When Myron Rolle was 17 and a promising football player from New Jersey, he told the coaches at Florida State University during his official recruiting visit that he wanted to be an NFL player, a Rhodes Scholar and a neurosurgeon. Thirteen years later, he is checking the box on the last of these goals. Rolle was a star football [...]
Today's Thoughtful Thursday is a solo show by the poet Ross Gay. Gay is the author of three poetry collections, most recently “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude,” winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. He is a founding editor, with Karissa Chen and Patrick Rosal, of the online sports magazine Some [...]
In celebration of Women's History Month, today's Thoughtful Thursday features poems by well known African-American women poets: "won't you celebrate with me" by Lucille Clifton, "Legacies" by Nikki Giovanni, and "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou. The following biographies, courtesy of poetryfoundation.org, gives you some insight into their brilliance. A prolific and widely respected poet, Lucille Clifton's work emphasizes endurance [...]
Yesterday was International Women's Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. March is National Women's History Month, so these achievements can and should receive a month-long celebration. As with Black History Month, we really shouldn't limit the celebration of such achievement to just 31 of 365 days each year, and we won't, [...]
Is your high schooler or college student thinking about what he will be doing this summer? He needs to be! The hunt for high school and college summer jobs is in full swing, with deadlines for many opportunities coming up very soon. (Note for next year: the best time to start looking around is in early January, because some [...]
Some Life Lessons from the Oscars last night for us to pass on to our sons (and daughters): The importance of telling our stories: Tarrell Alvin McCraney, who along with Barry Jenkins won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “Moonlight”, dedicated their Oscar to “all those black and brown boys and girls and non–gender conforming who don’t see [...]
Thoughtful Thursdays are back! For those new to GCP, Thoughtful Thursdays feature poetry, quotes, and other literary delights for you to enjoy and share with your sons. The first Thoughtful Thursday of Black History Month 2017 features a classic poem by Langston Hughes, "I Too, Sing America". In this poem Hughes reminds us that Americans of all hues can [...]
Yesterday we said our last goodbyes to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. We watched them get on that helicopter with our hearts full of gratitude and pride. Today we watch women across the globe march for equal rights and against the new administration. There is a lot to process, a lot to get ready for, a lot [...]
In honor of Dr. King's birthday, here are some of his many wise words. Let us all share some of Dr. King's wisdom with our sons and daughters as we celebrate his life. Enjoy! “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of [...]
Happy New Year GCP! Every year we all talk about making resolutions and ways we are going to change in 2017. Here at GCP we want to suggest a few things that parents should not change, but should keep doing in 2017: 1) Stay focused on being a thoughtful and conscious parent: Listening to your son, and paying careful [...]