My students need 20 Brainology licenses to learn, really learn, that working makes you smarter and just being smart makes you dumber.
$519 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Being told that you're smart means you cannot work hard in school because being smart means you don't have to work hard, by definition! Smart students who find themselves struggling often resort to cheating because that means minimal work; so cheating is smart. This isn't funny talk. It's real.
Continuation school students are on average "smarter" than regular students.
They just haven't learned very much and have little on which to build. Math problems are done very poorly because paper and pencil are for dumb people, because holding a pen implies work is necessary. Why learn multiplication tables, when hitting a calculator button is so easy, and it must be right. Tests are completed rapidly, not only because students allegedly don't care, but also because speed means easy. Smart people finish first and enjoy the limelight. The attitudes in defense of such immature behavior are very broad and stereotypical, but are tightly held nonetheless. There is an efficiency in smartness which means knowing more is a waste, which means one must be stupid to need to learn more. Smart kids have logic.
My students already know all the answers to their very limited range of questions. Helping them reset, helping them see that more knowledge is more power is my daily struggle.
My Project
Brainology is a spinoff of Stanford University. It vividly shows students how the brain changes when a person works to learn and how the brain doesn't change if just an answer is given. Also, Brainology demonstrates that those who work succeed, while those who are called smart fail more easily. Both of these beliefs must be deeply learned and believed. Brainology presents the evidence, which also models how academics really works.
Research shows students adopt the "growth mindset" almost immediately after they begin Brainology. They recognize truth, after they've seen its advantages.
While using Brainology, students see areas of the brain light up when the brain works and learns things. Other areas light up when it works and performs problems. On the other hand, the brain barely flickers when just guessing occurs. Also, the students play simulations of learning and see how the brain builds networks when learning occurs, but nothing occurs when the brain is inattentive.
Four to five class periods make most students work harder and learn more in every class.
Students laugh at peers who rely on being smart. It's unreliable and everyone knows. Wanting to get ahead, to show how good one can be, whether in academics or sports, develops self-confidence and real self-esteem, and students know they can do it.
Think of youngsters you know. People tell them how smart they are, and what do they do - not much. When they hit roadblocks, they crumble. Please help stop this.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. A and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
