroeducation Center in Boca Raton, Florida. www.SparksofGenius.com

  Children learn that physical fitness requires strength, speed, stamina, balance and flexibility. These five attributes can be taught with one ball. Whether juggling the 3-ball cascade, juggling 2, 3, and even 4 balls back and forth with another person, students learn that juggling optimizes their own brain by making dendrites bloom.”

  My mentor, the noted pediatrician William Grant Crook, taught me how important it is that every child receives a daily dose of “psychological vitamins.” Learning to juggle can do just that for many special needs children, including those with ADHD, Asperger’s, learning disabilities, sensory processing disorders etc.

  Groundbreaking research in neuroeducation connecting learning, arts and the brain confirms that when a student passionately engages in an art form for an extended period of time, attention, cognition and fluid intelligence increase. ³ Juggling could be the art form for your child.

  When a child uses the Sparks of Genius Method™ and learns to juggle 3 or even 4 balls back and forth with me and then teaches this skill to a parent, it brings joy to my heart. True, most of today’s parents are juggling too many things. But how many parents are too busy to appreciate a Sparks of Genius moment like this with their child?

  References

  1. Learning to Juggle Grows Brain Networks for Good. New Scientist. Oct. 14, 2009

  1. Delisio, E. (2002) Teachers Link Juggling to Improved Academic Skills. Education World.
  2. Posner, M. and Patoine (2010). How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition. In “Emerging Ideas in Brain Science:” Cerebrum 2010. Dana Press.

  Tags: ADHD, aspergers, Attention, Brain Optimization, cognitive powerhouse, Fluid Intelligence, juggling, Learning Disabilities, neuroeducation, Sensory Processing Disorders, Sparks of Genius, Sparks of Genius Method

• 07Oct

  Enjoy Art And Create Brain Power

  Brain Optimization, Uncategorized, art, intelligence, learning disability, memory, neuroplasticity, school, social skills No Comments
  

  Brain and Success Development

  By Amy Price PhD
  Somewhere in the world there is a child’s brain waiting to be salvaged. You have the power in your hands to change a destiny. With a few simple strategies and a little funding there can be answers. We can build it…You can help! You are invited to attend an art and media exhibit dedicated to brain development

  Friday October 9: 6:30 opening, 7:30 – presentation by Dr. Gordon on The Brain Revolution, Creativity and Why Brain Development should be a Human Right.

  Saturday October 10: Open Exhibition all day (10 am – 8 pm)

  Sunday October 11: Open Exhibition all day (10 am – 8 pm)

  Dr. Evian Gordon on his Brain Art: ‘Whilst there is a great deal about the brain that we do not yet know, the essence of what we do already know can be used to understand our behavior, as well as our sense of authentic Self and ultimately even influence the direction of human cultural evolution…… throughout my academic life and the past years in the corporate sector, I have always had an art life – painting metaphors of the Brain and Self (with symbols that reflect core brain dynamics). Where the testability of brain science ends, I have immersed myself in nonconscious speculations within my BrainArt, as part of a Brain Science – Brain Art Continuum.’

  80% of profits from Dr. Gordon’s Exhibition on ‘Brain Art and Self’ will go towards funding The Brain Revolution Project (the other 20% will go to support the Nour Foundation’s initiatives). The Brain Revolution project serves to empower children around the world with ideas and ways to train their brain for Self Mastery. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to Brain Development being a Human Right. Click here for more information on how to participate and directions

  Other material by Dr Price can be seen at Traumatic Brain Injury Centers Remember “A mind is a terrible thing to lose” You can be an answer!

  Tags: Brain Art, Brain development, Evian Gordon, Humanitarian art

• 24Oct

  Homework Tips, Myths and Helicopter Parents

  Sparks of Genius, homework, parenting, school, social skills 1 Comment

  I came across a new term last week — helicopter parents. It describes baby boomers that started families as thirty-somethings. They evolved a more involved parenting style, which has persisted into elementary school, high school, and even college. Bostonia, the alumni magazine of Boston University, describes this new breed of parent this way:

  “…helicopter parents, moms and dads, who hover over their college-age children, chiming in on everything from housing assignments to homework.”

  No, they’re not actually doing the homework for the “child,” but they’re still involved in the process.

