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Word of Mouth
So What if my Kid Doesn't Love to Read?
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, November 5, 2009.
Writer and columnist Rebecca Lavoie is suffering from what she calls an Oprah-induced injury. Try as she might to engage her eight year-old son in bedtime reading, he’s just not that interested.
Oprah and all the experts say that a love of reading is a predictor of success, happiness, an attractive mate, the meaning of life…ok, we exaggerate.
Rebecca’s son loves math and is great at it, so she wonders, isn’t that enough?
(Photo by ehousley via Flickr/Creative Commons)
1 comment
Writer and columnist Rebecca Lavoie is suffering from what she calls an Oprah-induced injury. Try as she might to engage her eight year-old son in bedtime reading, he’s just not that interested.
Oprah and all the experts say that a love of reading is a predictor of success, happiness, an attractive mate, the meaning of life…ok, we exaggerate.
Rebecca’s son loves math and is great at it, so she wonders, isn’t that enough?
(Photo by ehousley via Flickr/Creative Commons)
1 comment
Climate Change Refugees
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, November 5, 2009.
From the coast of Australia to the shores of the Maldives public officials are looking out at the ocean with increasing alarm.
A report presented at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change predicts that sea level could rise as much as three feet by the year 2100. If these predictions come to pass, entire cities and even countries would be wiped out, turning citizens into refugees. Some researchers predict that 75 million Pacific Islanders will be forced to relocate by 2050.
Last week, an Australian parliamentary committee recommended a ban on coastal development. One official there said bans would be necessary if the government wanted to prevent, “a major loss of life” if erratic weather patterns and rising seas continue.
Joining us with more is geophysicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Pollack. Pollack is the author of A World Without Ice which delves into what the rapid disappearance of ice would mean for millions on the planet.
(Drawing by Oxfam International via Flickr/Creative Commons)
From the coast of Australia to the shores of the Maldives public officials are looking out at the ocean with increasing alarm.
A report presented at the International Scientific Congress on Climate Change predicts that sea level could rise as much as three feet by the year 2100. If these predictions come to pass, entire cities and even countries would be wiped out, turning citizens into refugees. Some researchers predict that 75 million Pacific Islanders will be forced to relocate by 2050.
Last week, an Australian parliamentary committee recommended a ban on coastal development. One official there said bans would be necessary if the government wanted to prevent, “a major loss of life” if erratic weather patterns and rising seas continue.
Joining us with more is geophysicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Pollack. Pollack is the author of A World Without Ice which delves into what the rapid disappearance of ice would mean for millions on the planet.
(Drawing by Oxfam International via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Stimulus Money in Action
By Jen Nathan on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.If you’ve ever driven down a narrow rural road marred by pot holes, or walked through a crowded street begging for a larger sidewalk, you might have wondered where all that economic stimulus money is going. Now there’s an app for that.
Musicians Bike East
By Jasmyn Belcher on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
A folk-punk musician is trying out the ultimate in green concert touring: embarking on a two-month long bicycle tour down the east coast. Aaron Scott of the band Attica! Attica! currently lives in Portland, Oregon, but he recently came eastward to begin what he calls the Ditch The Van Tour.
Teaching For The Future
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
Reading, writing and arithmetic are so last century. Today, it’s not enough to just study the core subjects we all learned as kids. Schools are preparing students for college, careers, and a globally competitive workforce. That means teaching students to think creatively, communicate effectively and collaborate on problem solving.
A national program is partnering schools with multinational corporations and local businesses to come up with innovative curricula. For more on this we’re joined by Ken Kay. He’s president and co-founder of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which is now being implemented in 14 states. Also joining us is Donna Desiato, a school superintendent in East Syracuse, New York, one of the districts using this program.
(Photo by Michael Surran via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Reading, writing and arithmetic are so last century. Today, it’s not enough to just study the core subjects we all learned as kids. Schools are preparing students for college, careers, and a globally competitive workforce. That means teaching students to think creatively, communicate effectively and collaborate on problem solving.
A national program is partnering schools with multinational corporations and local businesses to come up with innovative curricula. For more on this we’re joined by Ken Kay. He’s president and co-founder of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, which is now being implemented in 14 states. Also joining us is Donna Desiato, a school superintendent in East Syracuse, New York, one of the districts using this program.
