"We have 198 people who have registered for Grandparent University," said Camps Director Mona Christensen. "It's a two-day program where grandparents and grandkids sign up for a class that they take together."

Nine-year-old Calista Wright was attending her first Grandparents' University with grandma Joanna Cloud.

"It feels very awesome," Calista said, "because you get to have - because I've been having a lot of fun with my grandma."

Fun is just one aspect of the two-day experience, Christensen said.

"It's really multifaceted. It's intergenerational learning, so they're spending time with each other. They're learning from each other," she said. "It isn't just the adult teaching the grandkid - it's grandparents learning things that their grandkids know, too. And they're doing things together in the classrooms."   >>READ MORE 

The new research involves larger, more rigorous field trials that provide some of the first evidence that the social psychology strategy can be effective when implemented in schools on a wide scale. Even a one-time, 30-minute online intervention can spur academic gains for many students, particularly those with poor grades. The premise is that these positive effects can stick over years, leading for example to higher graduation rates; but long-term data is still needed to confirm that.

Earlier, well-designed tests of simple and relatively inexpensive growth-mindset interventions had surprisingly shown improvements in students' grades over weeks or months. For instance, promising results from one famous experiment - an eight-session workshop in 91 seventh graders in a New York City school - led psychology researchers Carol Dweck and Lisa Blackwell to start up Mindset Works, a company that offers a computer-based program called Brainology.   >> READ MORE 

The Junior National Young Leaders Conference enables students to recognize their own leadership abilities in the context of great men and women from the past and present," said Marguerite Regan, Ph.D., the dean of academic affairs for JrNYLC. "They return home with new confidence in their ability to make a positive impact in their school and communities. Washington, D.C., serves as the perfect backdrop for this inspiring program to generate a new generation of U.S. leaders."

At the six-day conference, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students take part in fun and exciting workshops and participate in simulations to confront the challenges faced by historic leaders from the nation's past. Scholars also explore historically significant sites such as Harpers Ferry National Park and the National Mall to explore museums, monuments and memorials dedicated to U.S. founding fathers.   

 >> READ MORE 

There was a fisherman named Fisher.  

Who fished for some fish in a fissure.

Till a fish with a grin,

Pulled the fisherman in.

Now they're fishing the fissure for Fisher.  

Anne's attitude acts as an academic accelerator.

Bring big brown brag bags.

Watson Wright watched windy winds whip windmills.