Keeping calm in class

Walk into any classroom and you’ll see an array of kids exhibiting a variety of behaviours. While the calm, focused child is the one able to learn most effectively, the best way to help foster that behaviour has often been elusive, reported the Surrey North Delta Leader Sept. 17. Enter Stuart Shanker, a researcher at York University in Toronto and expert on self-regulation. Self-regulation is the ability to stay alert and focused by managing emotions, behaviour and energy. Research has shown a direct link between self-regulation and successful learning.

Success for student with schizophrenia
For five years after he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, Neil Marshall believed he’d never get off the couch. But in the past month, Marshall did something he once thought impossible: He presented and argued his master’s thesis in mathematics at Brock University, reported the Toronto Star Sept. 15. For Marshall, there is a pride in what he has been able to accomplish. His work, including his honours thesis have been published in major international journals, and he’s been awarded a prestigious scholarship for his upcoming PhD studies at York University.