  Lately homework has become a big issue. In the past twenty years, the tendency has definitely been to pile more and more homework on younger and younger children. Alfie Kohn identifies five themes about homework complaints:
  1) A burden on parents
  2) Stress for children
  3) Family conflict
  4) Less time for other activities
  5) Less interest in learning

  Let’s take just one finding from the latest research:

  “there is no evidence of any academic benefit from homework in elementary school.”

  For more information, go to http://www.alfiekohn.org/books/hm.htm. or check out The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing.

  The key is to rethink homework, says Kohn. Instead of schools and teachers automatically assigning homework on a regular basis because “it is the policy to do so,” he suggests that the regular condition should be no homework. Homework should be given only if it is beneficial to the student.

  Another person re-thinking homework is Richard Lovoie, who agrees with Kohn on this point and also believes that as students move towards high school that “well planned, appropriate homework can have motivational and academic benefits.” Go to http://www.ricklavoie.com/motivationbreakthrough.html

  In either case, we can now move on to a few homework tips.
  1) Use trial and error to determine the best time and place for your child to do homework.
  2) Prepare a homework toolbox or kit with all basic, essential tools and supplies.
  3) Ask the teacher for an acceptable example of your child’s homework that has been corrected and is neat and legible. Use this as an example to show your child what to aim for. Consistency is important.
  4) If your child is very disorganized, go to http://www.organizedstudent.com/ and read and implement suggestions from “The Disorganized Student.”
  5) If your child is overwhelmed by too much homework, clear everything away except one assignment. When it is completed, give him another one.
  6) Many parents and professionals believe that homework should be done where it is quiet, but the fact is that many students are more productive listening to music in the background – especially instrumental music.
  7) If your child has attention, distractibility and impulsivity issues, read and implement strategies from “A Homework System That Works” at http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/1034.html
  If your child is very intense, sensitive and needy, go to http://difficultchild.com/ and learn how to apply the Nurtured Heart Approach to help your child.

  We see a lot of students at Sparks of Genius (www.sparksofgenius.com), especially elementary school students, and I have to agree that homework is a major issue for all of them and their parents. And parents, by the way, means mothers. Right?

  I know homework is an issue when the mother says “We have a lot of homework tonight.” So here’s another homework tip. When you check your child’s completed homework, look for neatness and completeness. Look over a few answers, but do not get caught up in going over every item.

  Too many parents get overly involved in their elementary school student’s homework. Remember, you do not want to become a helicopter parent.

  Recently I asked a mother of two, a dental hygienist, how she successfully got her son do complete his homework independently. She said “Look, I spent a lot of years teaching him how to have a positive attitude about homework, how to manage his time, how to complete his homework at the same time and place, how to use his homework toolbox, how to be organized and how to take responsibility for doing homework that is neat and complete and for handing it in.”

  “When he entered seventh grade I told him he was on his own,” she continued. “What happened?” I asked. “Nothing,” she said. “He just started doing it.”

  Remember, you do not want to become a helicopter parent. Or do you?

  –Dr. Rohn Kessler

• 28Aug

  A Parents’ Dilemma: Where to send my child to School?

  ADHD, ADD, aspergers, homework, learning disability, parenting, school, social skills, stress, teacher No Comments

  Is my child going to the right school?

  Deciding this seemingly simple question can be agonizing for parents. Not only are some schools “objectively” better (lower teacher student ratios, more enrichment programs, etc) but one kind of child could fail in the same school where a different child would thrive. It happened to Albert Einstein. He hated school in Munich because of its rote memorization and constant drills. He prospered at a Swiss school where they taught visual thinking. The things that he learned there enabled him to be……well, Albert Einstein. Visual thinking enabled him to create experiments in his head. Einstein was probably a visual learner and this school played to his strength, enabling him to develop his spark of genius.

  There are some things to look for when you are school shopping and these criteria can be helpful in assessing whether your child’s needs are being met in his present academic environment.

  First of all, what are the strengths of your child’s school? Do they foster independence or provide adequate structure? In an extreme example, a bright motivated student like Einstein might benefit from a Montessori type open classroom with resources for him to explore his own interests and to progress at his own pace.

  But this type of approach could leave an autistic child staring at the lights. For these children, one of the most successful approaches is called Applied Behavioral Analysis, with constant repetition, positive reinforcement and prompting. Additionally a child with attention issues can be overwhelmed if too much is happening in the classroom.

