Mission U.S., a free online history game created by producers at public television station WNET Thirteen, gives middle schoolers the chance to learn about American History while walking in the shoes of characters who are living it. In Mission 1: “For Crown or Colony?”, which was released in 2010, players take on the role of Nat Wheeler, a printer’s [...]
Today’s post comes from Anne Williams-Isom and Jennifer Jones Austin. Anne Williams-Isom, author of the GCP post “Words of Wisdom from a Montessori Mom” (October 4, 2011) is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Harlem Children's Zone. She and her husband are raising their three children in Harlem. Jennifer Jones Austin is the Senior Vice President of the [...]
You may have already heard the news that MIT has a free online program called "Open Course Wear" which contains course material for roughly 2,100 MIT classes. If you haven't, you can read all about it in the Forbes article, "M.I.T. Game-Changer: Free Online Education For All" found here. What you may not know is that included on MIT's [...]
Red Tails is an action film inspired by the heroic exploits of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African American World War II aerial combat unit. Directed by Anthony Hemingway ("The Wire"), from a screenplay by John Ridley ("Undercover Brother") and Aaron McGruder ("The Boondocks"), the film features a powerful ensemble cast led by Oscar winner Cuba Gooding and [...]
Time to tackle a tough subject: how to protect our sons from sexual predators. With this issue so much in the news, it seems our boys are more vulnerable than ever to deviant behavior by trusted adults. GCP recently attended a seminar on child sex offenders offered by child and adolescent psychotherapist Alicia Henderson, Ph.D. to find out more [...]
The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit organization focused on building the national will to expand opportunity in America, has just released a report examining national perceptions of African American men and boys, and the relationship of these perceptions to mass media. This extensive research project was designed to determine how to better and more effectively communicate the need to improve [...]
In an earlier post, GCP covered New Jersey Police Detective Sergeant Thomas Rich's presentation on sexting (Texting, Sexting: What You and Your Children Should Know, November 22, 2011). Today's focus is cyberbullying, featuring perspectives from Sgt. Rich and others*. Cyberbullying, says Sgt. Rich, is "the next generation of hate". He recommends that we teach our children that their words [...]
It's parent teacher conference season! What's the best way to ensure that you get the most out of your limited time with your son's teachers during the conference? Check out these links for some helpful tips and ideas: "Acing Parent Teacher Conferences", published last year in the Wall Street Journal; A To-Do List for Parent Teacher Conferences from Education.com; [...]
GCP recently attended a seminar on "Texting, Sexting, Facebook and Cyberbullying" conducted by New Jersey Police Detective Sergeant Thomas Rich. Sgt. Rich has worked on the issues of Internet safety for over ten years, and through his company, "Always Connected", advises law enforcement, educators, parents and children of all ages how to utilize technology in a positive way. Here [...]
GCP is always on the lookout for ways to help our sons (and daughters) learn and excel. Here is a great one: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History offers Saturday Academies of American History, which provide free elective courses for high school and middle school students on Saturday mornings. Gilder Lehrman Saturday Academies are held in eighteen schools [...]