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 [...]
A professor at a Pennsylvania university recently set out to determine how college student's grades are impacted by their Facebook usage. Today's New York Times reveals his study's surprising conclusions, in an article found here. The study found that while spending an inordinate amount of time on Facebook is related to negative outcomes, just checking Facebook for a few [...]
Today’s New York Times features an article, found here, which details how little today’s schools teach about the history of the Civil Rights movement and how little today’s students know about basic civil rights history. Julian Bond, the former civil rights activist who began teaching the history of the civil rights movement twenty years ago, speaks of having students [...]
Today's New York Times Magazine includes a very interesting article, found here, about how the heads of a Manhattan private school and a national charter school program are working to help their students develop good character traits as well as good study habits. The private school head feared that his school's focus on testing at every juncture and encouraging [...]