We recently published an article examining the “Mozart effect” and the conclusions were that there is very little evidence that listening to music does boost mental functions. However learning to play an instrument does seem to do the trick.
In this recent Scientific American article, the editors point out that: [Read more…] about Do we need more music education?
A reader and writer sent us over the weekend the article below as “an OpEd submission”. We are not a newspaper, and don’t have a formal OpEd section, but are delighted to publish thoughtful, research-based pieces on topics related to lifelong cognitive development and health.
Here you are:
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Philosophy as the Missing Link An Eye-Opening Audit of Our School’s Curriculum
By: Kimberly Wickham
The question might be asked, “Why would anyone want to teach philosophy to pre-adolescent children?” but there are very good reasons why one might want to take on such a lofty task. I am not suggesting that the history of philosophy would be particularly pertinent for a young child to learn, but there is substantial evidence to support the development of an already natural tendency towards philosophical thought. Some may think that the pre-adolescents haven’t got the cognitive developmental ability to wrap their minds around such an elusive and subjective study as philosophy. However, developing this skill has shown long term positive effects. These effects range from developing critical thinking skills and cognitive ability to raising emotional maturity and encouraging the child’s sense of security within his or her world.
For years there has been an emphasis on cognitive and physical aspects of childrens development, but recently more attention is being placed on both the social and emotional aspects of a child’s development. It is becoming recognized that a child’s emotional maturity has a big impact on their ability to learn and process information. While that, at first blush, may seem [Read more…] about Philosophy as the Missing Link in Our School’s Curriculum