(Photo by Michael Surran via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Why Cant U Teach Me 2 Read?
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
New York City voters gave Michael Bloomberg a narrow win in yesterday’s mayoral election. Bloomberg spent an estimated $100 million to beat Comptroller William Thompson. Much of that money paid for mailers, ads, and robocalls boasting about Bloomberg’s record on crime and education.
Bloomberg made education a priority in his first mayoral run, back in 2001. He vowed to do for public schools what Rudy Giuliani had done for public safety.
Today we’re going to learn about three kids who slipped through the cracks of New York’s educational system. Beth Fertig is a DuPont award-winning senior reporter for WNYC Radio in New York City. In 2006, she met Yamilka, a young woman who graduated from a South Bronx high school knowing only eight letters of the alphabet. At 22 years old, Yamilka would get lost because she couldn’t read the subway signs.
Fertig found other graduates who were completely illiterate, and in the process, uncovered deep divisions in education policy and expensive attempts to compensate for a failing system. She tells those stories in her new book Why Can't U Teach Me 2 Read?: Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test. Beth Fertig joins us from WNYC Radio in New York.
New York City voters gave Michael Bloomberg a narrow win in yesterday’s mayoral election. Bloomberg spent an estimated $100 million to beat Comptroller William Thompson. Much of that money paid for mailers, ads, and robocalls boasting about Bloomberg’s record on crime and education.
Bloomberg made education a priority in his first mayoral run, back in 2001. He vowed to do for public schools what Rudy Giuliani had done for public safety.
Today we’re going to learn about three kids who slipped through the cracks of New York’s educational system. Beth Fertig is a DuPont award-winning senior reporter for WNYC Radio in New York City. In 2006, she met Yamilka, a young woman who graduated from a South Bronx high school knowing only eight letters of the alphabet. At 22 years old, Yamilka would get lost because she couldn’t read the subway signs.
Fertig found other graduates who were completely illiterate, and in the process, uncovered deep divisions in education policy and expensive attempts to compensate for a failing system. She tells those stories in her new book Why Can't U Teach Me 2 Read?: Three Students and a Mayor Put Our Schools to the Test. Beth Fertig joins us from WNYC Radio in New York.
The Robot Will See You Now
By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
In 1985, the world witnessed the first robot-assisted surgery. The PUMA 560 angled its white plastic arm towards the brain of a patient and carefully inserted a biopsy needle. The procedure was a success and the field of medical robotics was born.
Now researchers are creating robots capable of much more than mechanical tasks. A new crop of social robots cheer on stroke victims struggling through physical therapy, help Alzheimer’s patients remember events from the past, and give Autistic children encouragement as they connect with the outside world.
Some patients actually prefer the mechanical voice of these robots over the prompting of therapists and family members. Programming robots to display more and more human-like characteristics raises the question of whether we are coming dangerously close to singularity -- the point at which machines achieve human-level intelligence.
Dr. Jerome Groopman wrote about the rise of medical robots for The New Yorker, where he’s staff writer. He’s also the author of several books including How Doctors Think.
The New Yorker: Robots That Care
(Photo by Roberto Rizzato via Flickr/Creative Commons)
In 1985, the world witnessed the first robot-assisted surgery. The PUMA 560 angled its white plastic arm towards the brain of a patient and carefully inserted a biopsy needle. The procedure was a success and the field of medical robotics was born.
Now researchers are creating robots capable of much more than mechanical tasks. A new crop of social robots cheer on stroke victims struggling through physical therapy, help Alzheimer’s patients remember events from the past, and give Autistic children encouragement as they connect with the outside world.
Some patients actually prefer the mechanical voice of these robots over the prompting of therapists and family members. Programming robots to display more and more human-like characteristics raises the question of whether we are coming dangerously close to singularity -- the point at which machines achieve human-level intelligence.
Dr. Jerome Groopman wrote about the rise of medical robots for The New Yorker, where he’s staff writer. He’s also the author of several books including How Doctors Think.
