I think most of you have seen or heard of this before, but what the hey. The Marshmallow Test got a recent mention in the Toronto Star.
http://www.thestar.com/atkinsonseries/atkinson2009/article/719586--how-a-simple-marshmallow-can-predict-your-future?bn=1Most of you probably know moreabout the neuroscience than I do. I had to laugh though when I came across this:
Shanker stresses that learning executive function skills is not the same as complying with someone's orders. Self-regulation comes from within. It is self-directed.
"Compliance is a terrible indicator of success," he says, adding an authoritarian stance at home or at school is a doomed policy. "Zero-tolerance? Are you insane?"
At last a scientist who gets it!
Ideally, says Shanker, it's not only the pupils who have good self-regulation. It's also the teachers, the principals, the community leaders. "Students do well with teachers who self-regulate. And teachers do well with principals who self-regulate."