A 13-year-old 7th grader from New York, Aidan, recently was among the winners of the Young Naturalist Awards. Aidan presented a paper, The Secret of the Fibonacci Sequence in Trees, in which he studied the design of trees and connected that to a new and more efficient way of arranging solar collecting panels.

 

Now in its 15th year, the Young Naturalist Awards is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. It is a research-based science competition for students in grades 7 through 12, and recognizes the accomplishments of students who have investigated questions they have in the areas of biology, Earth science, ecology, and astronomy. The competition is open to students throughout the United States and Canada, who are invited to conduct their own scientific investigations.

 

Go to the American Museum of Natural History website to read Aidan's research, as well as 11 more research papers and other information submitted by these young naturalists.

 

 

For those who live in or are traveling to the nation's capital, here's a great event to plan for: the 11th Annual National Book Festival, organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. More than 100 authors will participate, and there will be "genre pavilions" and performances for all ages at the Family Storytelling Stage.

 

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event, which is free and open to the public. It runs Saturday and Sunday, September 24 and 25.  

 

The Library of Congress website also features an online guide for kids and teachers, with writing tips and information about how to host your own book festival.

 

Did you know that as many as one-fifth of gifted children may have some kind of learning difficulty? These children are described by the term "twice exceptional," or 2e.  

 

Glen Ellyn Media has a website that supports parents of the twice exceptional, as well as a bi-monthly newsletter. Now this organization has launched a new resource, the 2e Professional Database. The database, constructed by a member of the 2e community, is designed to make it easier for parents to find resources for assessment, counseling, advocacy, and more. It lists professionals who understand giftedness, and then describes their particular areas of expertise in support of the various exceptionalities.  

 

Glen Ellyn Media is introducing the 2e Professional Database with a small core of professionals, and now invites others to refer names to the list. Users can see the site at www.2edb.info, and they can submit names at www.2edb.info/submit/, using the username 2edb and the password access77.

 

     

 

Empowering education leaders to create systems that evolve with the needs of today's learners - that is what Knowledgework Foundations is all about. As an educational operating foundation, KnowledgeWorks believes that learning in the 21st Century should be fundamentally different than it is today, and that our country is in dire need of education reform that embraces a new way of thinking.

Knowledgework Foundations has more than a decade of experience implementing approaches to high school education that prepare students for tomorrow's challenges, teaching them to create, adapt and solve problems. With a presence in more than 100 schools in more than 20 states, KnowledgeWorks is working to formalize the pathway between high school and postsecondary success.

 

Learn more about the work that Knowledgework Foundations is doing by checking out their website at http://knowledgeworks.org.

 

 

Here's an article that had me at hello - or at least in the first paragraph, where the author describes how parents freaked out over the terrible influence of comic books in the 1940s and '50s.

 

In The Ninny State, an article published in the New York Times on June 24, 2011, Emily Bazelon discusses parents' fears about the influence of all the new technology. While not urging that all caution be thrown out the window, she does encourage that parents learn to distinguish between real threats and perceived threats. It's an interesting read.

 

 

Many bright students in high school may be better served if they are able to start college early. In fact, there are many programs available now and more in the planning stages. Many of these programs vary greatly in their purpose and missions, however.

 

The National Consortium of Early College Programs, newly formed, hopes to "invite collaboration, model best practices, and provide clarity of the traditional mission and purpose of early college." Part of the goal will be to provide families, educators and counselors with good information about what it means to go to college early and what options are available.

 

For more information, read Allie Grasgreen's article online at Inside Higher Ed.

 

 

 

Middlebury College, a small college in Vermont which is known for its rigorous language programs, is now offering an interactive language program to pre-college students, from kindergarten to 12th grade.

 

Besides offering access for all students to gain world language skills, Middlebury is also offering schools and districts complete language packages that will include professional development and assessment. These packages are designed to accommodate different goals, age groups and learning styles.      

 

Click on the Middlebury website to learn more about the products offered.