Common Sense Education Popular Books

Common Sense Education Biography & Facts

Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. It also funds research on the role of media in the lives of children and advocates publicly for child-friendly policies and laws regarding media.Founded by Jim Steyer in 2003, Common Sense Media reviews and allows users to review also, divided into adult and child sections. It has reviews of books, films, television shows, video games, apps, websites, podcasts, and YouTube channels and rates them in terms of age-appropriate educational content, such as "positive role models", "positive messages", diverse representation, "violence and scariness", "sexual content", "language", "consumerism" and more, for families and caregivers making media choices for their children. They have also developed a set of ratings to evaluate apps, games, and websites used in a learning environment. Donations from foundations and individuals and fees from media partners finance Common Sense Media. Today, the organization distributes its content to more than 100 million US homes via partnerships with a variety of media and tech companies. Common Sense Media describes itself as "the nation's largest membership organization dedicated to improving kids' media lives". By 2016, the organization had over 65 million unique users and worked with more than 275,000 educators across the United States. Common Sense serves over 100 million users a year. In 2016, Charlie Rose reported that Common Sense Media was the United States' largest non-profit dedicated to children's issues.In August 2020, CSM announced the formation of a for-profit subsidiary, Common Sense Networks, to create and distribute original media targeted at children. Common Sense Networks then announced an OTT platform named Sensical, which launched June 29, 2021. Early history After founding JP Kids, an educational media company for children, and Children Now, a national child advocacy and media group, Jim Steyer founded Common Sense Media in 2003. In an interview with The New York Times, Steyer said he intended to "create a huge constituency for parents and children in the same way that Mothers Against Drunk Driving or the AARP has done." The group received $500,000 in seed money from a group of donors including Charles Schwab, George Roberts, and James Coulter.To assess parents' concern about their children's media habits, Common Sense Media commissioned a poll, which found that "64 percent [of parents with children aged 2–17] believed that media products in general were inappropriate for their families. It said that 81 percent expressed concern that the media in general were encouraging violent or antisocial behavior in children." The polling firm, Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, said that "only one out of five interviewed 'fully trusted' the separate industry-controlled ratings systems for music, movies, video games and television." Entertainment reviews Common Sense Media reviews thousands of movies, TV shows, music, video games, apps, web sites and books. Based on developmental criteria, the reviews provide guidance regarding each title's age appropriateness, as well as a "content grid" that rates particular aspects of the title including educational value, violence, sex, gender messages and role models, and more. For each title, they indicate the age for which a title is either appropriate or most relevant. An overall five-star quality rating is also included, as are discussion questions to help families talk about their entertainment. In addition to CSM's traditional rating system, they also offer a set of learning based ratings, which are designed to determine complex educational values.CSM partners with a number of media companies that distribute the organization's free content to more than 100 million homes in the United States. According to their website, the organization has content distribution contracts with Road Runner, TiVo, Yahoo!, Comcast, Charter Communications, DIRECTV, Disney, NBC Universal, Netflix, Best Buy, Google, Huffington Post, Fandango, Trend Micro, Verizon Communications, Nickelodeon, Bing, Cox Communications, Kaleidescape, AT&T, and NCM. The organization's current rating system differs from the system used by the Motion Picture Association of America and the Entertainment Software Rating Board. It has received positive support from some parents, and was singled out by US President Barack Obama as a model for using technology to empower parents. Common Sense Media began allowing studios to use their ratings and endorsements in order to promote family-friendly movies in 2014. The first film to use the endorsement was Disney's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.Since 2021, the website charges for access to thousands of its media reviews to cover the organization's server expenses. Reading more than three media reviews per month requires a paid Common Sense Media subscription. The use of their mobile app to access media reviews also requires a paid subscription. This can, however, be circumvented by clearing cookies. Education As of 2016, the Common Sense Education program had grown to include over 300,000 member teachers in approximately 100,000 schools.In 2009, CSM partnered with Harvard University and the organization Global Kids to organize a three-way communication with parents, teenagers, and educators about issues faced in the online world.The organization has education programs for schools and other organizations to use with students and parents.The first product is a Parent Media and Technology Education Program that was launched in late 2008. The program includes a comprehensive library of resources, like tip sheets, workshop slides and script, videos, and discussion guides that educators can use to engage and educate parents about technology issues ranging from media violence and commercialism to cyberbullying and cellphone etiquette. The second product, launched in 2009, is a K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum consisting of more than 60 lesson plans, student handouts, videos and interactive components that span three topic areas: Safety and Security, Digital Citizenship, and Research and Information Literacy. The curriculum was informed by research done by Howard Gardner's GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources were developed with support from many foundations, including the Sherwood, MacArthur, and Hewlett Foundations, which enables CSM to offer these products to educators for free. In 2012, CSM released its "Digital Passport", an online curriculum designed to teach children how to safely and responsibly navigate the Internet. The courses can be accessed for free by classroom teachers, who are then able to monitor their students' progress. Digital passport lessons are presented as games that reward progress with ba.... 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Best Seller Common Sense Education Books of 2024

  • A New Paradigm for Excellence in American Education synopsis, comments

    A New Paradigm for Excellence in American Education

    Charles K. Stallard & Julie E. Cocker

    Stallard and Cocker examine why America's schools continue failing to meet the needs of children and society. It explains why the present system cannot be reformed and why a new vi...

  • Common Sense about Common Core synopsis, comments

    Common Sense about Common Core

    Jim Dueck

    Common Sense about Common Core breaks down everything you need to know about the Common Core, from how it was implemented to where we are now. This book will show that Common Core ...

  • Learning Curve synopsis, comments

    Learning Curve

    Terry Lawler

    The continuing erosion and weakening of education in America accompanied by growing societal problems have mired the entire system and handicapped the preparation of our students f...

