Trouble in Toyland, Short Kids, A School that Could Rock the 21st Century
Newswire
Trouble in Toyland
Innocent companies can get hurt by the backlash that happens following a recall. That's one of the key findings to emerge from a study of the highly publicized 2007 toy recalls.
Toy companies who were not affected by the recalls had their sales drop
by 25 percent as consumers' confidence in toy products overall spiraled
downward. "In this industry, one firm's offence seems to penalize other
players," said Mara Lederman, a professor at the Rotman School of
Management and one of the study's three co-authors.
Parenting Lab
Parents may worry about kids who are shorter than average, but the experts say the kids are doing just fine. A University of Michigan Health System study found that shorter kids do just as well in terms of popularity, social support, and optimism as their taller peers. It just goes to prove that Randy Newman had it all wrong.
School That Could Rock the 21st Century
Students need to master the art of compassion if they're going to be
ready to take up the challenges of 21st century citizenship. That means
that they should be spending more time acquiring such skills as
mindfulness and contemplation (so that they can tune out distractions
and focus on what really matters, like meeting the needs of those
around them). The current system, which promotes competition rather
than cooperation in the classroom, tends to foster inequality and
unhappiness. According to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th dalai lama, who was
one of 20 panelists at a recent conference, "Educating World Citizens for the 21st Century," co-sponsored by the American Psychological Association,
most people are willing to settle for a definition of education that
involves memorizing facts and passing tests, as opposed to contributing
to life-long happiness and well-being. "We are social animals," Gyatso
told the APA Monitor. "Individuals' happiness depends on the
community's happiness."
Comments