Did you know that physical activity builds a child’s brain? Fit kids experience better brain development.#promiseskept #achievementgap #blackedu
Role-play to prep Black boys for encounters with cops, security, authorities & knuckleheads. Teach him to respond not react. #promiseskept
What Happens When A Smoker Quits
It's never too late to quit smoking, so don't give up or get down on yourself. Each time you try you're learning more about the skill set you'll need to you kick the habit forever.
What happens when a smoker quits... SHARE THIS
The Most Likely Person to Read a Book?
According to a Pew Internet study published this week, college educated Black women read more than everyone else. And another stereotype-busting statistic that is buried in the data? Black people read more than Whites.
http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/01/most-likely-person-read-book-college-educated-black-woman/357091/
Breathing In vs. Spacing Out
Sometime's daydreaming's better than mindfulness. HA!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/magazine/breathing-in-vs-spacing-out.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done…"
-- Sidney Carton, A Tale of Two Cities.
I am feeling very humble today. Random House just published my latest book "Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life," with Joe Brewster and Michele Stevenson. Our book will be a game changer, since it will arm Black boys' parents, educators and Village with strategies to help the boys fulfill their potential.
Researching and writing Promises Kept was the hardest thing I've ever done. Not because I find research and writing so difficult, but because I did an exhaustive amount so quickly. I don't know how I did it and don't believe that could repeat it. Today "Promises Kept" landed in some excited parent's hands. Now lives begin to change, leaving me feeling awestruck (again) by how the work I do alone in a room (or not so alone in a coffee shop) can transform the world in ways I will never know.
What an honor it has been, Joe Brewster and Michele Stevenson, to support you in your journey to help improve both children's lives and our world. #PromisesKept
Let's End the Racial Discipline Gap
Earlier this week the New York Times published an editorial condemning Zero-Tolerance policies in educational settings (I urge you to follow the links to read the entire series). Not only have school districts overzealously applied adult criminal-justice strategies to children in educational settings, the application of these policies has been shockingly uneven. Children, especially boys, are routinely suspended, expelled and even arrested for being chronically tardy, violating the dress code, cursing, chewing gum, disobeying, texting and using their cell phones, and getting into shoving matches – which in the past would have earned demerits or detentions. In Texas, a landmark study found that 63% of all 7th-12th graders had been suspended or expelled at least once, including 83% of Black males, 74% of Hispanic males, and 59 percent of White males.
The implications of these policies are significant. Because the more you remove a child from the classroom, the more you undermine their education. Suspend a kid twice and you effectively end his educational career. These policies are applied so unevenly to students of color, and especially to Black students, that some experts believe that the racial achievement gap and the racial discipline gap are two sides of the same coin. Even when researchers adjust for 83 different variables (including poverty), a student’s race determines both whether and how severely s/he was punished. Students with disabilities are over disciplined as well.
Our children deserve better! The good news is that parents and educators can come together to bring these unconscionable practices to an end. What background do you need to make the case? Where can you find the stats for your school? And how can you work to challenge these policies?
We tell you in "Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life." You can order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and at your local independent bookstore.
Why dieting doesn't usually work
Food for thought: The speaker in this TED Talk on why dieting doesn't usually work shares some information I thought you might find meaningful:
1) Girls who diet in their early teens are 3 times more likely to become overweight 5 years later, even if they start at a normal weight.
2) Being teased about their weight by family members is a predictor of girls' becoming overweight.
3) Developing just one (if you're overweight) or two (if you're obese) healthy habits reduces a person's risk of death so that their risk falls into the range of people with a "normal" weight.
I also find it interesting that this neuroscientist, who knows that she didn't need a diet as a girl, just got off of a diet even though she appears to be a healthy weight. We don't know what health issues she has, but it does raise the issue of how powerful the media images are of a woman's ideal body type, even for middle-aged women.
http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work?%3Futm_medium=social&source=email&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=ios-share
Remembrances Pour In for Amiri Baraka
http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2014/01/amiri_baraka_dead_at_79_twitter_remembers_his_legacy.html
If you knew that by adjusting your parenting style you could increase your Black son or Black male student's grades, would you do it?
Fewer than ⅓ of Black boys' parents and too few of their educators use the childrearing style that helps him optimize his test scores, behavior and self esteem. But don't beat yourself up or feel embarrassed: Researchers have only recently discovered that the approach that worked so well for our parents, forbears and previous generations of educators doesn't work well (and sometimes even backfires) in this global, digital era.
What's the right mix of responsiveness and demandingness? We tell you in "Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life," published Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Order now on Amazon or B&N.
Joe Brewster Michèle Stephenson Chris Jackson Gregory Scott Jones Darcy Heusel American Promise Melissa A Rowe, M.Ed. Random House, Inc. #promiseskept #achievementgap #BlackEdu #education
Commentary: Why We Need More #BeAMan Conversations
This is a great article about the importance of overcoming hyper masculinity by my friend @kelleeterrell
http://www.bet.com/news/health/2014/01/03/commentary-why-we-need-more-beaman-conversations.html
Cold Turkey Isn't the Only Route
I want to share this article about non abstinence-only options to help people with drinking problems, which increasingly includes women. Apparently in other parts of the world, they use approaches that allow (at least some) people to still drink. This flies in the face of the AA model that we follow in the US, but according to the author, they work. Good info for our loved ones who struggle.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/02/opinion/cold-turkey-isnt-the-only-route.html?_r=0
The Merchant of Just Be Happy
Could a life coach help you design the life that you want?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/business/the-merchant-of-just-be-happy.html?_r=1&
What MLK said about health care...
I'm a big supporter of the movement to raise the minimum wage so that people can live lives with dignity, care for their families and actively contribute to our society.
Who's responsible for the gap between what people think and what reality is? You guessed it: the media.
Thanks to Economic Policy Institute for the image, viaDaily Kos
Mold, mice and zip codes: Inside the childhood asthma epidemic
Does your ZIP code determine your kid's #asthma risk? How poverty drives up asthma rates. Roaches, mice, mold, air pollution, etc., can all trigger attacks. #blackpeople #healthhttp://ow.ly/sfEjL
http://inplainsight.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/03/22149240-mold-mice-and-zip-codes-inside-the-childhood-asthma-epidemic?lite
Why Should You Put Sleep First
Want a healthy New Year's Resolution? Place getting enough sleep at the top of your list.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-sophy-do/sleep-tips_b_4427349.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living
Black Folks are Key to Obamacare's Success
RT @theroot247: If #Obamacare is going to work, blacks need to be on board: http://t.co/0iaLwerizS #health#blackpeople
http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/01/_why_the_aca_is_important_to_african_americans.html
Biggest Publishing stories of 2013
In spite of all the challenges we face in the publishing industry and media, I fundamentally agree with the position that it's a great time to be a writer.
http://www.chipmacgregor.com/blog/the-business-of-writing/what-were-the-biggest-publishing-stories-of-2013/
Should You Keep Your New Year's Resolutions to Yourself?
Food for thought: According to this 6-minute TEDTalk by entrepreneur Derek Sivers, speaking a our goals makes us less likely to achieve them. He cites research suggesting that the good feeling that sharing our vision brings makes us less likely to achieve it because our mind "mistakes the talking for the doing" as he states it. If this is true, sometimes -- and especially when we embark upon a faith walk or another challenging new beginning -- we might be wise to follow our elders's wisdom that to keep our own counsel!