  It’s also important to assess how much individual instruction is available. An introverted, introspective child who could get lost in the shuffle or for a child with attention problems who needs more redirection can really benefit from customized attention.

  Then you need to know your child’s strengths. Is there a match? Does this school stimulate your child’s spark of genius? It can be helpful to ask the school who would be a successful learner there.

  Of course, your child’s teachers make a difference here too. Sometimes a child will do poorly one year and really come around the next because the teacher understands what the child needs to succeed. Parents and teachers are the most important part of any child’s learning team, and it’s important that they work together. Find out the best way to communicate with your child’s teacher and stay abreast of what’s happening in the classroom.

  Now I am thinking about this at the beginning of school here in Florida and I don’t want parents to second guess themselves and wonder if they made the right school decision. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that we can learn something from every experience. Remember that Einstein was at the “wrong” school in the beginning, but maybe memorizing equations gave him the building blocks he needed for revolutionizing physics.

  Remember that finding the right education for your child is a process. Any steps that you take to ensuring a better fit between your child, the teacher and the school will benefit your child’s sparks of genius.

  By Ninah Kessler, LCSW
  Life Coach

• 20Aug

  Food for thought?

  parenting, school, teacher No Comments

  In many counties around the U.S. school districts are offering free breakfasts to students under the theory that if you’re hungry then you aren’t at your best. They’re hoping to see an increase in grades and standardized test scores, especially in poor schools where students are often short on good scores and good meals. Will it work? I am sure it will, to some degree.

  What I find so interesting is the extreme nature of the comments about these programs. Holy cow! People are angry about providing breakfast!

  Here’s a sample (from here).

  “And this is yet ANOTHER reason why I, as a teacher, have just moved to another county!”

  “I, as a taxpayer am fed up with the PBC school board and their reckless squandering of my tax $$. If people want to have kids THEY should be forced to provide for them.” (Ed: There is definitely squandering…but not on this program!)

  “Stop all FREE food programs (maybe we should teach the kids that there is no such thing as a FREE lunch, or anything else)”

  “How scary is is that we allow the same people that bring us the IRS, DMV, and Social Security to TEACH OUR KIDS?!?!?!?” (Ed: Good point…it is scary!)

  “Why should I as a taxpayer subsidize free breakfast for all?”

  “The qualification for free breakfast/lunch is $26k for a family of four. Really, consider living on that w/2 children, or as a single parent w/3 children, and I would assume we have a parent who possibly leaves home before the children have breakfast. Judge not, that ye be not judged. Be grateful these children are being fed a nutritious breakfast, for they are probably in need.”

  What do you think? Leave us a comment!

  -Allen Dobkin

• 08Aug

  Taking the work out of Homework

  ADHD, ADD, aspergers, homework, learning disability, parenting, school No Comments

  The days are getting shorter. School is starting. Homework is coming. Arguments about homework generate anger and frustration for parents and children. It’s easy to understand the child’s perspective. They’re in school all day and then they are free – BUT WAIT – there is homework to do. As parents we know that homework not only gives the kids an opportunity to practice what they have learned in school but also teaches skills like organization and setting priorities that are essential in the “real” world. Not to mention the scholastic consequences of incomplete assignments

  So how can we make it a little easier this year?

  How much homework is too much?

  Your child, especially a young child, shouldn’t be spending his life on homework. There needs to be a balance. The experts agree that a kindergartener or second grader shouldn’t be spending more than about 20 minutes a day on homework, and even older elementary school kids benefit most from spending an hour at most. After 4th grade, it is important that your child practice math, because since math builds on itself, deficits here can mushroom. When your child is in middle school more homework is appropriate.

  If your young child is routinely spending hours completing his work, something needs to be done.

  Simple Steps can help

  There are some very basic things that we can do to make homework easier. You have probably thought of them but may not have gotten to implement them. Some simple steps from pediatrics.about.com include:

  • Provide your child with a quiet, well lit place to do homework with materials such as pens and a dictionary available.
  • Establish a set time for doing homework, not right before bedtime. Think about using a weekday morning or afternoon for working on big projects, especially those that involve working with others.
  • Help your child figure out what is easy homework and what is hard homework. Encourage your child to do the hard homework first when he is most alert.

  How much should I help my child with homework?

  We all know that it is your child’s homework not yours. You want to give your child as much independence as you possibly can but if the child is floundering, you don’t want him to sink.

