As a seemingly endless stream of public figures are being fired for sexual harassment these days, the time is NOW to talk with our children about this topic. But how? There are two conversations to be had here: we need to have the "What is sexual harassment and why is it all over the news now?" conversation with all [...]
The school year is in full swing now. Children have settled into the work, and there are still a few solid weeks left before the holidays hit. In case you've been on autopilot, it is time to check in and see how things are going at school. Here are some tips and advice on how to check in: Connect [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday pays tribute to three African American women poets: Jessie Redmon Fausetz, Audre Lorde, and Natasha Trethewey. Jessie Redmon Fausetz (1882-1961) played an important part in the Harlem Renaissance as the literary editor of The Crisis, a magazine founded by W.E.B.Dubois. A graduate of Cornell University in 1905, she was a teacher before and after her stint [...]
Another mass shooting, this time at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. How do we talk to our children about this tragic event? GCP has discussed this issue before, after Newton and Charleston . And now we must talk about Las Vegas. But what should we say? Experts say it depends on how old our children are: Preschool:Discuss only [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday presents a cool poetry combo: "We Real Cool", a classic from Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000), our first national Black Poet Laureate, and a poem inspired by this classic, "Because it looked hotter that way" by Camille T.Dungy (1972-), an award winning poet who teaches at San Francisco State University. Dungy's poem is an acrostic which uses each [...]
Sixteen years ago we watched in horror as terrorists took the Twin Towers down, damaged the Pentagon and killed innocent people on American soil. We honor the memories of the fallen every 9/11 with prayers for their families and for our country, with monuments, with moments of silence. We remember. Noted poet Lucille Clifton (1936-2010) wrote "September's Song, A [...]
It's September, time to head Back to School with GCP! Here is our Checklist of To-Do's and Don't Do's for all of you busy parents: CLASSROOM TO-DO's: • Meet the Teachers: If your son is in a single classroom all day, have you met his teacher(s)? If he is a middle or high schooler, do you know what he [...]
Not much good news has been coming out of D.C. lately, but today's inspiring story comes from Northeast D.C., where 36 year old Benjamin "Doc" Williams runs the all male Ron Brown College Preparatory High School. The only public single sex high school in D.C. opened its doors in September 2016 with 100 ninth graders and plans to add [...]
Our children are spending a lot of time with screens these days: computers, phones, ipads. Experts suggest that spending too much time looking at screens can lead children to develop computer vision syndrome and eye problems related to overexposure to harmful blue light. What can we do to prevent this? Here are some tips from the American Optometric Association [...]
Happy Earth Day! Here's what you should know about today: What is it? An international celebration of the importance of protecting and bettering the globe. This year, the theme for Earth Day is "Environmental & Climate Literacy." The goal is to make sure that by 2020, students graduating high school are climate and environment literate. When did it start? [...]