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Want to Succeed in Business? Then Play High School Sports
Fortune Magazine: New research finds teenage athletes are more likely to land plum jobs later in life. Those dumb jocks may not be so dumb after all. Two new studies found that past participation in high school sports helps youngsters develop a host of crucial skills which give them a leg up as they enter the work world and achieve success for decades afterward. Appearing in the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies this week, Cornell’s Kevin Kniffin and two other colleagues found that teenagers who played sports developed stronger leadership skills, worked better in teams and demonstrated more confidence. Read the whole story: Fortune Magazine
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Relevant? Nurturing? Well, So’s Your Old Man
The New York Times: When our young daughters first decided to play on top of our Honda minivan, parked in our driveway, my wife was worried. But to me, it seemed no less safe than chasing a ball that frequently ended up in the street. And they loved the height, the novelty, the danger. So I let them stay. They never fell. And with the summer weather here, playing on the car is once again keeping them occupied for hours. Now that I have read Paul Raeburn’s “Do Fathers Matter?,” I know that my comfort with more dangerous play — my willingness to let my daughters stand on top of a minivan — is a typically paternal trait. Dads roughhouse with children more, too.
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Our Moral Tongue
The New York Times: ON June 20, 2003, employees of the Union Pacific Railroad faced a difficult decision as a runaway train headed toward downtown Los Angeles: Should they divert the train to a side track, knowing it would derail and hit homes in the less populated city of Commerce, Calif.? Did the moral imperative to minimize overall harm outweigh the moral imperative not to intentionally harm an innocent suburb? They chose to divert the train, which injured 13 people, including three children who were sent to the hospital. Read the whole story: The New York Times
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Daydreaming: The Other Kind of Distracted Driving
For many, the term “distracted driving” conjures up a familiar image: a motorist talking or texting on a cell phone instead of paying attention to the surrounding traffic and road conditions. The dangers of phoning or texting while driving are so evident that 13 American states have passed laws banning use of handheld devices while driving. But can distracted driving also be caused by internal factors? Psychological scientists Matthew R. Yanko and Thomas M. Spalek of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia wanted to gauge whether simple “mind-wandering,” thinking about anything but the task at hand, would distract drivers the same way portable gadgets do.
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Why Free Play Is the Best Summer School
The Atlantic: Most schools across the nation have marked the end of another academic year, and it’s time for summer. Time for kids to bolt for the schoolhouse doors for two long months of play, to explore their neighborhoods and discover the mysteries, treasures, and dramas they have to offer. This childhood idyll will hold true for some children, but for many kids, the coming of summer signals little more than a seasonal shift from one set of scheduled, adult-supervised lessons and activities to another. Unscheduled, unsupervised, playtime is one of the most valuable educational opportunities we give our children.
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Classroom Decorations Can Distract Young Students
Scientific American: Remember your kindergarten classroom? The maps on the wall, the charts of the seasons on bulletin boards, the alphabet over the blackboard? I know I spent hours staring at the brightly colored decorations—and not listening to what my teacher was saying. Maybe you did, too. And it looks like we’re not alone. The more decorations in a classroom, the more distracted students may be. So finds a study in the journal Psychological Science. Read the whole story: Scientific American