  • 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Boys synopsis, comments

    1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Boys

    Ken Siri

    Current research shows that as many as one in seventy boys in the United States now has autism. Parents of these boys become fulltime researchers, always looking for the latest inf...

  • Sensory Processing Solutions synopsis, comments

    Sensory Processing Solutions

    Sally Fryer Dietz

    A guide to help you find the right therapy program for your child Explores many nonmedication therapy methods, such as Sensory Integration Therapy and CranioSacral Therapy, to help...

  • The Place of Commonsense in Educational Thought synopsis, comments

    The Place of Commonsense in Educational Thought

    Lionel Elvin

    Throughout the course of his career Lionel Elvin has worked closely with experts in many different areas of the educational field and has found that in coming to conclusions about ...

  • Managing the Cycle of Meltdowns for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder synopsis, comments

    Managing the Cycle of Meltdowns for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Geoff Colvin & Martin R. Sheehan

    Based on Geoff Colvin’s bestselling book, Managing the Cycle of ActingOut Behavior in the Classroom, this practitionerfriendly guide provides special and general education teachers...

  • Common Sense School Reform synopsis, comments

    Common Sense School Reform

    Frederick M. Hess

    Forget everything you think you know about school reform. Cutting through the cant, sentiment, and obfuscation characterizing the current school reform debate, Frederick M. Hess la...

  • Common-Sense Classroom Management synopsis, comments

    Common-Sense Classroom Management

    Jill A. Lindberg & Dianne Evans Kelley

    If you're a teacher new to special education, this book is for you! This newest CommonSense Classroom Management guide addresses the most critical challenges that arise when teachi...

  • 10 to 25 synopsis, comments

    10 to 25

    David Yeager

    An Avid Reader Press book. Simon & Schuster has a great book for every reader.

  • Stress-Free Potty Training synopsis, comments

    Stress-Free Potty Training

    Sara Au & Peter Stavinoha, Ph.D.

    This helpful guide takes the stress out of this challenging rite of passage, giving parents muchneeded advice to help them identify what approach will work for their child’s temper...

  • Washington on Courage synopsis, comments

    Washington on Courage

    George Washington

    George Washington was the senior officer of the colonial forces during the first stages of the French and Indian War, the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Amer...

  • Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism, Fourth Edition synopsis, comments

    Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism, Fourth Edition

    Ken Siri, Tony Lyons & Teri Arranga

    The parents of children with autism know that learning about treatments is a fulltime job. For parents with limited time, ability, or resources, Ken Siri and Tony Lyons have compil...

  • Stress-Free Potty Training synopsis, comments

    Stress-Free Potty Training

    Sara Au & Peter Stavinoha, Ph.D.

    No two children experience the toilettraining process in exactly the same way. While some kids might be afraid to even go near the bathroom, others may know when to go...but still ...

  • Assessment Powered Teaching synopsis, comments

    Assessment Powered Teaching

    Nancy W. Sindelar

    Knowledge is power, and this book puts assessment data and instruction together in a stepbystep format. Instead of dreading the time testing takes from teaching, you can harness it...

  • Evolution of a Revolution synopsis, comments

    Evolution of a Revolution

    Helen Conroy & Laura Hirsch

    This book is a collection of stories about the real secret life of several autism mothers, detailing their stress, their joys, their tears, their laughter, and their disappointment...

  • America vs. Americans synopsis, comments

    America vs. Americans

    Eric Wade & Phil Herel

    In America vs. Americans, Eric Wade presents American Laborism, a revolutionary new economic system, where the greatest commodity isn’t cash, it’s work.Capitalism is broken. Despi...

  • 101 Tips for the Parents of Boys with Autism synopsis, comments

    101 Tips for the Parents of Boys with Autism

    Ken Siri

    The latest research shows that more than 1 in 50 boys in the U.S. now has autism, and the number keeps rising. Parents of these boys become fulltime researchers, always looking for...

  • The Death of Common Sense synopsis, comments

    The Death of Common Sense

    Philip K. Howard

    NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“We need a new idea of how to govern. The current system is broken. Law is supposed to be a framework for humans to make choices, not the replacement ...

  • They Killed Our President synopsis, comments

    They Killed Our President

    Jesse Ventura, Dick Russell & David Wayne

    Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past fifty years, you’re aware of the many hypotheses that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was not done by one man. Wh...

  • Powerful Practices for High-Performing Special Educators synopsis, comments

    Powerful Practices for High-Performing Special Educators

    Robert Kaufman & Robert Wandberg

    Special education teachers face unique challenges, especially when they are just beginning. This essential resource offers special educators a blueprint for dealing with the most c...

  • Common Sense Government synopsis, comments

    Common Sense Government

    Al Gore & Philip K. Howard

    The federal government is ailing and needs a cure. The cure lies in embracing a principle long known to the American people but little recognized by Washingtonuntil now: comm...

  • Being Logical synopsis, comments

    Being Logical

    D.Q. McInerny

    An essential tool for our posttruth world: a witty primer on logicand the dangers of illogical thinkingby a renowned Notre Dame professor Logic is synonymous with reason, judgment,...

  • Liderazgo synopsis, comments

    Liderazgo

    Brian Tracy

    Nadie nace como líder natural. Pero, ¿qué es lo que transforma a algunas personas en el tipo de individuos magnéticos que inspiran a otros a seguir? El liderazgo no es un misterio....

  • Common Sense synopsis, comments

    Common Sense

    Thomas Paine

    A special gift edition of one of the most important and influential documents in our nation’s historyfeatured in LinManuel Miranda’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awardwinning Hamilton: ...