  Even if your child is doing ok, it’s good to acknowledge him when he is doing his work and to reward any accomplishments. “Johnny, I like the way that you’re concentrating on your math problems.” “Wow, Helen, you worked really hard on your science project. Let’s celebrate with a trip to the park.” As important as acknowledgment and rewards are when your child is doing well, they are ESSENTIAL when your child is struggling

  When your child is struggling.

  If you child is spending 3 hours on 6 math problems or can’t organize his thoughts to write and essay (see our blog on how to write an essay), then you know there is a problem, and you need to find ways to intervene without taking over.

  For example, if difficulty paying attention is the problem with the math, you can cut a whole in a piece of paper so your child only sees one math problem at a time. This is a very low tech solution, but some of the new technology can also be helpful. For example, there is a program called Inspiration (which Dr Rohn used to help teachers teach science) which maps out your thoughts. Once your child’s thoughts are mapped out, it’s much easier for him to write that essay. If writing itself is a problem, your child may benefit from typing his assignments on the computer.

  You want to be available for your child, especially when they are having a hard time, because you don’t want them to get so frustrated that they don’t do their homework and then they fall behind in school.

  When is the help you do too much? Remember that interference is when you do what the child could do by himself. Additional suggestions can be found at about.com or here.

  My child says he finished his homework

  Some children who are frustrated with homework will just tell their parents “I already did my homework” or “I don’t have any homework tonight.” In the old days the main way a parent could verify this statement was to work with the teacher to create a homework pad where the teachers would write down the child’s assignments. You could also call a friend.

  While there is nothing wrong with this approach, today many teachers will post homework on a web site or will email assignments to parents.

  When you need a professional

  If there is a problem the first person to go to is your child’s teacher. It is important that parents and teachers can work together on this. The teacher may be able to make accommodations for the child. For example, the teacher may allow you to cut assignments short when the child is having an especially difficult time. If the child does not complete assignments because he can’t write, the teacher may allow you to write down your child’s answers. That relationship with the teacher apprises you of what’s going on, so you don’t get a big surprise at report card time.

  The teacher might recommend a tutor, and there are many good ones out there. Sometimes the difficulty doing homework may reflect a deeper problem. For example, if your child just cannot focus or pay attention that could be the issue. Please take the free 39 point learning assessment at our website (SparksofGenius.com) to see if an attention or focusing issue is the problem.

  Make sure the homework is in the backpack

  My friend would sit down with her son night after night and go over his homework. Then he would forget to put it in his backpack and get an incomplete. She finally helped him organize his backpack and checked to make sure the assignment was there. It must have worked, because now he is going off to college to major in computers. He is a smart kid, just disorganized.

  I hope that this makes homework a little easier. If you are frustrated, remember that you are not alone. Another friend of mine thought that having a child was like having a very intense cat. Boy was she wrong. Every problem has a solution, but that doesn’t mean that finding the solution doesn’t require some work. Hang in there and have a great school year.

  By Ninah Kessler, LCSW
  Life Coach

• 07Aug

  Want Your Children to be Smarter in School This Year?

  Sparks of Genius, homework, intelligence, learning disability, parenting, school, teacher No Comments

  Tell them to Think of Their Brain as a Muscle

  Research shows that students do better in school when they are told they can get smarter by training their brains to get stronger— like a muscle.

  Article here.

  Does your child see intelligence as something fixed or something expandable?

  Students who think intelligence is fixed become preoccupied with whether they look smart or dumb. They also tend to avoid difficult tasks. |Not good!

  But students who believe they can develop and expand intelligence usually like being challenged. They try harder, are more persistent and worry about making mistakes and looking dumb. This is good.

  In one experiment of 12 year old students with similar math achievement scores, those with a fixed mindset did worse in math than those who were taught that the brain is a muscle. And, the gap between the two groups widened over the years.

  Carol Dweck, a psychologist and researcher at Stanford University said:

  “We taught them that the brain forms new connections every time they applied themselves and learned,” she explained. “It gave them a new model of how their minds worked, and how they had control of their brains and could make it work better. The idea is to free them from the tyranny of fear of looking dumb. The name of the game is learning.”

  Students need to understand that their intellectual potential is not fixed. So do parents and educators.

  Some games that exercise the brain to get stronger can be found here.

  Moreover, there are many ways to be smart that are undervalued in school and at home—so-called multiple intelligences.

