NRTA Live & Learn

A Message from NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community
April 29, 2008—

Never Settle! Secrets of an Innovator
December 18, 2007— Apple CEO Steve Jobs has introduced not just one, but a string of breakthrough products. What’s the secret behind his history of second acts?

Staying Sharp: Bridge to Somewhere
December 17, 2007— Playing bridge isn’t just fun—it can improve your mental health and physical wellbeing as well.

And Now, Med School for the Rest of Us
December 17, 2007— John Cohen, father of the mini-med school concept, has grown to love the role he once feared: teacher.

Want to Write for Kids?
November 30, 2007— Whether you’re a teacher, a grandparent, or just someone who loves children’s literature, here’s what you need to know to try your hand.

Remedial Reading Going to the Dogs?
November 18, 2007— Thanks to creative thinking by educators, this shaggy dog story is about specially trained animals who help children with reading problems.

Richard Dreyfuss's New 'Opus'
August 31, 2007— The Oscar-winning actor has no regrets about his movie career, he says, but he's at a different place in his life now.

Web 2.0, Curriki and You
August 31, 2007— In the quest to educate the world, Web 2.0 offers teachers new ways to share what they know.

To Dig or Not to Dig: Archaeology Vacations
August 31, 2007— Learn something new about something old when you take an archaeological vacation. Choose a guided tour or get your hands dirty on a dig — either will be a thrill if you're passionate about the ancient world.

Second Acts: If Not Now, When?
August 31, 2007— With longer life spans and a new realization that our brains continue developing as long as we use them, people are going on to exciting second and third careers.

Staying Sharp: Can You Train Your Brain?
August 31, 2007— Cognitive training games are touted as a way to get our aging brains back up to speed. But what exactly do they do for us?

Exploring the Depths of Science
August 31, 2007— Bob Ballard, the deep sea explorer who found the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor, shares the excitement of oceanographic science with teachers and students through the JASON Project.

One Day University
August 31, 2007— If you long for the intellectual intensity of college studies, but can do without the pressure of homework and exams, rediscover the thrill of learning at One Day University, a thought-provoking day of lectures by the best and brightest professors.

Our Times: 60 Years of Education and Lifelong Learning
August 31, 2007— There's been a world of change in the six decades since 1947, when NRTA was founded. After World War II, a convergence of landmark events set the stage for more than a half-century surge in education and lifelong learning. Our lively timeline encapsulates these events one decade at a time.

Our Times: The Postwar Era of the Late 1940s
August 31, 2007— In the late 1940s, World War II veterans on the GI Bill fill university classrooms to overflowing and a movement for lifelong learning begins. GI families live far from their rural roots, and the focus on the nuclear family begins.

Our Times: The Era of Conformity in the 1950s
August 31, 2007— The 1950s, often labeled an era of conformity, corporate hierarchy, and personal confessions on the psychiatrist's couch, also saw the birth of Rock and Roll. Baby boomers start to go to school and Cold War "bomb drills" and landmark desegregation cases will shape their future.

Our Times: The Turbulent 1960s
August 31, 2007— The 1960s see the leading edge of the Baby Boom reach maturity, along with long hair, folk music, and anti-war protests. The boomers go to college, question authority, debate the Vietnam War, and call for free speech, civil rights, and equal rights for women. The decade also brings President Johnson's Civil Rights Act, Head Start, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and Sesame Street.

Our Times: From Hippies to Yuppies in the 1970s
August 31, 2007— Popular culture in the 1970s means Earth Day, Free To Be You & Me, and Title IX of the Education Amendments Act. Ms. magazine, WomenSports, Working Woman, and Working Mother are founded. The boomers, who had learned more from each other than their elders, become fragmented as hippies give way to yuppies and everyone's kids get reading lessons and cultural messages from TV.

Our Times: Dress for Success in the 1980s
August 31, 2007— The 1980s is the Dress for Success era as the best-educated Americans go into the workplace saddled with staggering burdens of school loans, while the high school drop-out rate soars. Women with law, business, and professional degrees reach critical mass, flooding managerial positions and juggling careers, marriage and family while commuting in sneakers and sweat socks with their pin-striped power suits.

Our Times: Social Entrepreneurs Enrich Education in the 1990s
August 31, 2007— In the 1990s, learning moves out of the classroom as place-based study comes into its own. Meanwhile, the World Wide Web emerges to fulfill the educational promise of computers in classrooms, with help from Yahoo and Google. Learning moves out of the classroom as science students track bugs in the field and history students research their hometowns. Learning technologies are explored using CDs and VCRs.

Our Times: 21st Century Technologies Plus Harry Potter
August 31, 2007— With the turn of the century, "No Child Left Behind" dominates education policy discussions. Some states counter with their own programs, and some charter school experiments show promise. Beyond teaching to the test, educational vocabulary expands with technology - podcasting, webcasts, wikis, and blogs - yet the powers of narrative and imagination draw millions of kids into a book series.