The New Yorker: Robots That Care
(Photo by Roberto Rizzato via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Uniting Africa With a Roll of the Dice
By Todd Bookman on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
Arbitrary borders, ethnic conflict, and minimal infrastructure divided the pan-African movement of the past century, but one man hopes to bring disparate African nations together - with a board game.
It’s called Jekaben, meaning "Let's Unite and Decide Together" in the Bambara language. A Senegalese entrepreneur who created the game hopes it will inspire youth to make the United States of Africa a reality.
Inside The Minds of Smart Mice
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
Imagine a surgery that could triple your IQ with the nick of a scalpel. That’s what happens to Charlie Gordon, the developmentally-disabled protagonist of the 1958 novel Flowers for Algernon.
A lab mouse named Algernon is the first to get the experimental surgery. Suddenly he can wind his way through intricate mazes in seconds. Algernon easily beats charlie, leaving him to wonder why this mouse is smarter than he is. Then Charlie’s teacher secretly tells him that the mouse he’s been pitted against is no ordinary rodent.
In labs across the country, researchers are experimenting with smart mice that learn more quickly using neuroenhancing drugs. But these same mice get scared more easily, have higher rates of cancer, and can’t seem to solve some simple problems.
As pharmaceutical companies race to develop the next generation of neuroenhancing drugs for humans, scientists are discovering what can get lost when using pills to learn faster and think more clearly.
Science writer Jonah Lehrer delved into the world of cognitively enhanced mice for Nature News. He’s contributing editor at Wired and author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist and How We Decide, and he joins us with more.
The Frontal Cortex: Smart Mice
(Photo by Michail Pishchagin via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Imagine a surgery that could triple your IQ with the nick of a scalpel. That’s what happens to Charlie Gordon, the developmentally-disabled protagonist of the 1958 novel Flowers for Algernon.
A lab mouse named Algernon is the first to get the experimental surgery. Suddenly he can wind his way through intricate mazes in seconds. Algernon easily beats charlie, leaving him to wonder why this mouse is smarter than he is. Then Charlie’s teacher secretly tells him that the mouse he’s been pitted against is no ordinary rodent.
In labs across the country, researchers are experimenting with smart mice that learn more quickly using neuroenhancing drugs. But these same mice get scared more easily, have higher rates of cancer, and can’t seem to solve some simple problems.
As pharmaceutical companies race to develop the next generation of neuroenhancing drugs for humans, scientists are discovering what can get lost when using pills to learn faster and think more clearly.
Science writer Jonah Lehrer delved into the world of cognitively enhanced mice for Nature News. He’s contributing editor at Wired and author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist and How We Decide, and he joins us with more.
The Frontal Cortex: Smart Mice
(Photo by Michail Pishchagin via Flickr/Creative Commons)
Power Paths
By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
Since the 1960s, power companies operating in the four corners area of the U.S. have run power lines over the Navajo and Hopi nations. The transmitters carry electricity to growing sunbelt cities, supplying nothing to people living just below -- many of whom live in darkened homes without the luxury of electricity.
In exchange for use of the land, water and sky, Southern California Edison and other companies paid millions of dollars in royalties to the tribes. That relationship ended in 2003, when the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines closed, along with the Mojave Desert Power Plant. Now American Indians are trying to transition away from fossil fuel power into clean energy.
The story of that transition against the tribal governance and established power companies is told in Power Paths, a film by Bo Boudart, which airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tonight. Steve Michelson is the films executive producer, and joins us with more as part of our "next green thing" series.
Since the 1960s, power companies operating in the four corners area of the U.S. have run power lines over the Navajo and Hopi nations. The transmitters carry electricity to growing sunbelt cities, supplying nothing to people living just below -- many of whom live in darkened homes without the luxury of electricity.
In exchange for use of the land, water and sky, Southern California Edison and other companies paid millions of dollars in royalties to the tribes. That relationship ended in 2003, when the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines closed, along with the Mojave Desert Power Plant. Now American Indians are trying to transition away from fossil fuel power into clean energy.
The story of that transition against the tribal governance and established power companies is told in Power Paths, a film by Bo Boudart, which airs on PBS’ Independent Lens tonight. Steve Michelson is the films executive producer, and joins us with more as part of our "next green thing" series.
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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
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