  Students at Sparks of Genius learn that their brain forms new connections when they work hard to learn and learn. They also learn how to take full responsibility for learning buy controlling their mind and their brain to work better.

  Sparks of Genius personal trainers use a high tech (software) high touch (character development) formula to help students train their brain for success

  We identify, ignite and nurture many intelligences. It’s a great way to increase student achievement.

  To learn more about your child’s learning potential

  fill out the FREE 39-Point Learning Assessment now. http://sparksofgenius.com/screens.html.

  Dr. Rohn Kessler

• 06Aug

  What’s wrong with teachers?

  ADHD, ADD, homework, parenting, school, teacher 1 Comment

  In my opinion, there is a real problem when the need for teachers to feel like they are the master of their domain is more important than the mission of preparing students for academic and real life. Here is a perfect example.

  Mr. Lampros’s introduction to the high school’s academic standards proved a fitting preamble to a disastrous year. It reached its low point in late June, when Arts and Technology’s principal, Anne Geiger, overruled Mr. Lampros and passed a senior whom he had failed in a required math course.

  That student, Indira Fernandez, had missed dozens of class sessions and failed to turn in numerous homework assignments, according to Mr. Lampros’s meticulous records, which he provided to The New York Times. She had not even shown up to take the final exam. She did, however, attend the senior prom.

  Through the intercession of Ms. Geiger, Miss Fernandez was permitted to retake the final after receiving two days of personal tutoring from another math teacher. Even though her score of 66 still left her with a failing grade for the course as a whole by Mr. Lampros’s calculations, Ms. Geiger gave the student a passing mark, which allowed her to graduate.

  So here we have a student who missed many classes, didn’t do (hardly) any homework, and of course the teacher gave the student a failing grade. The teacher quit because the principal changed the grade to a passing grade, following all the correct procedures, allowing the student to graduate.

  There are three things that stand out to me as a problem:

  First, the student passed the final exam with a 66. Not an academic whiz-kid, certainly, but she demonstrated that she had mastered the material. Or was the final exam a poor measure of mastery? Or are grades less about mastering the material and more about following the rules: completing classwork and homework, obeying school and disciplinary rules? In my view, the grades should reflect the students’ mastery of the material.

  Second, I think the administrator’s priorities were spot-on correct. Protecting the teacher’s ego is nowhere near as important as seeing that the student is graded appropriately. It is a math class. Who cares if homework was completed or that her attendance record was swiss cheese? She demonstrated mastery of the skills required to pass. Failing her in spite of that mastery is unfair and probably reflects a disparity in the backgrounds of teacher (white) and student (latino). In this case, the student would not have graduated without this passing grade. So what is more important: making sure nobody hurts the teacher’s feelings or refusing to graduate a student despite her mastery of the material?

  Third, the attitude of entitlement (“I set the grading policy for this class”) that teachers have is, according to my anecdotal experience, pandemic. Many teachers, probably because of the bureaucratic nature of public schools, have become bureaucrats themselves, more concerned with protecting their work conditions, benefits, power over their classrooms than they are with helping students. I don’t think it is a matter of character: anyone under rotten circumstances will lose their sense of mission, eventually. The sad part is that the teacher in this case is so young (judging by his photo) that it wasn’t a slow ride down.

  I was horrified to hear the story of a student who earned college credit for a high school class that he failed.

  It is easy to forget that the decisions a teacher makes can easily throw a student’s life off course. I am reminded of a recent conversation with a talented, hard-working, intelligent and experienced teacher who happens to be a friend I respect. I was horrified to hear her story of a student in her Advanced Placement (AP) science class who earned an F every quarter because he would not study or complete homework but then scored a 4 on the AP exam. That is sufficient to earn him college credit, but not high school! Do you hear the flushing sound? That’s his scholarship opportunities going down the toilet due to an F on his record and the hit to his GPA. That is so wrong.

  The point here is that parents cannot simply trust teachers and administrators to do the right thing by your child. You have to be involved. You have to watch. You have to look for signs of trouble. And you have to speak loudly, so that you’ll be heard over the whining.

  Good luck!
  Allen Dobkin

• 17Jul

  Myth-Busted: Einstein on Education

  homework, parenting, school, spatial intelligence, teacher No Comments

  You probably know how Einstein was a horrible student, was forced to wear a dunce cap, failed at math and was repeatedly told by teachers that he was hopeless.