Vacation Ideas for History Buffs
May 23, 2007— Fasten your seat belt, turn up the tunes, and hit the gas for a road trip back through time.

More Vacation Ideas for History Buffs
May 23, 2007— Revolutionary War routes, historic hotels, Route 66 itineraries — tips and resources to get you started on a retro road trip.

Meet the Fugees
May 23, 2007— Luma Mufleh is much more than a soccer coach to her team of young refugees from war-torn countries like Iraq, Sudan, and Bosnia.

Educating the World: One Laptop per Child
May 23, 2007— First nicknamed the "$100 laptop," the little green XO Children’s Machine is already in use by children in remote locations in Nigeria, Thailand, and Brazil.

Meet the XO Children's Computer
May 23, 2007— One Laptop per Child is already placing this little green learning machine in the hands of children in remote locations around the globe.

What Every Citizen Needs to Know
May 23, 2007— An exciting way to study history is now being used in 45 schools around the country. Historical documents are accessible to future voters who are developing their own view of our country’s past events and leaders.

Staying Sharp: Meditation - Not Just for Yogis
February 26, 2007— Meditation is being practiced in classrooms and boardrooms. Here’s why you might want to try it yourself.

Try on a New Career
February 26, 2007— Here’s a risk-free way to find out what that dream job or business is really like.

Tolstoy and a Haircut: Two Bits
February 26, 2007— Rueben Martinez’s bookstore started out as a shelf in his barber shop. “Because of books,” he says, “I can have a conversation with anyone.”

People Who Build Schools
February 26, 2007— A new school is a very powerful gift, a form of advocacy for the students who will go there, based on the belief that education releases human potential.

People Who Build Schools: It Takes an Oprah
February 26, 2007— Many times before, Oprah had raised money for education and school facilities in the US and other countries. But this time, with this one, somehow it was different.

People Who Build Schools: It Takes a Village
February 26, 2007— Vermont schoolteachers connect with Yagua Indian villagers in Peru and decide to build them a new school.

People Who Build Schools: It Takes a Vision
February 26, 2007— Instead of a golf course, this development near Tucson, AZ, has an auditorium, a library, and a great atmosphere for academics.

The Real Teacher Behind the Movie
February 26, 2007— The movie Freedom Writers is based on the real-life story of English teacher Erin Gruwell who used literature to awaken her students to the power of expressing themselves in writing. Here, they describe how "Ms. G" changed their lives forever.

Build the Country We Want
February 26, 2007— Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick doesn’t mince words: Folks can no longer sit on the sidelines. America is in crisis!

The Joy of Building a Chair by Hand
November 17, 2006— This busy professional took up a travisher, spoke shave and gutter adze, and made himself a classic Sack-back Windsor chair.

Staying Sharp: Your Brain on Music
November 17, 2006— Can adding a soundtrack to your life boost your mental power? Research is revealing some interesting possibilities.

Bringing Astrophysics Down to Earth
November 17, 2006— A champion of science literacy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, People magazine’s “sexiest astrophysicist,” says the scientific method is not for nerds only.

Turning Yoga into a Tool for Teachers
November 17, 2006— Tara Guber and her Yoga Ed. program are helping inner-city kids become better learners.

Learning Their A-Bee-Cs
November 17, 2006— Kids can learn a lot about social behavior, and why it matters, from honeybees.

Is "No Child Left Behind" Working?
November 17, 2006— Just ask Jack Jennings. Educators and journalists alike turn to him for his knowledge of the fine print and its real-life implications.

Staying Sharp: The Sleep-Memory Connection
August 28, 2006— That part of the brain where memory is stored becomes highly active during sleep. Can getting more shut-eye help you learn?

Helping the Grandkids with College Costs
August 28, 2006— If you've considered helping with the grandkids' college expenses, look into creating a 529 College Savings Plan. They provide you with a tax break and may improve the student's chances of qualifying for financial aid.

What’s 50 Years When It’s Opera?
August 28, 2006— A program that paired older adults and teenagers to make musical theater together ended up fostering lasting friendships as well.

Americans Should Idolize Great Teachers
August 28, 2006— Milton Chen of the George Lucas Educational Foundation has challenged Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Broadcasting Company to run an American Teacher contest like American Idol.

The Ideal 21st Century School
August 28, 2006— George Lucas and Milton Chen focus Edutopia on publicizing the best practices in American schoolrooms today.

The Creek That Wouldn’t Stay Dead
August 28, 2006— When biology teacher Tom Furrer recruited some students to help clean up a creek in 1983, he didn’t know that soon they’d build and launch a fish hatchery.

For Savvy Travelers Who Hate Hotels
August 28, 2006— These three organizations cater to the kind of traveler who prefers friendly locales rather than impersonal, big ticket hotels.

Second Acts: 1960s Activists Become Today’s Educators
August 28, 2006— Education is the Civil Rights challenge for the 21st century, say two veteran activists of the 1960s.

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