  All wrong.

  In a new biography, “Einstein: His Life and Universe,” Walter Isaacson explains how good a student Einstein actually was. He was a good student, did not fail math and in fact had mastered differential and integral calculus before he was fifteen.

  But he did not like the mechanical regimentation and mechanical learning of the German schools, comparing elementary school teachers to “drill sergeants” and high school teachers to “lieutenants.”

  When he moved from Germany to Switzerland at the age of sixteen, Einstein spent a year at a school that emphasized independent thought, free action and personal responsibility. He thrived in a learning environment without rote drills, memorization and force-fed facts.

  Based on the philosophy of a Swiss educator named Pestalozzi, the school helped students move through a series of steps from hands-on observations to intuition, conceptualization, imagination and visual imagery.

  “Visual understanding is the essential and only true means of teaching how to judge things correctly,” wrote Pestaslozzi, and “the learning of numbers and language must be definitely subordinated.”

  Spatial intelligence has been defined as “the ability to think in pictures and to perceive the visual world.” Dr. Branton Shearer, a member of the Sparks of Genius Community, explains it as using the imagination to think in three-dimensions, transform one’s perceptions and re-create aspects of one’s visual experience.
  One with high spatial awareness can solve problems of spatial orientation and moving objects through space.

  http://miresearch.org/mitheory.php

  Remind you of anyone? It was at this school that Einstein, age sixteen, started picturing what it would be like to ride along a beam of light.

  To learn more about the 9 intelligences in our 5-4-9 formula, visit http://sparksofgenius.com/sparks.html

  -Dr. Rohn Kessler

• 14Jul

  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Movie Review

  school, teacher No Comments

  Harry Potter fights off soul-sucking monsters, dark wizards and bureaucratic teachers in the latest movie installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. You can read without fear: all spoilers are avoided.

  This episode focuses on what happens when educational decisions are made, not by teachers, but by government bureaucrats like the lovely pink Delores Umbridge whose installment at Hogwarts is a detriment to learning.

  The story of Harry Potter has always centered around Hogwarts, that fantastical training grounds for wizards and witches and safe haven against a harsh family life and of course the evil Lord Voldemort. This episode focuses on what happens when educational decisions are made, not by teachers, but by government bureaucrats like the lovely pink Delores Umbridge whose installment at Hogwarts is a detriment to learning.

  The first thing the new bureaucrat does is establish her legitimate authority.

  The first thing the new bureaucrat does is establish her legitimate authority. Then, under the guise of “law and order” or “following the rules” she begins implementing changes that in reality merely further her power in the school. Her rise to power is aptly displayed in the film by a wall covered in educational edicts each individually hammered into place by the eager Mr. Filch.

  Some students thrive under this new authority…students like Draco Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Of course the Weasley’s–in particular Fred and George–don’t take to the new addition to the staff. The results of their inevitable rebellion are visually impressive and hilarious.

  The heart of the conflict (besides Voldy vs. Harry) lies in the Ministry of Magic’s refusal to accept or acknowledge, and prepare against, Voldemort’s return. This polarizes wizarding society with Dumbledore and Harry with their supporters on one side, and the Ministry (government) with The Daily Prophet (media) opposing. The conflict spills out into Hogwarts as the ministry tries to undermine and eliminate Dumbledore as Headmaster.

  Is it possible for the government to be involved in education without turning it into a political tool to further their own agenda?

  Does any of this sound familiar? The U.S. Federal government laid down the law (literally) on education a few years ago with No Child Left Behind, and the resulting increase in bureaucratic involvement in education has led to controversy after controversy. Is it possible for the government to be involved in education without turning it into a political tool to further their own agenda? Harry Potter says “no” but you’ll have to decide for yourself.

  For pure entertainment value, HP5 delivers a thrilling package that won’t disappoint. Cutting the lengthy book into a lengthy film requires eliminating a great deal of material, but it was masterfully handled and only hardcore sticklers (of which there are many) will be unhappy. Those new to HP or less than enamored with him should find plenty to like in this movie.

  From a Cognitive Training perspective, the movie is no better than Transformers, Live Free or Die Hard or any other eye-candy flick. No thought is required to enjoy the ride. On the Brain Training Food Pyramid, this is a High-Fat, High-Sugar treat to be enjoyed only occasionally.

  Good luck!
  Allen Dobkin

« Previous Entries